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What is the best way to take away the video games for a 17-year-old?
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<blockquote data-quote="Otto von Bismark" data-source="post: 501613" data-attributes="member: 12905"><p>Here is what our experience showed us for our 13 year old son:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Our son gets terribly addicted very quickly and we have to limit his gaming.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The more he plays them, the worse he interacts with the real world. School deteriorates, family relationships deteriorate, his reverts to being unable to remember simple tasks, such as getting dressed in the morning, remembering his backpack supplies, lunch, closing the door, eating, etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It seems to affect his brain waves, sleep patters, thinking patterns and attitude. He gets snide and sarcastic, and short-tempered.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This seems to happen with regular television, too, so we have very strict limits on what and how much TV he can watch.</li> </ul><p>We have tested this over and over with him.</p><p></p><p>What we got was an Xbox with Kinect. He is only allowed to play big, physical Kinect games most of the time. We play with him a lot of the time. We made video games a family activity. He moves his body, gets sweaty, doesn't isolate himself. The endorphins start flowing and it helps his mood and gives him physical activity.</p><p></p><p>He does get some of his favorite "controller games" for direct rewards for big things he does well, like have a great week at school, or remember a task for five days in the week without being reminded. But he will only get 30 minutes or so on a weekend. That's it. </p><p></p><p>We use it for reward time mostly. When we first took it away, he just did nothing. He would sit there. No other hobbies, no interest in anything other than following me around the house and chattering. I thought it was a shame to take away his one "hobby." What I realized is that he is the kind of kid who doesn't really have hobbies that sustain anyway, and the gaming wasn't a hobby. It was an addiction. He IS the kind of kid who doesn't play outside, doesn't play with toys, and won't really do anything unless I orchestrate it for him. Lately, without TV and video games, he is reading an 800 page book on the US presidents -- and wants me to quiz him.</p><p></p><p>He is also starting to do drawings with a protractor, and draw by numbers activities from a craft store. He is also reading some decent books. Reducing the video games in his life really makes him a happier person, and of course, he really likes playing them with us and having a family activity that he enjoys that other people in the family will actually do with him. </p><p></p><p>I have become very interested in neurofeedback and brain wave patterns as a result of seeing these changes in my son.</p><p></p><p>My son is only 13 and we can really control the stuff he does because he is very compliant with us, in a lot of ways. I don't know what to tell you about a kid who gets severely upset when his games are taken away. You might need some support to do this if he gets that upset. I also second that he needs to be professionally evaluated by neuropsychologist. Sounds like more than ADHD, which is what I think you said, right?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Otto von Bismark, post: 501613, member: 12905"] Here is what our experience showed us for our 13 year old son: [LIST] [*]Our son gets terribly addicted very quickly and we have to limit his gaming. [*]The more he plays them, the worse he interacts with the real world. School deteriorates, family relationships deteriorate, his reverts to being unable to remember simple tasks, such as getting dressed in the morning, remembering his backpack supplies, lunch, closing the door, eating, etc. [*]It seems to affect his brain waves, sleep patters, thinking patterns and attitude. He gets snide and sarcastic, and short-tempered. [*]This seems to happen with regular television, too, so we have very strict limits on what and how much TV he can watch. [/LIST]We have tested this over and over with him. What we got was an Xbox with Kinect. He is only allowed to play big, physical Kinect games most of the time. We play with him a lot of the time. We made video games a family activity. He moves his body, gets sweaty, doesn't isolate himself. The endorphins start flowing and it helps his mood and gives him physical activity. He does get some of his favorite "controller games" for direct rewards for big things he does well, like have a great week at school, or remember a task for five days in the week without being reminded. But he will only get 30 minutes or so on a weekend. That's it. We use it for reward time mostly. When we first took it away, he just did nothing. He would sit there. No other hobbies, no interest in anything other than following me around the house and chattering. I thought it was a shame to take away his one "hobby." What I realized is that he is the kind of kid who doesn't really have hobbies that sustain anyway, and the gaming wasn't a hobby. It was an addiction. He IS the kind of kid who doesn't play outside, doesn't play with toys, and won't really do anything unless I orchestrate it for him. Lately, without TV and video games, he is reading an 800 page book on the US presidents -- and wants me to quiz him. He is also starting to do drawings with a protractor, and draw by numbers activities from a craft store. He is also reading some decent books. Reducing the video games in his life really makes him a happier person, and of course, he really likes playing them with us and having a family activity that he enjoys that other people in the family will actually do with him. I have become very interested in neurofeedback and brain wave patterns as a result of seeing these changes in my son. My son is only 13 and we can really control the stuff he does because he is very compliant with us, in a lot of ways. I don't know what to tell you about a kid who gets severely upset when his games are taken away. You might need some support to do this if he gets that upset. I also second that he needs to be professionally evaluated by neuropsychologist. Sounds like more than ADHD, which is what I think you said, right? [/QUOTE]
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What is the best way to take away the video games for a 17-year-old?
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