My son is obsessed with mario. "oh that's so cute!' you might say, but it's not. it's awful, it's constant, every thirty seconds something comes out of his mouth that relates to mario.
so yesterday his computer mysteriously 'broke' and today i am feeling the brunt of it.
he has been screaming for two HOURS. SCREAMING at the top of his lungs like he was being tortured horribly.
I don't know what to do. My mom is telling me that perhaps now is not the best time to stop it, but i can't take the constant mario talk all the time, he doesn't play with his toys anymore, he doesn't want to watch tv or movies, his thoughts are constantly preoccupied with playing games.
It's not healthy in any capacity, but i am also at a loss of how to deal with this with him. When i talk to him, it seems like he doesn't listen, the words go in one ear and straight out the other, with seemingly no sense of comprehension from him that i can't just magically fix whatever is wrong with the fucking N64 unit anyway.
I am tired, we are both getting over a nasty virus and i just about want to die right now... so if anyone has any advice, advice away.
I am so sorry. My kids have been sick this week and they have watched tv allllll day, so I know what you are going through. When I turned the tv off they went crazy and are not very nice to me or eachother. We have been through this before when B broke her leg. The best thing to do is just wait it out, I think. It will eventually stop. It truly is a drug to them and so they have to go through some kind of withdrawl. I know that is not that helpful right now, but, I think that is all there is to do. I am so sorry and can totally commiserate with you if you need to.
thanks... i needed the commisseration, it's just been a rough week, with us being pretty much completely snowed-in, and housebound.
he did eventually cool out, and while he was upstairs chillin' with my nana i cleared all the game-related items out of sight.
hopefully that will curb his video game related activities (and thoughts), and perhaps i will start seeing my wonderful little kid again, not the horrible grizzly monster i've been seeing lately.
Video games are very very addictive. They keep little kids entertained for hours, but some kids get addicted to them very easily.
My advice? Don't allow video game consoles in the house. It sounds really harsh, but it is sooo for the best. Almost ANY other activity you can get them to do is fine, just DON'T let it be video games.
My eight-year-old cousin is an xbox addict. He is extremely overweight. We went on vacation to the Keys, beautiful tropical islands. We were fishing, boating, swimming, tubing, snorkeling. He didn't want to do ANY of it, he wanted to play Xbox. I literally had to turn off the xbox and lock it in my suitcase. He had a huge fit and screamed at me. But he ended up going on the boat! :D I was happy for him, I felt bad taking away the xbox but he just didn't realize what he was going to miss out on.
His parents weren't worried about it because they brought all their dogs on vacation (all 10). And the nanny was pretty much "whatever keeps him busy while I do laundrey for six people and ten dogs."
They have three other kids and none of them have the same problem, however he does, badly, to the point where he doesn't want to do anything in real life at all if video games are even a possibility.
Seeing him trying to overcome this, play outside, makes me glad I never had a nintendo growing up like I wanted. I have a playstation now and I can moderate my activity.
I think it's best to take them to the arcade, as a special treat, and let them play games there, or at friends' houses.
oh yeah, all the consoles games and everything have been packed away, and aren't likely to be coming back anytime soon. Too much stress has been caused because of them.
He had his temper tantrum screaming fit... and he's cooled out now. I intend to keep it that way.
i think video games can be okay in moderation, but we have to carefully monitor the moderation factor. establishing simple and easily followable limits from the get-go is important. for example, i will sometimes say, "cade, you can play sega until i'm done doing the dishes" or "dylan, you can play your gameboy while i'm working out." then when i'm done with those tasks, they know they go away.
sometimes denying access to video games simply isn't possible. my kid watches a lot of TV and plays a lot of video games with his dad. and sometimes we mamas need those activities that will keep them entertained for a while, be it when we are sick, depressed, cabin fevered, have a deadline, homework, want to catch a nap, hungover, etc. from the outset we have to clarify that this is a special circumstance, and so as a reward for letting us have some alone time to do what we need to, they can play their video game for longer than we usually let them.
i'm glad aaron has recovered somewhat emily. i wish i had suggestions for you, but my standard tactic for tantruming children is to send them outside, but that may not be an option for you due to sickness and the weahter.
Some kids really can't handle it. I was that way with tv (hense us not having one until I was a freshman in highskool). They really, really can't deal with it.
I totally understand needing to use it sometimes, I use Blues Clues for the Zoemeister more often than I'd like to admit, but she can handle it. Sometimes you have to take it away.
yeah i think that i will just have to monitor him closely with the games, (only on the 'net, and only on my computer') and only allow him to play for an alotted time period, and perhaps in exchange for 'helping' me with small toddler-sized chores.
He is a good kid, but his behaviour has been a little out of control lately. I need to take some of the control back.
Yeah, you just have to watch it i would say. If i would let her, Laerin would watch TV nonstop all day. I am serious that sh eould do nothing else if i allowed it, but we have rules established and she knows that they are the rules. PERIOD! (exceptions made when she is ill and cant really do much else.) Like some of the other girls said, it should work if you put the limitation on it and he knows there is no exception. like, "you can play until this timer goes off and then you can play again tomorrow." or, "You get to play one game of mario today. Do you want to play now or later?" and if he flips about not playing it so much just tell him "this much or nothing" that works with Laerin. He may just be one of those kids that simply cannot handle not having it constantly and if that is the case I would say that you really won't be able to have the video games at all. However, I have noticed that most children (and it might take a day or two) can quickly adapt to the change in pace.