How many hours does your 10th graders play computer games every day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids usually finish after school activities and homework by 10 pm. What they do with their time after that is up to them. I'm totally fine if they game on line with friends. At least it's social.

Lights out by 11 for 9th-10th, with consequences for disrupting our sleep if they stay up too late. Once they are juniors, who are responsible drivers or 18-year-old seniors who will be off to college in less than a year, we suggest to them that more sleep is better, as they already know. But college kids need to know how to stay up late and still function at school. Second semester senior year is not a bad time to figure that out.

Getting school work done and getting up and out to school on time are bright lines with household consequences. But a 16-year-old sophomore should be managing this sleep thing on their own.

Back when we were in high school this made sense. Now it’s kind of negligent if your kid is addicted to technology

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD doesn't play video games, is it gender related maybe? She does go on Instagram...

How sexist. My girls play video games. And view instagram. Your dd does not represent all girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD doesn't play video games, is it gender related maybe? She does go on Instagram...

How sexist. My girls play video games. And view instagram. Your dd does not represent all girls.

Instead of hurling a label at the poster, try something like “No, I don’t think it’s gender related.” Then post a link with useful info. Inflammatory posts are useless and only serve to make people defensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a new thing. My friends and I played games late at night even in the 1990s. Studies show that kids who play a lot of video games are actually better socially/cognitively adapted on average. However, when it starts interfering with school work or sleep then you have a problem. Rather than disciplining screen time for the sake of itself, I discipline based on grades and sleep. You must be in bed by a certain hour so I take all screens at that time. If grades are bad, screens/allowance goes away.

+1 I prefer video game to what kids were doing in our neighborhood in the 80s -- climbing out the window and meeting in the woods to drink, etc. I'm grateful my kids' worst vice is a late night game of Smash Bros.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids usually finish after school activities and homework by 10 pm. What they do with their time after that is up to them. I'm totally fine if they game on line with friends. At least it's social.

Lights out by 11 for 9th-10th, with consequences for disrupting our sleep if they stay up too late. Once they are juniors, who are responsible drivers or 18-year-old seniors who will be off to college in less than a year, we suggest to them that more sleep is better, as they already know. But college kids need to know how to stay up late and still function at school. Second semester senior year is not a bad time to figure that out.

Getting school work done and getting up and out to school on time are bright lines with household consequences. But a 16-year-old sophomore should be managing this sleep thing on their own.

Back when we were in high school this made sense. Now it’s kind of negligent if your kid is addicted to technology

Of course, if you have a child with an addiction, your problems and parenting issues will be unique to your situation and require professional assistance. I'm not a professional giving advice on how to handle addiction. I have no experience with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a new thing. My friends and I played games late at night even in the 1990s. Studies show that kids who play a lot of video games are actually better socially/cognitively adapted on average. However, when it starts interfering with school work or sleep then you have a problem. Rather than disciplining screen time for the sake of itself, I discipline based on grades and sleep. You must be in bed by a certain hour so I take all screens at that time. If grades are bad, screens/allowance goes away.

+1 I prefer video game to what kids were doing in our neighborhood in the 80s -- climbing out the window and meeting in the woods to drink, etc. I'm grateful my kids' worst vice is a late night game of Smash Bros.

Very much +1. When my kid has free time, he's online. He knows that if he stays up too late, he'll be tired and cranky the next day, so he makes sure he gets what he considers enough sleep. But he loves games and is good at them. He also gets straight As (to be fair, it's 8th grade, not Harvard), plays team sports, and is generally amenable to spending time with family offline. I'm not going to tell him how to spend his free time -- he's doing what he loves to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD doesn't play video games, is it gender related maybe? She does go on Instagram...

How sexist. My girls play video games. And view instagram. Your dd does not represent all girls.

Please be honest- a lot more boys play than girls. It is a real addiction.

[Anonymous]

Coming from someone who played way too many video games in the 90s and '00s, do your kids a favor and kick their asses outside. It's not worth it.

(And don't get me started on social media - there's a reason parents working for SV tech companies have a tendency to not let their kids near that stuff...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a new thing. My friends and I played games late at night even in the 1990s. Studies show that kids who play a lot of video games are actually better socially/cognitively adapted on average. However, when it starts interfering with school work or sleep then you have a problem. Rather than disciplining screen time for the sake of itself, I discipline based on grades and sleep. You must be in bed by a certain hour so I take all screens at that time. If grades are bad, screens/allowance goes away.

+1 I prefer video game to what kids were doing in our neighborhood in the 80s -- climbing out the window and meeting in the woods to drink, etc. I'm grateful my kids' worst vice is a late night game of Smash Bros.

Very much +1. When my kid has free time, he's online. He knows that if he stays up too late, he'll be tired and cranky the next day, so he makes sure he gets what he considers enough sleep. But he loves games and is good at them. He also gets straight As (to be fair, it's 8th grade, not Harvard), plays team sports, and is generally amenable to spending time with family offline. I'm not going to tell him how to spend his free time -- he's doing what he loves to do.

+3 His free time is his free time. DS gets straight As, plays sports everyday, has hobbies that he does at a high level and goes to bed by 11 during the week. I am not going to dictate his free time. My parents tried to dictate my tv watching when I was growing up. Why? It was just stupid and I did well enough to go to an Ivy League college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD doesn't play video games, is it gender related maybe? She does go on Instagram...

How sexist. My girls play video games. And view instagram. Your dd does not represent all girls.

Please be honest- a lot more boys play than girls. It is a real addiction.

Stop throwing around the word "addiction" for what is a pass time for most. Most kids spend more time at literally every other thing they do, and yet none of those activities are called "addictions."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD doesn't play video games, is it gender related maybe? She does go on Instagram...

How sexist. My girls play video games. And view instagram. Your dd does not represent all girls.

Please be honest- a lot more boys play than girls. It is a real addiction.

Stop throwing around the word "addiction" for what is a pass time for most. Most kids spend more time at literally every other thing they do, and yet none of those activities are called "addictions."

Read about tech addiction and the signs of it. Your are probably addicted too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD doesn't play video games, is it gender related maybe? She does go on Instagram...

How sexist. My girls play video games. And view instagram. Your dd does not represent all girls.

Please be honest- a lot more boys play than girls. It is a real addiction.

Stop throwing around the word "addiction" for what is a pass time for most. Most kids spend more time at literally every other thing they do, and yet none of those activities are called "addictions."

Read about tech addiction and the signs of it. Your are probably addicted too.

Lol! If you can function well without issues including playing video games, you get to keep doing whatever you’re doing.

It’s like recovering alcoholics telling everyone to not drink.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD doesn't play video games, is it gender related maybe? She does go on Instagram...

How sexist. My girls play video games. And view instagram. Your dd does not represent all girls.

Please be honest- a lot more boys play than girls. It is a real addiction.

Stop throwing around the word "addiction" for what is a pass time for most. Most kids spend more time at literally every other thing they do, and yet none of those activities are called "addictions."

Read about tech addiction and the signs of it. Your are probably addicted too.

Lol! If you can function well without issues including playing video games, you get to keep doing whatever you’re doing.

It’s like recovering alcoholics telling everyone to not drink.

Yes, but unlike alcoholic beverages, modern games and social media are designed and tested to be addictive, or as is more politely said in the industry - designed to maximize user engagement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD doesn't play video games, is it gender related maybe? She does go on Instagram...

How sexist. My girls play video games. And view instagram. Your dd does not represent all girls.

Please be honest- a lot more boys play than girls. It is a real addiction.

Stop throwing around the word "addiction" for what is a pass time for most. Most kids spend more time at literally every other thing they do, and yet none of those activities are called "addictions."

Read about tech addiction and the signs of it. Your are probably addicted too.

Lol! If you can function well without issues including playing video games, you get to keep doing whatever you’re doing.

It’s like recovering alcoholics telling everyone to not drink.

Yes, but unlike alcoholic beverages, modern games and social media are designed and tested to be addictive, or as is more politely said in the industry - designed to maximize user engagement.

Alcohol and drugs are psychologically and physically addictive too - designed by nature…. But not everyone is addicted. Preaching everyone is addicted and should quit is obnoxious. Why should a kid who gets good grades, sports, etc stop playing video games, not be on social media, etc and live like a Luddite?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Alcohol and drugs are psychologically and physically addictive too - designed by nature…. But not everyone is addicted. Preaching everyone is addicted and should quit is obnoxious. Why should a kid who gets good grades, sports, etc stop playing video games, not be on social media, etc and live like a Luddite?

Many reasons… For example: WSJ: Teen Girls Are Still Getting TikTok-Related Tics—and Other Disorders

You’re not a Luddite if you don’t spend copious amount of time playing video games, social media, etc. We should be encouraging in person interaction, not isolation. If getting everyone together is being a Luddite, so be it.