If your teen is a well-rounded, kind, confident, independent kid...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:20:42, Keep up the good fight! You are not too harsh at all. You are the parent, and you set the rules. Our family rules were similar to yours until my husband bought my teenagers an xbox, and I do think the family tone has deteriorated significantly as a result. We fight a lot about time limits. I continue to struggle with the question whether teaching moderation is more important -- it sure is harder.

OP here. What happened after buying the XBox?

I get pressure from my kids to buy them the Wii, and the are in the first years of elem. school! So far, I have said, no, no, no, but I'm wondering if I'm being too strict.

What has happened is lots of arguing, back talk, and eye rolling about what is a "reasonable" amount of time. They read less and have less incentive to find creative ways to entertain themselves. I have to remember to collect the remotes and hide them every day so that I can leave the house without them playing more than they're supposed to. It's the only thing on which I have not been able to trust them. Fortunately they are great students, so it has not affected their grades, but I think they might make more of an effort to be involved in extra curricular activities if they did not have this built in form of amusement at home.

I don't know about the Wii. It seems a lot less "addicting" than Xbox (my kids had no interest in one), at least for older kids. But I think until good reading and study habits are in place, I wouldn't add this major distraction to the equation if your kids, like mine, are the type that get obsessive over things. If your kids can take or leave it, and don't "have" to play every day, I don't think it is a problem, and can be a fun thing to do with friends when they come over.