Good friends had a kid go off the rails. Realized he'd created a virtual alter-ego. Was planning to meet up with people in another state. He was 13. From what I recall the just had to sort of chain him to the radiator be took every thing away. Thus said it took about a year before he'd even look at them without hatred.

Never letting my littles play online. But, I think certain personalities are going to obsess over something. Video games Or otherwise.

The best way to avoid gaming addiction is to ensure the child is involved in plenty of activities outside the house.

Be careful. People on thus board are quick to say ADHD. Game addiction can affect anyone. Game programmers have to work hard to make their games as appealing as possible to make money so of course they are addictive. Just set time limits and enforce it.

With an incredible amount of effort, I managed to get acceptable grades on my high school exam (no SAT, because not in this country). I could not complete a very ambitious degree program at university, because I could not focus and multitask enough. I did do some grad school (but a different, easier field), and now in my 30s feel I know myself better and can manage all the different demands I have on my time (work, kids, house, etc). Since I had no treatment or help, it took a long time to learn how to cope on my own - I mostly struggle with organization and multitasking, and get anxious quickly if I feel overwhelmed. I steer clear of video games or any addictive substance (my parents smoke, I don't, for ex). My "addiction" is reading.

My ADHD is mild, since I managed to compensate until high school. My son has a more severe form, which is seriously affecting his elementary schooling. We are doing a full neuropsychological evaluation with Stixrud, a very reputable (and expensive!) psychology practice, in order to get a fuller picture of his learning style and needs, in view of starting medication.

Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm getting that sinking feeling about it . I fight it, like taking away the electronics or turn off the wi-fi and require daily athletic and/or academic activity. What do you guys do about it? I don't want to go the pill route as there has been no diagnosis and she's doing fine in school. It is such a battle though.

14:41 here. You mean you suspect ADHD?

Have your child evaluated before even thinking of medication - plenty of children with ADHD do fine in school for years because they find ways to compensate academically. One day, they might crash and burn (like I did in high school). ADHD affects the prefrontal cortex and impacts organizational skills (lose stuff, are messy), judgement (emotional and general immaturity), attention (too distracted and sometimes too focused). There are many behavioral and organizational checks/systems you could put in place before having to resort to meds, which have their own set of side-effects. You have to be very consistent with rules about video games. Not more than X minutes per day, or per weekend. My SIL does not allow video games at all during the school year, except for vacations! To teach your child self-control, you could have your child "earn" your trust (and being rewarded), by correctly regulating his video game time.

Described her to a "t". Sigh! Thanks for that. What happened after you crashed and burned and how did you overcome, if you don't mind my asking?

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm getting that sinking feeling about it . I fight it, like taking away the electronics or turn off the wi-fi and require daily athletic and/or academic activity. What do you guys do about it? I don't want to go the pill route as there has been no diagnosis and she's doing fine in school. It is such a battle though.

14:41 here. You mean you suspect ADHD?

Have your child evaluated before even thinking of medication - plenty of children with ADHD do fine in school for years because they find ways to compensate academically. One day, they might crash and burn (like I did in high school). ADHD affects the prefrontal cortex and impacts organizational skills (lose stuff, are messy), judgement (emotional and general immaturity), attention (too distracted and sometimes too focused). There are many behavioral and organizational checks/systems you could put in place before having to resort to meds, which have their own set of side-effects. You have to be very consistent with rules about video games. Not more than X minutes per day, or per weekend. My SIL does not allow video games at all during the school year, except for vacations! To teach your child self-control, you could have your child "earn" your trust (and being rewarded), by correctly regulating his video game time.

OP here. I'm getting that sinking feeling about it . I fight it, like taking away the electronics or turn off the wi-fi and require daily athletic and/or academic activity. What do you guys do about it? I don't want to go the pill route as there has been no diagnosis and she's doing fine in school. It is such a battle though.

You have to know your child's personality and family history in order to manage video games effectively.

Predisposition to addiction is mostly a hereditary trait, and linked to disorders such as ADHD, because people self-medicate. If there are alcoholics, gamblers, (prescription) drug abusers in your family, be aware that your video-playing child is at risk for addiction - of any kind. We are an ADHD family, so I carefully monitor the video games and try to teach my son self-awareness and self-control.

There are gamers who play 5 hours a day for years and are not addicts, because their brains are not built that way. I suppose those have good surgeon potential

A real video addiction leaves a person living the life of a shut-in. That is never good. Get help.

Anonymous wrote:http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4685909/ns/technology_and_science-games/t/surgeons-may-err-less-playing-video-games/

There was a big study that came out a few years ago showing video gamers were better surgeons. My kids love to tell me about this. Here is one of the stories.

There is a big difference between "gamers" and addicts.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4685909/ns/technology_and_science-games/t/surgeons-may-err-less-playing-video-games/

There was a big study that came out a few years ago showing video gamers were better surgeons. My kids love to tell me about this. Here is one of the stories.

Anonymous wrote:Studies show they become excellent surgeons.

Hopefully this is a sarcastic remark. I am a surgeon and an educator and under no circumstance do video game addicts become excellent surgeons. They usually do not have the academic record to even make it to medical school.

Anonymous wrote:Studies show they become excellent surgeons.

Except for the whole years of intense schooling thing.

Studies show they become excellent surgeons.

Question for parents of teens: Have you experienced long-term consequences to video game addiction among your kids or their friends?