My son has been asking for a gaming PC for months now. All his friends have one and he says he's being left out. I'm torn because I don't want him staring at a screen 24/7 but I also remember being a kid and feeling like the odd one out. We've set screen time limits before but he usually pushes back. Anyone else dealing with this? What's reasonable for his age?
My rule has always been earning it helps. Maybe he does chores, saves allowance, meets certain grades and then you co-own it for the first year? That way it means something to him and you're still involved in what he's doing on it. Just a thought.
I'm in the same boat with my 11yo right now. The 'all my friends have one' argument is real but also the oldest trick in the book. I set up some boundaries - he can use the family PC for gaming but no personal machine yet. Pushed the conversation to 13, and honestly he's been fine with it once I explained the why instead of just saying no.
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Gaming PCs are expensive and honestly I think 11 is still pretty young for that kind of independence. What about a console with parental controls first? You get the gaming without the full computer access. My kids wanted the same thing and a PS5 with screen time limits has been a good middle ground.