My son has been asking for a gaming PC for months. All his friends have one and he wants to play Fortnite and Minecraft with them after school. I'm worried about screen time addiction but also don't want him to feel left out. We already limit him to an hour on weekdays. If we get him a PC, should we restrict it more or is that fighting a losing battle? Anyone else deal with this?
I'd say start with something cheaper like a decent laptop that can run games. See if he actually uses it consistently for a few months. If he does and you feel good about it, upgrade later. You don't want to drop major money on something that becomes a dust collector.
Fortnite is huge at that age. Just make sure you're not just handing him a PC without talking about screen time limits and what games are actually appropriate. That's the real question more than the hardware cost.
The 'all his friends have one' thing is real and it sucks. But here's the thing - a gaming PC is a commitment from you too because you need to monitor it and set healthy limits. If you're not ready for that, it's too much.
Nine is getting to that age where they can handle it responsibly if you set it up right. The 'all his friends have one' argument is eternal though. I'd say if you go for it, build in some structure from day one about when he can use it.
This is the tough one. My oldest wants the same thing because all his friends have one. I've been thinking about it being more of a shared family thing rather than just his, if that makes sense. Set some boundaries upfront about gaming time and what's off limits.
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Gaming PC is legitimately expensive and you need to think about whether the money is actually worth it. What's the budget he's asking for? Also Fortnite can be fine but you need real screen time rules set up first.
We did this with our oldest and set up really clear rules about homework first, then gaming. The PC is in the living room not his bedroom, so we can see what he's actually doing. Sounds restrictive but it honestly works.