My 12 year old is obsessed. Won't put the controller down, ignores homework, skips dinner sometimes because he's grinding. I finally took the PS5 away for a week and he acted like I killed his dog. My wife says I'm being too harsh but I feel like I'm watching him disappear into a screen. We've tried time limits but he just sneaks it. How are other dads handling this? Is it just getting worse as they get older?
The skipping dinner thing would have sent me over the edge too. We use gaming as a reward after homework and chores are done, not before. Might be worth having a real conversation about why he's so into it when things settle down.
You did the right thing taking it away. I had to do the same with my oldest when Fortnite was taking over everything. Set clear boundaries on gaming time and make homework and family dinner non-negotiable first. Took a few weeks but he adjusted.
The homework and meal skipping is the real problem here. You might need to set some hard boundaries on screen time - like no Fortnite until homework is done and dinner is eaten. It's rough at first but it works.
This hits different when it starts affecting their grades and health. Have you talked to him about why he's so into it? Sometimes understanding the draw helps more than just shutting it down.
Skipping dinner is a big red flag. Maybe make that the hill you die on? Like, controller comes off at dinner time no matter what. Everything else is negotiable but not meals and homework.
This is the digital parenting nightmare right here. At 12 he's old enough to understand consequences but still young enough to ignore them completely. Have you tried hard limits with no negotiation?
12 is such a tough age for this stuff. My niece went through the exact same thing. Her parents took the controller away completely for two weeks and reset expectations. It actually worked.
12 is such a tough age for this stuff. Have you tried setting specific gaming windows? Like he can play after dinner and homework but that's it. Helped my kids when they were that age.
Yeah man I feel this. My nephew is the same way. The skipping meals part would be my line in the sand. You gotta eat with the family, games can wait.
The homework part would drive me insane. We had to go nuclear with screen time rules because it was affecting school performance. You might need to confiscate it for a bit until grades/attitude improve.
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Hang in there, this is tough but you're handling it right. I've found that letting them earn gaming time back through good behavior and completed responsibilities works better than just keeping it locked away forever.