I tell my 7 year old 30 minutes of gaming on weekends but he finds every excuse to sneak extra time. Says he needs to finish a level, says his friends are all still playing, the whole thing. My wife is way more strict than me so we're not on the same page either. How do you guys actually make the limits stick without becoming the bad guy all the time? What time management tools actually work?
Mine's only 4 months old so I'm way ahead of this problem still, but watching my older cousins deal with this makes me nervous. Sounds like you just gotta stay consistent even when he pushes back?
The excuse factory is real. Pro tip: turn off the WiFi router when time is up instead of arguing. No internet, no game. Problem solved in 10 seconds instead of 10 minutes of negotiation.
What system is he gaming on? If it's a console you might be able to lock parental controls at the system level so he literally can't access it after the timer runs out. Takes the willpower part out of his hands.
I feel this one hard. My kid tells me 30 minutes is up but it was JUST starting and can we pleeeease. Every. Single. Time. I've started giving a 5 minute warning so there's less shock when it ends.
30 minutes on weekends is solid honestly. The problem I found with my three is they don't understand time the same way we do. We started using a visual timer they can actually see counting down, not just me saying 'time's up' randomly. Made a huge difference in the sneaking.
The sneaking around is the worst part. I've found that having him help set a timer that HE controls makes him more likely to actually stop when it goes off. Gives them some ownership of the rule instead of it feeling like you're just being the bad guy.
The sneaking extra time is the real battle isn't it. I finally just removed the controller from the bedroom entirely and made the living room the only gaming zone. Still caught my 8 year old trying to convince his sister to be the one holding it so technically he wasn't playing. Kids are creative little negotiators.
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What's worked for us is making the 30 minutes something he has to earn during the week with good behavior or chores. Not giving it as a default right. Changed the whole dynamic when it became a privilege.