COD4 Addicted Kids

[DISNEY1975]

I just saw another thread about XBOX and was wondering if anyone else out there has a teen who has spent the majority of the summer (actually year) playing COD4?

Mine has been playing for a year. Good thing he is involved in a lot of sports after school, but any free moment he has is being spent in the basement, when a year ago, you couldnt find him at home. He was always out with friends.

 

[edandcolleen1995]

How old?

Sorry but there is a point where you don't need to be his friend, but a parent and kick his butt outside.

Now if he is 23 or something, well make him get a job instead!

 

[DISNEY1975]

He's 15. It was about an hour a day/weekdays and about 4 hours per day on weekends while school was in session. Since the summer, he has been home with his older brother and every day I come home from work and he's in the basement. I didnt realize how bad it was until the beginning of August, when he spent most of July playing. I told him to enjoy it now because he only has 2 weeks left to play, then there will be limits. Im hoping and praying that when he goes back to school and gets in the swing of afterschool / weekend activities again (he's on 4 basketball teams, volleyball team, baseball team) this will be under control, but Ive heard horror stories about how addicting this COD4 game is.

 

[edandcolleen1995]

They have parental controls you can put on the consoles to control access.

So set him up with a limit of say 2 hours a day or something.

Good chores etc gains him more time. Reverse if something is bad.

But to be blunt YOU are the parent here.

 

[LuvOrlando]

They have parental controls you can put on the consoles to control access.

So set him up with a limit of say 2 hours a day or something.

Good chores etc gains him more time. Reverse if something is bad.

But to be blunt YOU are the parent here.

I walk in and turn it off but I would prefer the finality of a timer, like we have with our MAC. At the moment our 360 is at Microsoft because we got a 3rd case of the red rings but when it comes back I'd like to set up the time limits. Is it complicated to set up the timer? Could you give me a starting point? I am a techie spaz so please don't gloss over stuff a 'normal' person would know... I won't know it

Speaking of X-Box 360, I REALLY wish there was the option to put LIVE multi-player conversations on Speaker. As it is if the whole room can listen the player can't speak and in order for the player to speak you must use headphones. What a knuckle headed set-up

 

[java]

My 15 year old plays a couple times a week. He is big into counterstrike right now- *on the computer. Playing with friends from school.

 

[maelstrom]

I'm just curious... WHY are parents so worried about their kids playing video games, whether it's something "violent" like Call of Duty of just something fairly milquetoast like The Sims. Why MAKE them go outside? What are they supposed to do? Maybe they don't want to go outside. Maybe they like videogames. I'm 23. I was never an outdoorsy girl. I liked my computer games. Know what I'd do if you stuck me outside? Scream and carry on about bugs. That's not really doing anything for your kid either. After high school, sure, press the job issue. But on their days/times off, or if they're still in school and just on summer vacation, really, why are you worrying about the video games? Let them be boring mundane adults when they are adults.

 

[luvsJack]

I wouldn't worry so much about it unless he starts skipping practice and other stuff to play the video game.

My oldest played every sport but especially baseball. They practiced just about year round. The video games were like a stress reliever for him. He loved/s baseball but as the player that the coach depended on the most, it was a lot of stress on him. If he had started taking time away from practice or not running every day or any of the things he did for sports to play the video games, then maybe I would have put the skids on it; but that was never the case. I don't see the worry. There are not many 15 year old's that want to "go outside and play".

 

[The Mystery Machine]

He's 15. It was about an hour a day/weekdays and about 4 hours per day on weekends while school was in session. Since the summer, he has been home with his older brother and every day I come home from work and he's in the basement. I didnt realize how bad it was until the beginning of August, when he spent most of July playing. I told him to enjoy it now because he only has 2 weeks left to play, then there will be limits. Im hoping and praying that when he goes back to school and gets in the swing of afterschool / weekend activities again (he's on 4 basketball teams, volleyball team, baseball team) this will be under control, but Ive heard horror stories about how addicting this COD4 game is.

As a gamer, you have to set limits. My dd's vice is the computer.

I require certain things to be done and she meets them, she gets her computer time.

So far she is doing what she is supposed to.