Overcoming Computer/Video Game Addiction
May 4th, 2009 / 4 Comments
Why are kids so addicted to computer and video games? Can’t they see it’s a waste of time?
In today’s podcast, we will hear – from kid’s point of view – why they play hours on end.
My guest is my friend Dan Sutoyo. He’s been a serious gamer for over 10 years. He recently quit playing, and lives to tell it!
Dan gives us a perspective of computer and video games from our children’s perspective – what’s so fun about it, why it’s so hard to quit, and what parents can do to help their children.
If after listening to this podcast you still have questions about your child, Dan has generously given permission for you or your child to email him for extra help. His email is dsutoyo [at] gmail [dot] com.
I also recommend a great tool called TimesUpKidz. It’s developed by a dad with 2 boys, you can read about it on my post “Get Your Kids Off the Computer Without Nagging.” Yes, it is possible to do it without nagging!
Click below to listen to my interview with Dan. (Revised – 05/08/09)
Comments
Sorry I’m so late to listening to this… I think Dan’s point about making the home environment stimulating and interesting is a fantastic point. Too often we parents have left the kids to look after themselves then wonder why they gravitate to something like the xbox. Well, it’s certainly more interesting that watching grass grow!
At the same time, one of the things we could add on to this point is teaching the kids to make their own fun in other ways. We had a summer with a list on the fridge-door: What To Do When My COmputer Time is UP (or something like that), where when they were bored and had no more gaming time left, I could just send them to the list to choose something. Eventually they learned to take responsiblity for their “boredom”.
Thanks Dan, thanks Katy, great conversation!
I deffinately thinks kids spend to much time on video games and computers. But I don’t think parents should rid of them all together. I believe gaming and internet can be done in moderation, and that’s best in my opinion. I’m 14, and I write for a parenting blog called Radical Parenting. (Radicalparenting.com) Feel free to check it out. We have a great guest post on this topic as well. Here you go. http://www.radicalparenting.com/2010/04/04/tips-for-healthy-video-gaming-guest-post/
Hey Dana, thanks for commenting!
I actually wrote a guest post for Vanessa at Radical Parenting about teaching children the proper use of social networking sites. I definitely agree with you.
http://www.radicalparenting.com/2008/02/14/a-parents-perspective-to-social-networking-guest-post/
You can’t listen to this podcast because the file has been moved from “http://www.aiparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/Overcoming%20Game%20Addiction.mp3” to http://www.aiparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/podpress/Overcoming%20Game%20Addiction.mp3.
To listen to any podcast on this site, just go to direct download, then change the URL to have the /podpress/ directory in it.
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