Gaming addicted teen, College work suffering big time!

[weltweit]

My 16 year old son is addicted to PC gaming, WOW especially, and various others, also just spending hours on end skyping and or facebooking his mates. Normally this would not matter but he is now seriously behind on his 6th form school work, to such an extent he may well completely fail his AS exams and get booted out of college.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Teenage Cthulhu]

Unplug the router or change the password on it.

 

[weepiper]

Change the router password daily. Only give it to him when he's done an appropriate amount of work.

 

[weltweit]

Unplug the router or change the password on it.

Change the router password daily. Only give it to him when he's done an appropriate amount of work.

Would you do this with a 16 year old?
His mum (He lives with his mum) has turned off the router sometimes, he goes ballistic ..

 

[Teenage Cthulhu]

I know when I was 16 the only thing that would stop me playing COD would be having no internet access. Might be wise to remove the SIM from his phone too.

 

[Gromit]

Wow pretty much cost me a relationship.

Others I knew had lost jobs over it or bombed out of university.

Others stayed unemployed because wow became more important than searching for work.

I advise cold turkey. None of this rationing shit. Wow is soul suckingly evil.

 

[Gromit]

Play him the South Park Warcraft episode.

It's horrendously close to the bone but true.

 

[Steel Icarus]

Yeah, as Weeps says, make him earn his gaming time, whatever ratio you think is best. When work is done (and checked!) he can go online. And remind him it's only for about four more months.

 

[weltweit]

I know when I was 16 the only thing that would stop me playing COD would be having no internet access. Might be wise to remove the SIM from his phone too.

He also has a phone and a kindle, he can facebook on his kindle...

 

[Steel Icarus]

N

He also has a phone and a kindle, he can facebook on his kindle...

Not if it's in your pocket.

 

[weltweit]

Not if it's in your pocket.

Part of the issue is that I am not there, his mum and I are separated, she will have to actually do whatever is decided on a daily basis .. she is already at her wits end.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

This is difficult. it's probably best to consider the game a symptom rather than a cause however.

Extra credits did an interesting video on this. part two and three may be more interesting to you the first one is ,more about younger children

 

[weltweit]

For some of his college work he needs to access the college's VLE, i.e. he needs to be able to go online. It should be manageable though, he can go on later.

 

[Teenage Cthulhu]

He also has a phone and a kindle, he can facebook on his kindle...

Not if there's no internet connection he can't!

Even if you say to him that he'll fail college and it could have knock on effects later in life he won't listen. he is 16. I never listened to any advice from people who knew better at that age.

Yet I suppose that is how you learn.

 

[weltweit]

Not if there's no internet connection he can't!

Even if you say to him that he'll fail college and it could have knock on effects later in life he won't listen. he is 16. I never listened to any advice from people who knew better at that age.

So you believe we have to disable net access. I am not against it, if it has to be done to get him to do his school work then it has to be done.

Yet I suppose that is how you learn.

Painful lesson being chucked out of college to shelf stack, when he is a bright kid.

 

[weltweit]

Play him the South Park Warcraft episode.

It's horrendously close to the bone but true.

What is this thing of which you write?

 

[Teenage Cthulhu]

Well I don't know your son but I do know my dad had to remove the main wire from the telephone socket. I was addicted and I had a problem.

Even now I find it very easy to zone out into my laptop and spend 10 hours on reddit.

Good luck, there's going to be fireworks!

 

[cesare]

Painful lesson being chucked out of college to shelf stack, when he is a bright kid.

Oh, ha ha ha. Not trolling much, no.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

It's over simplistic to just say turn off the internet. sure maybe some limniting will be needed but just doing that will turen you in to the enamy and may stop you talking with the person and working out why they are spending so much time lost in games and the internet

 

[weltweit]

I suppose I am worried that if there is no net connection at home he may just go back to a mates place and play there. The objective is to get him to go home to do his college work. He is very behind on one subject and it will take a lot of work to get back on track.

 

[weltweit]

Oh, ha ha ha. Not trolling much, no.

Sorry, genuinely don't know what you are on about.

 

[weltweit]

It's over simplistic to just say turn off the internet. sure maybe some limniting will be needed but just doing that will turen you in to the enamy and may stop you talking with the person and working out why they are spending so much time lost in games and the internet

Oh I know WOW is a compulsion. A couple of years ago we were with slightly older cousins and they asked my son what games he was playing, WOW he replied and they said ok kiss the next three years goodbye!

 

[cesare]

Sorry, genuinely don't know what you are on about.

Well if you genuinely don't know you can safely ignore it eh.

 

[weltweit]

Well if you genuinely don't know you can safely ignore it eh.

If you don't explain yourself, I will have to.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Oh I know WOW is a compulsion. A couple of years ago we were with slightly older cousins and they asked my son what games he was playing, WOW he replied and they said ok kiss the next three years goodbye!

Any game that has that that kins of community pressure is particularly bad

 

[Teenage Cthulhu]

If you don't explain yourself, I will have to.

They're saying that stacking shelves in a supermarket is no gauge of success or worth or academic ability.

 

[cesare]

They're saying that stacking shelves in a supermarket is no gauge of success or worth or academic ability.

Plus that anyone using supermarket jobs as a benchmark for success or worth or academic ability is a cunt; or a troll if they've been reading the other thread.

 

[Teenage Cthulhu]

There was a teacher at school who used to say to the class, "if you don't stick in you will work for the council".

"But sir, aren't you employed by the council?"
"OUT!"

 

[cesare]

There was a teacher at school who used to say to the class, "if you don't stick in you will work for the council".

"But sir, aren't you employed by the council?"
"OUT!"

 

[weltweit]

They're saying that stacking shelves in a supermarket is no gauge of success or worth or academic ability.

Plus that anyone using supermarket jobs as a benchmark for success or worth or academic ability is a cunt; or a troll if they've been reading the other thread.

I have no idea about another thread. I think my kid is bright and *could* go places, I do think if he ends up on minimum wage at age 16 with no options, I and his mum will have somehow failed him.
He got good GCSEs, but now things seem to have gone pair shaped.