Gorgeous weather, DS only intersted in PS2 and computer agh!

[Mumofagun]

What the hell do you do apart from pull the plug out and ban them TV, PS2, bloody computer based games etc. Anyone else falling foul of Club Penguin?! DS is 8. His mate was round. In the last few days with such lovely weather I have suggested bike rides, filled up a bing dinghy in the garden with water, told them they could plant plants (ok maybe boring), etc etc.. We do not live in an area where it is unsafe, it's quite urbany / rural, and they can roam about to an extent. What do I do, cos I feel like banning everything!!

[ilove]

I do ban screens. An hour a day in the holidays/weekends, banned on schooldays totally.

[ChippyMinton]

Rule here is 'no screens when the sun is out'. Cue some whinging but eventually they find something o do.

[mummymimi]

My DS1 (12) and DS2 (9) are the same, I wish we never bought the darn things!!! Over the weekend I have said a hour on and then a hour off, they actually seem to be happy with that. All this going into a zombie state in front of these games is so bad for them, esecially when the weather is great.

During the half term week they stayed on the games almost continuously and then as it started to get dark they would want to play outside in the garden

[endless]

i tell you what, this is why i will downright absolutely refuse pointblank to buy mine anything like this!

Feel VERY guilty about this sometimes but feel so justified when i talk to folk who say exsactly what you have said!

Mine is nearly 6 and luckily up tillnow has shown no interest in them...phew!

Numerous family and friends kids are obsessed and glued to them! The arguments and negotiating and bargaining that goes on in those houses to get them to part with them are just soul destroying.
We have enough rows in our house over tons of other stuff without throwing this into the pot as well.

Im glad that i have stuck to my guns on theis....but for how long?????

[Mumofagun]

Fallen into the lazy trap I'm afraid as DS is single child, I'm single mum and rely on a mate knocking for him. I work full time as well so, excuses, excuses. It's not been for that long but he's just really "got into" this computer lark. We never had anything a year or so back and I only made the computer available to him a couple of months back.

You are, right and I know it, but... when I said this afternoon.... come on, you can hose me, I thought it was the advent of a waterfight!! Instead he went back inside after two minutes and put a DVD on!

I'm not doing too good am I?

[southeastastra]

you could remind them that when they start work, they'll be looking at a computer most of the day like it or not

[mummymimi]

Schooldays I have decided to allow an hour, otherwise I get whinging and the old 'I'm bored' routine. At least they can have their games fix (sad isn't it) and then I can have some peace.

[Mumofagun]

You're not wrong southeastastra!! LOL. I got them to go out on their bikes, ooh, for all of two minutes, once round the block then it was , I'm bored!

[Mumofagun]

I know, I'm Soo with you there, but before all the Hi-tech stuff he was brilliant with Lego, transformers, drawing blah, blah blah... Now he is only vaguely interested that has any connection at all to cartoon bloody Network, Club Penguin or Bakogun Battle bloody Brawlers!! It's all pants!

[mummymimi]

When I was a kid I would be out in the garden making mud pies and watching my brothers play army with sticks for guns!! God I sound old.

[endless]

So i am doing the right thing then arent i? By just not going down that route, holding off for as long as possible not purchasing competery things.

he is an only too.
But he has very little interest in telly either.
Doesnt know who Ben 10 is when we went to a party and the cake was Ben 10 he asked me who it was
But we are a very active family (CANNOT ubderstand why i have got such a huge fat ass tbh)
So maybe he never will get the puter bug??possibly???

Cant make him too different to his peers though, or else he will get bullied, and may miss out on important early IT skills eh?

AAAAHHH jeez, you cant do right for wrong can you

[Mumofagun]

I have, on occasion, surrepticiously "blocked" access to the childrens channels!!!!! I am now considering a major fault with the PS2!! Problem is, after so long of "I'm bored, no I don't want to do my homework, or read a "nice" book (I sound old!), and I'm trying to get abit of tidying up done, I give in!!

[random]

My 16 year old ds actually sat in the garden with his laptop today

[Mumofagun]

Oh endless, I was like you! What went wrong!! Hold off as long as you can. I thought I did well till he was 7. But yes, kids thought he was from a bit of a strange upbringing and he did get sad . My fault now for not making firmer groundrules.

[listenglisten]

Well my ds and dd would rather be out kicking a football around but want me to play as well. Kicked the ball with no shoes on yesterday on the patio and ripped the top of my toe off! Spent two hours in A&E and had a tetanus too - oowww

If you ask me, TV and computer games etc sound so much safer

[Mumofagun]

Random, that made me LOl cos last year I took him on his first abroad holiday. It was 40 degrees and he was sat on his sunbed, next to the pool, under an umberella with two towels over his head so he could "see the screen" of his DS!!!

[mummymimi]

I think you are doing the right thing, I wish I'd held off a bit longer. Although DS2 (9) has only become interested in the last year, last summer he would spend every possible momment outside. The trouble is peer pressure and wanting to fit in, I always get the 'such and such has got one and can play it for as long as he/she likes'.

It also doesn't help that DH is a XBOX lover

[endless]

my mind was made up for me by my 2 nephews who were fun and active who now grunt at us as we walk into the room.
Do not even look in our direction, no converstaion, sit stuffing crisps in, while furiously prodding at a machine.

its not natural for a 7 year old to be like that is it,

[random]

yes ds was moaning he couldn't see the screen

[Mumofagun]

Ouch, that's dedication to the entertaining cause. The season is finished now, just tell them that for another few weeks and let your toes heal!

[PortBlacksandResident]

My DS2 is addicted to the Wii - but what can i say to him? "Oh DS2 - don't spend some of a lovely summer's day on the wii - go out and run around and enjoy it - i shall join you when i've stopped MNing i'm an addict too.

[endless]

on the flip side because we dont have anything like that at our house, when nephews come to play they run around like something possessed, having a great time. trampolining, playing with toys and playing footy in the garden...all that pent up energy unleashed!

[Mumofagun]

Endless, I can honestly say, stick it out for as long as you can.

Random, we need to think of a business case for some sort of screen device which filters the sun to let the bloody kids still seed their screens outside. We'd be millionnaires!!

[Mumofagun]

• PBSR, good point, but no sun here now. I couldn't sit on the computer on a day off of work when the sun was out!

[janeite]

We gave in and let dd2 buy a DS last year with her 11th birthday money. We got a Wii two Christmases ago as a family present, that is played AS a family. My view is that you 'give in' and let them have one whenever you choose but that you are the parent and it's up to you when/how often they are allowed to play with them.