Ds enjoys little other than electronics.

[LittleMissSunbeam]

Hi to you all reading this, I really hope I might find someone in a similar situation who is or has been going through this.

My son has always enjoyed some computer time but sadly now it appears to be the only thing he is interested in. In the past he would enjoy arts and crafts, board games, going for walks, days out and having friends over but now he wants to do little else other than play Roblox / Minecraft and watch bizarre YouTube videos. Currently we have a rule of no screen time before 5pm, which replaced a timed rule but his whole days are spent counting down the hours to 5pm.

We have a house full of musical instruments, games, craft materials, lovely big garden, parents and sister willing to play but he is more than reluctant to do anything other than listen to Harry Potter on audible. Previously if I dragged him out he would enjoy it. Now he makes all of our lives uncomfortable if we go anywhere, with his constant moaning and attitude. He has also stopped socialising out of school. We used to have friends over but he won't invite anyone anymore (I even offered to throw a summer sleep over for him and a group of friends).

I've tried making him go cold turkey with no electronics to allow him to rediscover other interests. I've tried allowing him to regulate his own screen time as to take away the novelty factor but nothing has worked and I am at a dead end.

If anyone is or has been in the same boat, I would love to hear from you to swap strategies and for some moral support!!

[LittleMissSunbeam]

Is there really nobody in the same boat?

[WeaselsKingHenry]

We kind of are. DS is 7 and utterly addicted to his Kindle Fire - mainly Minecraft but also Angry Birds, Sonic etc. He has mild ASD and struggles to socialise.

If he could, he would play on it all day. We do limit time on it (and "forget" to charge it) but the consequent moaning can become very annoying. He's OK once we do drag him out for a visit somewhere but as soon as we return home he's nagging for it again.

We're still working out how to handle it all.... he likes the predictability and security that computer games offer (much easier than dealing with real people) and he's very good at them. But we don't want it to become a place he hides, IYSWIM.

[LittleMissSunbeam]

Thanks for your reply Weaselskinghenry My ds also used to enjoy activities once out and about but now he's 12 things have changed I also believe he is somewhere on the autistic spectrum, as did CAMHS but he refuses to engage in any help. Feeling secure in his games makes sense but I know in the long term they are no good in large doses.