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AIBU?

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Original poster

Behaviour issues Fortnite

133 replies

NiftyShaker · 03/04/2025 20:44

Son plays a lot of Fortnite and behaviour around that time is awful.

It’s either fights with friends, or sad he has to come off it.

On the evenings he plays, we know there will be an issue afterwards and it’s very draining for everyone, including him I’m sure.

We also have general behaviour issues and meltdowns, more than the average boy his age.

He has gotten better during the game, letting more things go etc.

He already has limited time on it compared to his friends. He gets to play every other day and comes off at 7 to wind down. Most of his other friends play whenever they want, until late in the evening past his bedtime.

We are considering reducing his gameplay to once a week because these meltdowns really do take over the evening and we’ve had enough, and it’s clear this is not a healthy game for young boys to play. The issue is that all these friends chat online through mics when they are playing, so we are worried about isolating him from friends by reducing his gameplay time so drastically.

AIBU?

Has anyone else experienced similar and have advice of what worked for them?

OP posts:
Mazanna123 · 03/04/2025 21:20

I hated the fortnite stage. It's horrible watching your kid displaying addicted behaviours. Fortunately it didn't last long and he moved on to other games. Fortnite was the only game i saw have that effe t on him. I always had a no screens during the week rule and got him into extra curricular activities instead. There will be other parents feeling the same as you so you could keep fortnite for weekends only perhaps and allow other games during the week?

QforCucumber · 03/04/2025 21:08

How old is he? 7pm seems late on a school night but my son is 9, the switch shuts down at 6:30 and on weeknights he has no longer than an hour.

we’ve actually decided that Fortnite is no longer allowed during the week and he earns time on it for weekends but again it is limited and the chat function is off -may seem strict but it’s that or nothing as his attitude can be awful

HateThese4Leggedbeasts · 03/04/2025 21:08

We have similar issues. I was ready to throw the Xbox away over it at one point!!

DC now has to ask before starting and so I can give clear time limits on when it will be switched off, eg dinner will be in 40 mins so it will go off in 30 mins etc. He also knows if he only has 30 mins , it's down to him if he spends 20 mins bickering with his friends about how to team up. The time won't be extended.

All of the boys in his class play and interact on it so I won't ban Fortnite. However I have noticed recently my DC has started favouring other games like fifa as he's sick of the faffing/frustration that comes with Fortnite.

Myengagementring · 03/04/2025 21:05

Yes we had the same with Fortnite, we kept doing week long bans then DS finally saw how much his behaviour changed during and after playing it and deleted it himself.

PicaK · 03/04/2025 21:05

My son is autistic and we viewed him connecting with his friends as a good thing.
But in the run up to GCSEs I am really really regretting it. If I could turn back time I'd have been stricter.

minisoksmakehardwork · 03/04/2025 21:02

To be fair, DS1 also gets a little 'overexcited' playing other games. But the brief period he had Fortnite was much, much worse than any other. He chooses not to play it anymore, but originally was not allowed to play it until he reached the age rating. Even when all his then classmates were playing that and worse.

Seainasive · 03/04/2025 20:57

Completely recognisable. My DS used to get really frustrated and aggressive when he played fortnite. So glad he finally started to see it himself and moved on to other games!

minisoksmakehardwork · 03/04/2025 20:55

Yanbu when the impact on your home is so great.

We do continue to limit our children, even at 14, with time on gaming devices because one in particular really struggled to manage his time on them - would play all day if he was allowed.

He still sees his friends and they text and phone chat all the time when they are not in school - even when they're not gaming.

How old is he? Because that might make a difference to how he perceives the reduction in gameplay.