Am I a strict, unreasonable mum to 15 year old DS?

158 replies

echinaceaberry · 26/12/2025 08:08

NC'd for this.

I wrote a long post and then thought, all I want to ask is: what is reasonable amount of time for a 15 year to be gaming in his room on non school days?

It is the endless war in our house and I'm really depressed by it, by how I'm made out to be over challenging it.

OP posts:

W0tnow · 26/12/2025 08:14

I can’t really remember. He’s 18 and at uni now and doing well. But I do recall removing his gaming computer entirely for many, many months after his GCSEs. I don’t feel like I ever got it really right. Leaving him to his own devices didn’t work because he simple did not regulate. He didn’t really play sport so there was no real outdoor activity and he’d not leave the house the entire weekend given the choice. During A levels iirc there was none allowed mon-thurs.

openthewindoweveryday · 26/12/2025 08:14

As a PP said, when my son was this age he could definitely clock up 4 or 5 hours on some days off but I was fine with this because of the bigger picture. Some days it would be 0 hours - he was very sporty, very confident and outgoing, played a lot of football and had a very wide group of friends who he ‘played out’ with often. All of this meant that it didn’t concern me too much on a Saturday when he’d perhaps play from about 6pm after dinner till 10pm! What’s the bigger picture looking like for you OP?

3luckystars · 26/12/2025 08:13

unless you line something else up for them to do for 12 hours every day, it’s going to be hard to stop it. I hate gaming but to them it’s like watching tv.

TokyoSushi · 26/12/2025 08:13

Honestly I just leave him to it (DS 14.5 Yr10) He goes to football training and matches, sees friends, is doing fine at school, it’s not always an ideal level but it is what it is, not worth causing a load of hassle over.

curious79 · 26/12/2025 08:13

This generation are literally rewriting their brains. No kid should be doing 4.5hrs a day on a gaming console, even if it is the holidays. It’s difficult to undo though when that’s been allowed to become the habit

Lindaisonit · 26/12/2025 08:11

Why the need for a NC 😵‍💫

TwinklyRoseTurtle · 26/12/2025 08:10

I think at 15 you just have to leave them to it- be different if it was alcohol/drugs/partying/ stealing etc but I think let them spend their downtime how they like

Lindaisonit · 26/12/2025 08:10

Same age here
and my absolute stake in the ground is 5 hours a day but it’s usually 4-4.5 hours

it’s obscene but over the entire day doesn’t seem too bad.

Hes doing 3.5 hours a day gcse mock revision and genuinely making the most of it so… im ok with the gaming

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