How to 'break' an xBox

[Muppetry76]

Teenage DS, no school, no exams. Xbox has taken over.

Any ideas how to nobble his machine temporarily?

Remove the power cable.

Lose it

Hide the controller

Remove fuse from.plug if you want it to mysteriously stop working. If it has a removable fuse.

Set a limit on it instead....e.g no xbox until after lunch

So I can’t actually explain how to do it but our children’s Xbox’s are linked to my partners phone. He has complete control over when they play. They used to have a 3hr limit (when they were at school) which has no been replaced by a 3pm-10pm time limit. They aren’t on it all the time and so have chores but if they aren’t willing with their chores or get too attitudey I text my partner at work and he turns off their time so they can’t go on at all. Obviously I could just turn the internet off but it’s much easier and less backlash when it’s done from Afar and I ‘can’t do anything about it now’
They are actually lovely kids, and it’s hard for them so I have been relaxed about it but they know what’s expected of them and they know they need breaks or it gets turned off.
I can come back later once my partner is home and let you know what it is he’s done to connect it all but someone might be able to help sooner :)

Sooo... why can’t you ask him not to? If he’s on it way too much and you want to do something else together then say “come on John, off the Xbox for a bit now, you can go on at 3 o’clock” If he has no school and no exams then isn’t it a bit mean to steal away his only entertainment?

Or if it is physically you want to make him unable to play then take the batteries out. Obviously he’ll know it’s you but if it’s to stop him sneaking on?

Ooooooh I like the fuse idea!

Bit of a tech dummy myself, will look to see how I can set up a time limit.

YY tp PPs, it is shit that his secondary education finished dead in March, hence the lax parenting on my part enabling him to just do what he wants (within fucking lockdown, obvs, he's not seen his mates for months, lost all his passion, is actually gutted about not being able to prove himself after 6 months of additional tutoring 3 nights a week, I'm doing it all by myself as his feckless father hasn't had him to stay for over a year, and only spent 4 hours with him in that time, I'm struggling wfh and my own MH is shot to shit).

A fuse I can manage...

Why don’t you sit down and have a sensible chat with him about your concerns and come up with a plan together about what is a reasonable amount of time to play?
Also discuss other things he could do have instead, talk about expectations and his contribution to the family, daily chores to help around the house - help him to structure his day.
Treating teens with respect and asking for their input teaches good life skills like negotiation, cause and consequence, reward and sanctions, etc. It helps prepare them for adulthood.
Simply pretending it is broken is not teaching him anything and will probably just result in undesirable behaviour.
If all of the above fails, set strict rules yourself about when he can play and stick to it. He will soon learn that talking sensibly and having an input is a better option.

Get an Xbox. Buy the same games dc have. Insist on playing through Xbox live with dc. Game chat and everything. That'll do the trick.

@myfuckingfairygarden

You, lady, are a LEGEND!! Get an Xbox. Buy the same games dc have. Insist on playing through Xbox live with dc. Game chat and everything.

why does he need to not play it?

'Any ideas how to nobble his machine temporarily?'

Why?

Are you giving up social media, Netflix etc?

Yes! Get involved! Play with him. It’s a really
bonding thing to do.

What would you rather he does instead?

Im actually serious. I game with my son and we end up having a real laugh as well as conversations about all sorts. Forcing him off his Xbox isn’t going to help is it just cause resentment. What are you expecting him to do with his time?

Playing Xbox continuously really isn't that much of a problem unless he would choose it over everything else. I mean if he was allowed to go out and see his friends would he? Obviously at the moment he can't due to Covid but as long as he would given the choice I wouldn't worry too much.

If you do want to control his access you can via Microsoft account which allows you to control time of play and length. But I would fully expect him to seriously kick off - I can imagine how I would react like now if you took my phone away.

Did you ever find out from your husband how to do this? If so, please share. I’m at my wit’s end with my son and his xBox.

In my opinion, if you wouldn't break your partner's stuff, don't break your kids'.

The BT router enables you to control access by device, on a 24 hour clock.

I do game with my DS :) the one time I thought he was gaming too much we removed his Xbox and DH took it to work.