Parents of children who play Fortnute/X box

[Remmy123]

At the end of my tether - two children 8 and 12 seem completely obsessed with fortnite / playing it / watching it etc

Saturday morning when they wake up they go on, they argue over whose turn it is, it's like they are addicted!!

They arnt allowed it in the week now, but this morning for example one argument already over it. '10 more minutes' ends up being an hour, if I turn it off I'm a horrible mum .. etc .

I really do hate the game but all of their mates play it.

How much does your child play / how do you limit it?? When they are not on it they are bored doing anything else!!!!

Help need my kid back!

[UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea]

@Balaur

I'm going to be completely honest and admit my 12 yo ds can be on his xbox for up to 12 hours s day. His football at weekends has started up again and he'll be back at school next week so it will naturally limit it then. Over lockdown it was how he stayed in contact with friends because his phone was broken. We also force him out on walks and he does also meet with friends in person maybe once a week. I agonised over it for months but it will soon be far less time. If your kids are only on it at weekends don't stress. Just make sure they are getting some exercise and seeing people in real life too.

Unashamedly judging here. 12 hours a day of sitting and looking at a screen is just an invitation to a myriad of health problems in a young person.

[WaltzfortheMars]

Mine don't play Fortnite but do play other games. We don't limit screen time. He self regulate. He had unlimited screen time since he was a toddler. Working perfectly fine atm.

[ThisIsNotARealAvo]

DS aged 12 was totally addicted to the Xbox and fortnite in particular. He was getting very aggressive when asked to stop, or if he thought he might not have much time for it that day.

We made him have 2 months of no Fortnite or xbox at all. This was also because he had taken DHs credit card and spent £300 on fortnite add ons.

This really helped to reset his brain and now he has 1 hour every other day. He can play a bit of Minecraft in between but no more than an hour. It was drastic and he hated it but now he sees fortnite as a treat and I hop knows he is lucky that I didn't sell the Xbox there and then.

[Balaur]

Sorry @Remmy123 it seems your thread will now be derailed by people coming on to wag their finger at me.

[Ace1185]

I have one ds 9 and a year ago I was where you are ( apart from the arguing with siblings ) he would ask to play it all the time, have a hissy fit when taken off, not want to go do anything that didn't involve the xbox. It was at the stage he was restricted to 1hr every other day which of course made me a villain.

Fast forward a year and he is a different child. He rarely plays it when he does the longest he is on it is 20 to 30 minutes. He comes off himself and can go days in between playing. I don't know if it's just that he has lost interest in it but I'm happy with that

[ZeldaPrincessOfHyrule]

Agree completely with user. Fortnite isn't a game that a time limit works with, because it's on a game-by-game basis and it's online. You're setting yourself up for a huge argument. It's also partly (IMO) why the game is a disaster for some children under the age limit - the nature of the game makes them want to play 'just one more', then an adult comes along and stops them, and with their brains all fired up from the battle they just rage.

[TSSDNCOP]

Smile and wave @Balaur

My only DC found a lifeline in Fortnite during lockdown. We did loads of stuff together, but no kid wants to spend all their time with mum and dad playing Connect 4.

The poster that said set battle
Limits has the most constructive response.

Also, no arguments or bad language or it's an auto-stop.

School and clubs are starting now which will automatically cut down gaming time.

[sHREDDIES19]

My nine year old loves Fortnite too! During weekends or holidays I give the kids two electronic sessions a day each for one hour. For my son he can only have one of these sessions on Fortnite as he too was getting so into it. I sat him down and had a conversation about people genuinely becoming addicted to it and that it’s not healthy if it becomes obsessive so he’s recognised that and is happy with his one slot a day. I give him a 10 minute warning that it’s his last game (or battle, whatever he calls it!) so sometime he goes over the hour, sometimes comes off before if he is killed off.

[Bicnod]

@Remmy123

I can give them set times it's the attitude I get from them and the obsession with it i'm struggling with - all of their mates play it I don't want to ban it completely although I'm getting tempted.

Consequences for attitude. If my boys are shitty with me when I turn off the Xbox (after fair warning) they lose ten minutes screen time next time (they have an hour each on a Saturday morning and occasionally in a weekday). It's the only way to get through to them I find. If they are truly awful then they lose all their next screen time. If they know you mean it (and that they will lose out) they will rein in the attitude.

[WaltzfortheMars]

Reading some responces, it makes me wonder it can be a problem for certain children, especially the children who has no other interest. Mine is a true gamer, since I am one too. But he has other interest too. He choose to draw or read or play with lego or play musical instrument. It's one of the choice. And if he wanted to play for hours, I would let him, but he never does.

[ittakes2]

I confess I have also let my son play too much fornite over lock down. It was not the game but the fact he was talking to his friends and socialising that made the difference to me. He normally would be playing sport for 15hrs a week after school and sport is starting up again so his fortnight will naturally reduce.

[ThePenIsBlue]

@ceeveebee

Is it? Yesterday he played football for two hours, tennis for an hour, read, played with Lego, and we all watched a movie together. If he was allowed to game all day none of that would happen. I know which I think is a better use of time.

Totally agree

[notso]

My younger two are 9 and 8 and don't have Fortnite because of the addictive nature of it. I feel a bit guilty as the 9year olds friends do communicate through it. When they had their few days in school he was upset as some of his friends were asking him to play.
He cannot handle gaming well though, my 8 year old will play for a bit then he'll come off naturally and go and do something else. However games completely change my 9 year olds mood, he becomes angry and argumentative and any time is never enough.
I have found that he's better if he goes on later in the day, I make sure he does lots of other things first including plenty of running around as well as Lego/reading etc. This does seem to help his mood.
Also as PP suggested I get to know the games he uses so can say finish after this race/battle etc which helps.

[HerkyBaby]

This game is totally toxic . We banned it 3 years ago as it was an all consuming mind altering childhood depriving addiction. Removed from all devices and sanity and childhood restored in this family. Be the parent you need to be and stop them from playing it ever again. You will never regret the decision. Also work out how much you have spent on Fortnite game extras over the last 12 months and work out what else could have been done with that money like trips out etc. Good Luck x

[ChickenwingChickenwing]

@Remmy123

Hi - the game is a 12 because of the online chat which is switched off.

No it isn't. Game ratings are based on game content and nothing else.

If you choose to let your children play games that are unsuitable for their age then own it, don't try and make up bizarre reasons to dismiss the rating in the first place.

[Remmy123]

I say 'after this game' they then must help themselves to more as I can't stand there watching. Then another 30 mins has passed.

They both play football and thankfully matches have resumed - it's also the continuous watching it on you tube / talking about it 😬😬

[notso]

Mine aren't allowed on YouTube either!

[HugeAckmansWife]

For some, gaming and FN in particular can be addictive, toxic etc. For others, it's a means of socialising, problem solving. My dd has worse tantrums over a craft project gone wrong than DS does over a game. Should I stop her junk modelling then? Every child and life situation is different.

[gamerchick]

I've banned it. I let him try it but it turned him into this kid I didn't recognise. He got over it, it was a bit tense but he got over it.

Awful game imo. There are other games out there.

[Beechview]

I agree with letting them go later in the day. Mine have an after 3pm rule if they have done other stuff.
I bang on about how gaming should be for down time, when other things like school work, chores and exercise have all been prioritised.
Gaming shouldn’t be the priority at the expense of everything else.

[gamerchick]

Unashamedly judging here. 12 hours a day of sitting and looking at a screen is just an invitation to a myriad of health problems in a young person

Aw, set you up for Sunday there . Nowt like a bit of hoiky of bosums on a morning.... When you're on SM.

[ZeldaPrincessOfHyrule]

@Remmy123

I say 'after this game' they then must help themselves to more as I can't stand there watching. Then another 30 mins has passed.

They both play football and thankfully matches have resumed - it's also the continuous watching it on you tube / talking about it 😬😬

...then they need consequences for ignoring your instructions. If mine did that they wouldn't play video games the rest of the day, maybe the next day too.

[GreyishDays]

The limits not working depends if they are in creative or not.
So if they’re do a match (about 20 mins) you tell them it’s the last one. You might need to supervise near the end to make sure they don’t start a new one.

If they are in creative then they might want to get one more kill or play until they die themselves or something. Talk to them and see.

[mosscarpet]

Fortnite has been banned in this house for a couple of years. DS used to play it aged around 10, and the deterioration in his behaviour was shocking . I accept he was obviously too young for it then. But it has since been banned, and he now plays other things on the x box with no problems, sticks to the rules about time etc all fine now fortnite is not involved!

[ihearttc]

DS1 is9 and went on it a lot during lockdown in between being on google classroom for 6 hours a day. I’m really glad he was able to because it meant he was able to communicate with his friends. Before lockdown he was playing football 5 times a week for 2 hours at a time (Academy and grassroots team) and he really struggled with going from all to nothing. Now lockdown has eased and he is back playing football, the amount of time he is playing football has fallen dramatically. Please don’t assume that children who play Fortnite are lazy slobs who spend their entire lives staring at screens. It is possible to enjoy playing Fortnite, talking with their friends and being active as well.