...Like my DSC are. Age 7 and 8. Wonderful kids but obsessed with gaming to the extent that I would call it an addiction.
When they're at home they get in from school and go straight onto a device until bed time only breaking to go to the toilet and eat.
When they come here they want to do the same. Nothing else.
Every hour spent with them consists of them gaming or them wasting rushing their dinner to get back onto said games.
Any attempt to encourage them to do something else fun or engaging is met with objection or a strop. If I can lure them away from the games for 15 minutes they get despondent and plead to be allowed back onto the devices because anything other than pixels bores them.
We have encouraged plenty of fun activities but they don't want to do any of them and instead of pushing the issue DH effectively disney dads and let's them crack on.
DH and his ex are equally to blame as neither have been proactive about limiting screen time, opting to let the children do what they enjoy "so long as they are happy"
I can only intervene to a certain extent as they're not my children so I've raised it with DH who isn't enthusiastically on board about making any changes, citing it as their "hobby" and what makes them happy.
It won't come as a surprise to you to hear that DH is himself a gamer, however he only plays for an hour or so when everybody else is in bed. I believe his ex is also into games but I don't know to what extent.
My main problem is that I have a two year old of my own who has started to show an interest in their tablet/gaming and I don't want him thinking it's normal or acceptable to be glued to a screen during his every waking moment when not at school.
Are my hands tied here?
Short of putting a ban on screens which will land me in 'wicked stepmother' territory and no doubt make me public enemy number 1 to the DSC and their mother, I don't know what to do.
I've NC for privacy reasons.