DS and that bloody computer

[MrsSnape]

DS (9) is obsessed with the PC and would litrally spend every second of every day on it if he could. He has got half of the class onto using msn (bet I'm popular with other parents and is particulary obsessed with one website which he goes on ALL THE TIME, even when he's not on it he talks about it to other people. I checked his msn conversation logs and 3 boys have sent him messages at one time or another telling him to stop going on about this website constantly or they won't talk to him.

Anyway last night I limited his time to one hour so he was on it from 7pm until 8pm. He then came and watched TV with me for a while and then went to bed at 9pm.

So I'm curled up on the sofa watching Big Brother...then after that I watched the Friday night Project and half way through that I heard light 'banging' coming from my room...it was DS typing away on the keyboard, 11.40pm on that stupid ffing website.

I went nuts and told him he was banned off the PC for a month and I have changed all the passwords, blocked that website and set up parent controls so even if he does manage to get on it, the parent controls won't allow anything to work.

I'm sick to death of it, it's all he cares about. He has a big karate tournament on Sunday and you would think he would be excited/nervous about that but on wednesday at karate class he was stood there staring into space, yawning, paying no attention at all then as soon as it came to break, DS rushed over to another boy and asked if he'd ever heard of this website. I was fuming.

I feel like banning him from the PC for good until he's older.

Does anyone have any ideas of what he can do after school to fill the time he would have been on the PC? he isn't allowed to play outside.

my ds is exactly the same. He is 9 too and obsessed with the computer. he had a playstation and was totally obsessed with that too, so thats been banned, I have set up really tight parental controls , but agree its hard, all he does is moan about NOT going on it! Other peoples kids seem to ba able to play a BIT and then do other things , but not mine.... so sympathies!

Can you do the same for me, MrsS? Theres this website that I keep going on when I should be doing more productive things instead...

i agree-take it away.hes 9-you are the parental control.get him outside (why can he not?)or involved in a club.invite a friend round.i think banning him is good idea.you could introduce it gradually-no more than a few hours a week as a treat/reward.

My ds would be on the computer all the time if I let him, so I don't. He has to earn computer time in 30 minute blocks - it's a reward for positive behaviour and if he's messing about he doesn't get it. And other essential tasks have to be done first because that's how it works in real life.

Also MrsS, you question whether he's excited or nervous about his karate tournament at the weekend. Perhaps he is, and is using the computer as reassurance, maybe it helps him to chill out. If it helps him to relax then it's not a bad thing, but you have to help him learn how to moderate his need so that it's not taking over his life.

Hope he does well on Sunday! My ds had a club competition last weekend and loved it, plus he's got a grading on Saturday and is going for his purple belt. Hope we both have good news to share next week!

Is it because its a new and exciting way of chatting to his mates? DD was like that, when MSN first started getting talked about at school. She was put on time limited after a few weeks of non-stop MSNing. She's 12 now and has her own PC, but during the week she is only allowed on it, once se's done her chores and homework and it as a time limit of 7pm, then it closes down, completely, not just internet access. At the weekend she has all day access, but tbh, the novelty has worn off now, so se uses it to arrange her social life in the morning, then she's out all day!

lol at talilac