by Karen M Krueger

Created on: June 20, 2008

My seventeen year old brother is addicted to computer games. Something I've noticed about him when he plays his computer games is that he gets frustrated with the game, gets angry, and then takes it out on the entire family. If something or someone takes him from playing his games to ask him to do a chore or some other activity, he gets grouchy. I've noticed these same problems with my friends' siblings as well. Somehow they get all worked up over a silly game and don't know where to draw the line when projecting their anger and frustration.

Ironically, my brother also loves to read. He will devour books, as a matter of fact. I think that this is probably left over from our video game free days when we were kids. Our parents taught all of us a love for reading and all of us are avid readers, but somehow when those video games are around they still become an addiction. That's why I'm not thoroughly convinced that handing your child a book is the only solution to ridding them of their addiction. It's a start, but it may not solve all your problems. I would also suggest the following things:

1. Help them develop an imagination
Reading is of course a great way to help imagination. But I think that if you help them play games that spark their imagination, it will get them going in the right direction. Build forts in your living room and tell them that there is a dragon outside that is going to get them, so they have to figure out how to escape. Go on treasure hunts around the house. Use your imagination to help spark theirs.

2. If they are having trouble finding things to do outside, help provide things to make it more fun
It's always more fun to play outside if you've got something fun to do while you're out there. Swing sets and such are always fun, but not everyone has the option to do that. So find little activities like playing in the sprinkler or mini pool, finding leaves for doing a leaf press (you know, where you put the leaf under a piece of paper and rub over it with a crayon), a scavenger hunt for things in the yard, etc. It's easier for younger kids of course. For older kids, have a table set up so that they can go out there to read or do homework or other things. Set up a hammock.

3. Teach them how to work.
I am convinced that if children are taught how to work, they will be less inclined to sit around and not be productive. Get them involved with yard work, house work, cooking, etc. I'm not talking about working them so hard that they don't have any play time; I'm talking about giving them responsibilities and expectations so that they learn not to be idle.

4. Help introduce them to new hobbies and talents and help them develop them
If your children show an interest or a talent for something, help them develop it. If you have the means, let them sign up for lessons in something they enjoy. But you can even help them find talents that don't require lessons, like photography, writing, scrapbooking, cooking, gardening, or whatever else you can think of. It'll give them a sense of accomplishment that video games never would give them.

5. Set a time limit for video games
Just because you don't want your kids addicted, doesn't mean you necessarily have to get rid of it altogether. I remember one summer that each kid got one hour a day on the computer. If you set your limit for video games/computer games/TV and then stick to it, eventually you will get to the point where they will find other things to do and will hopefully stop asking you for more time with their games.

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