Most children love video games. These can teach them many skills or be educational; however, they spend too many hours playing them. You will not have to forbid them completely from your child; however, if you set limits and help you look for other activities, this may limit the time you spend.
Provide specific rules
Establishing clear rules will be vital to modify the behavior of your child. If you indicate exactly what you want so check this gaming addiction test out, and you will know what is expected of him and there will be no doubt. You must also establish clear consequences for any rule that breaks. They will have to sit down and talk about the new rules.
- Do not say something like “You can only play video games for a few hours a day and not too late”, as this will be ambiguous.
- Keep in mind that you may react negatively. This is normal, especially if there were no limits before. He is likely to throw tantrums, say strong words, cry, pray or even threaten you. Be calm, ignore your tantrums if possible and reiterate the consequences of their behavior.
Mention the consequences clearly.
Your child will need clear and definite consequences for breaking the rules. When setting the rules, you will have to mention the consequences you can understand. Do not do it ambiguously, since this will only confuse you.
Comply with the consequences.
Once you have established limits and consequences, you should follow them. If you let your son get away with the consequences without breaking the rules, he will not take you seriously and will not follow them. You will have to keep your word if you break it.
- Keep the consequences constantly. You might be tempted to become permissive suddenly if your child behaves sweetly, or be very rigorous if he responds poorly. However, the consequences must be predictable and clear. This does not mean that you cannot change them, but you must avoid doing it without first explaining it and letting yourself be carried away by emotions.
- Keep in mind that video games will not be necessary for the health and well-being of your child, so you can remove them completely. Sometimes, parents forget that they will be able to take video games away from children completely if they cannot cope with the limits.
Use a stopwatch
If you use this object and give your child warnings, this can help you prepare for the end of the allotted time. Children can resist a lot of change, even if they know it will happen. If you warn him that his time is about to end, this will help him make the transition.
- Give warnings when you have 15 and 10 minutes left.
- Program the timer in five minutes before the end. When the bell rings, you should say “You have five minutes left. Find a point where you can save your game.
Remind him every day that he will have to finish all of his school and homework or any other responsibility.
He must have tasks to complete before giving him permission to play video games. This includes school and homework. You can let him start playing once everything is over.
- Help him to consider video games as a reward for completing homework and homework every day.
- Keep in mind that you will have some resistance at the beginning if you have not yet established this rule.
Place the video game console in a common room
An effective way to set limits for your child’s playtime and supervise it is to place the console in a common room, rather than your bedroom. This will allow you to apply the rules more easily and have them follow them.
If you put it in your room, this will give you too much freedom to play without supervision. Also, this may tempt you too much, especially if it is a small child who has difficulty following the rules.