How to Survive Gaming Addiction With Teens

Family Involvement Key To Overcoming Computer Addiction

Nov 16, 2008 Shelley Aylesworth-Spink

Your family's togetherness does not have to take a back seat to your teens' video game addiction; just pull up a controller and play along.

Many teens have more than visions of spending time with family in mind these days.

Many have video game addiction created by the stimulation of the flashing lights, pounding sounds and emotional interactivity of the world’s most popular electronic games. Increasingly, parents face the annual inner turmoil of how to thrill their teenagers with meaningful fun while not driving them before a computer and television screen for days.

Overcoming Gaming Addiction, Finding Addiction Help With Moderation

Experts at the University of Minnesota agree that as a parent, your best approach is one of moderation – limiting the amount of time teens spend in front of a screen. It is recommended that children not play more than two hours daily. However, a refreshing approach is also emerging: parental participation.

Parents are being advised to take a page from their earlier interactions with their now-teens, such as pushing them higher on a swing or building sandcastles – pulling up a chair (or the floor) and picking up a gaming controller.

Sharing the experience of gaming not only brings you closer to your teenagers’ generational issues and the pop culture that strongly influences his or her life, but it tells your child that you care and take an active interest. By taking an active role as a fellow player with your teen, you are making your involvement as natural as playing a board game or cards together.

So as join the legions of parents agonizing over video game purchases, take heart with a few simple tips.

Play Games With Children to Normalize Gaming Addiction

These games should be social experiences. Encourage your teens to either play together on-line (or at separate computers if you have them). Buy multi-player games that allow your teens, their brothers and sisters and their friends the opportunity to play together.

Remember when your children were younger and you got down on the floor to play trains or build with blocks? Transfer that experience to continue playing with your teenager. Accept that video and computer games are here to stay.

Your ability to bring the electronic experience into your lives as a family not only liberates you from taking a war-like posture with your teen but it allows for a broader range of ways that you can interact with your teen. Treat your video or computer game participation like you would any activity that you experience together.

Get Addiction Help by Turning Video Game Addiction into a Career

Think about how their hobby can turn into an interesting career. The International Game Developers Association exists to advance the careers and enhance the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community.

Teens nearing the end of high school can check out their site for links to colleges with gaming programs and career ideas in not only development but audio and production. Individuals’ careers and salary ranges are also listed.

Follow these steps, then watch the magic. The popularity of electronic games is meteoric. Limiting your children's time before screens is important however, you must realize that these games play an increasing, enormous role in the social and skills development of our next generation.

No matter which strategies you use, remember that your ability to embrace this change while staying close and relevant in your child’s life is the real challenge.

The copyright of the article How to Survive Gaming Addiction With Teens in Parenting Teens is owned by Shelley Aylesworth-Spink. Permission to republish How to Survive Gaming Addiction With Teens in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.