Xbox Addictive?
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I noticed the change in behavior as soon as the Xbox was connected to the internet. My 12 year old son was normally a well behaved and quiet boy. My ex-wife had bought the Xbox for my boys for Christmas in 2008. Within a month I was getting phone calls and emails from her telling me that our son was addicted to Xbox.
"I go into his room at 11 pm and he is on Xbox" she would tell me. My reponse to her was to take the power cord off the Xbox at a pre-determined time and hide it somewhere. She never listened to that advice.
We share custody of the kids. It's not the best parenting plan in my opinion but the court ordered that the custody situation would be two days with Mom, two days with Dad and then alternate on the weekends. The first eight months of the shared custody arrangement was working. The kids were adapting. Then Xbox entered the equation. Soon after my ex bought the Xbox and hooked it up to the internet my older son started wanting to go to his Mom's house on my parenting day. I knew why. He wanted to play Xbox live.
I didn't know anything about Xbox at the time. I don't have one. Now I know I will never get one. The game had taken over my son's life. "He was on the Xbox at 2 am this morning and was a bear when I got him up for school", this was another email from my ex. "Take the power cord off" I repeated.
I would get home from work and my 12 year old son would not be at my home. My ex was renting a house right around the corner from me. Easy walking distance. Her sister worked nights so she was usually home. My son would go to his Mom's each day after school now. I would get home and call her house. "Please send him home, supper is ready". Half an hour later I would walk down and get him. He'd be in his bedroom. The Xbox running a game called Halo. "Come on, it's time to come home and have dinner" I would say from the front door. "Can I just finish this game Dad?". "Supper is ready and it's getting cold, come on lets go" would be my response.
My ex had two move several months later. She moved to a place where the Xbox could not be connected to the internet for several reasons. My son asked me if he could bring the game to my house. I didn't really want to have the game at my house but I figure'd he's been going through a lot this past year. Divorce, moving several times, the death of his Grandmother, so I asked my ex if it would be okay if he brought the Xbox to my house and we could connect it to the internet so he could play on line. She agreed.
The Xbox arrived and life in my home changed immediately. I noticed within minutes getting home one day that my son's behavior was loud and obnoxious on Xbox. Xbox allows the user to wear a head set and communicate with other players over the internet. I walked down to my son's room and stopped and listened. He was yelling and swearing and calling people game. This was not the behavior I knew from my son. I had never seen this side of him before. I watched and listened for a few minutes. He didn't even know I was there. Then I spoke up "I don't like the language I am hearing from this room". "If the language is continued I will take the Xbox out of here and send it back to your Mom's house". I didn't really want to do this. I wanted him to change his behavior and respect the rules of my home. I don't swear in front of the kids and I don't use sexual terms or terms like gay and other epithets.
The weekend came and it was a beautiful, sunny summer day. The pool was open. The grille was going. My son never left his bedroom. "Come on out and swim with us, jump on the trampoline with your brother, how bout a burger". Okay Dad he would say. Then I'd have to go in the house and get him from his room. Turn that off for a while. He would. Then he would start on my less than half an hour later. "Can I go play Xbox Dad?". I would relent after a while and let him go play. His six year old brother would like to watch as my older son played Halo on Xbox live. "Please watch your language in front of your brother" Okay dad he would reply then I would hear the loud swearing. Right in front of his brother. I'd walk down the hall and shut it off. No more Xbox today. He would protest but I would not give in.
The arguing was ruining the home environment. As early as 9 am on a weekend morning the arguing would start between the two brothers. "I want to play Xbox" my six year old would say. "No it's my game" his older brother would yell back. Then I would hear "Dad, he won't let me play Xbox". I would try to set time limits. Half an hour for you then half an hour for your brother and then you share. That did not work either. When they played together the yelling and swearing would continue. "I am gonna send that game back to Mom's" I would tell them. I wanted to but I also was thinking about how much they had gone through over the last year. I figure'd Xbox may be a good escape just for a little while. I heard adults that I worked with talking about Xbox. I talked with other parents that told me they thought their kids were addicted to Xbox.
For a whole summer I listened to the arguing between the two brothers. Then it started getting worse. I would hear the arguing start the the name calling and then the actual physical contact. I would go to the room and take the power cord off the game. No more Xbox. I am sending it back to Mom's. The little one would cry. The older one would give me the teenage angst look as if I was the worst and most strict parent in the world. I remeber those feelings as a teen myself. My parents don't know anything.
Every other weekend I battled with the boys on Xbox. My older boy was on it each waking minute. I would be at work and my sister would watch the boys. I'd call her and ask what are the kids doing. "They are on Xbox". Finally one Sunday morning I could not take it anymore. It seemed my relationship with my sons had turned into one constant struggle over Xbox. I had cooked a nice breakfast for the boys. It was around 10 am. The Xbox had already been going for over an hour. Come have breakfast I said. No answer. I walked down to the room and there is my six year old boy. His eyes glued to the game. "Breakfast time, shut the game off and come eat". No he told me. That was it. I walked over and began to shut the game off. He got off the chair and came and raised his hand and went to hit me. The last straw. "That's it. The Xbox is out of this house". The older boy called his mother crying. The younger boy started telling me "I hate you". I could not believe what I was hearing. My two sons were such well behaved boys. I had never seen this kind of behavior. I packed up the Xbox as my son screamed and raged. The Xbox went back to their Mom's that day. The first day was rough. Both boys were mad as hell at me.
A little over a month has gone by now. My house is so much less stressful. No more daily fights about who got to use the Xbox. The behavior of my 12 year old was back to normal. We do homework together. We play Guitar Hero together on the Playstation. Yes Playstation 2. The outdated game that my son had not played since Xbox had arrived at my house. My younger son and I play Wii bowling sometimes, or basketball 2008. Supper's are calm and the kids don't race through their meals to get back to the Xbox. I will never buy an Xbox and I will never allow an Xbox back in my home. Xbox had deeply affected the relationship I had with my two boys and I will never allow it back into my house.
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Very well written! We didn't have videos when we were growing up yet we always found something creative to do. We HAD to use our imagination. I'm not entirely against video games with limits. I think there are some good games with problem solving benefits etc but I think children take it way out of control and the ability to link to the internet takes it to an entirely different level. Good hub and good luck to you!!
I will always remember my childhood as being outside and playing. When dinner was ready my Mom would yell out the window "Supper is ready". My brother and I paid no attention. We were to busy getting dirty. She'd yell out one more time "Supper is ready" and again we would not go home. Then Dad would yell out the window. Dad's voice boomed. That is when we went home. Hope you Mom's don't find that offensive. It's just the way it was. Thanks for the comments.
I made my 12 year old son read this article and asked him to pay attention to the similarities of our experiences with xbox. He dismissed them as not being the same but I disagreed. I grew up playing outside and enjoying every minute- it is not the same to the present generations and they are missing a lot.
Thanks for sharing Doug.
Its now going on three months with no X-Box at my home and the kids are used to it. Funny, today my younger one tells me he is mad. I ask why. He tells me..."the X-Box is at Mom's".. I told him we have plenty of games and even Wii. He was mad for about a minute and then went and got some of his wrestling action figures and played baseball with them in my living room.
What the nutt sack is this!
Oh. Thank god for this article. My brother plays XBOX 360 all day long on XBOX Live. He also swears at his friends, and calls them gay quite a bit. When I ask him if I can play one of my games for around a half an hour, he says "NO." I think I prefer the original xbox over the 360, because the 360 is what's making perfect kids bad kids. My bro is 12, and I didn't even know he knew these words, GEEZ. He has a big mouth. Also, I brought up to him, it was the Christmas present that was given to both of us, it wasn't only given to you. Then he's like, yeah, well the games you play are horrible and you have them for 5 other systems.... Since when did Crazy Taxi 3 come out for the PlayStation 2 or GameCube. I don't think it ever did. It was made especially for the XBOX, and whenever I ask my brother to play a game, he's on Call of Duty using a BIG mouth. My brother used to be cool, but he's fighting over xbox live, and then whenever I talk to him, he's in a bad mood. I think that they should not have an XBOX Live feature, because if this feature was not avalible, we wouldn't be in these problems right now. Sure, some kids may enjoy it, but this is clearly too much. If they had parental controls where you could only allow so long for your kid to play, I wouldn't be writing this. But the fact that over 5 million kids play XBOX Live all day cursing at their friends, and getting mad over a game, it's like reality. On the original Atari you couldn't curse at your friends and get mad.... But now that the games have extremely good graphics, many players of these games see it as reality, like it's really happening. My Grandmother and I yell at him to stop playing and then he comes down crying, because he wanted to play xbox live all day. If you want to get a more family friendly, and kid friendly game system, get the Wii over this, and then you'll see the improvement in your child's behavior over the 360 behavior. My brother used to have A-'s in his classes, and now he has C's and D's in his classes. It's amazing how much video games can hurt someone. My game system is a Super Nintendo, and it's the best game game console ever released! It has great graphics, solid sound, and isn't very expensive. Also, games are easy to find! So do yourselves a favor and don't buy a 360. Get a Wii or a Nintendo console instead, because you'll lose your son(s) because you'll think they're good kids, but then 24 hours after buying a 360, "Triple Kill', "Go to Hell" and other harsh statements. I don't know how a company can make such a disgraceful game system. No wonder America is the fattest country, heaviest country, and one that produces the worst grades..... It's because of games........
Hey I was just looking for ideas on how to get my brother off his xbox and I came across this article. This article reminds me of my brother. I play Xbox as well and it is over the internet, but I don't swear or get aggressive at all. I don't use the headset as much as well. I only use it to talk to my real friends.
One day I wanted to go up to the shops to do some christmas shopping because my parents were out and I thought it would be good to bring my brother along. So I went to his room, and there he was, playing xbox and shouting. I tell this to my parents and they try to get him off it but never works. I even try to tell him to take a break, never will. I wish my bro could just at least take breaks like I do. I only play games at least for 2 hours max. My bro plays all day. I think I need to talk more to my parents. Thanks for the article.
You are such a poof oh my son is on the xbox at for hours live with t I was up a 5AM and it is 15 friends online and playing black ops it said 20 million people online playing that game alone it gay parents like u who are F'in up today kids now kids will tase him at school that he dose not have a xbox and his parents are poohs and he will hate u for the rest of his days
OMG I am glad you took the time to read and comment on my Hub.
I would like to thank you for the well written comment. I hope my kid doesn't get "tased" at school because he doesn't have an X-box.
Lot of crap. You play it force week and then tell me it's not boring or stuff.
There is actually parental control feature on Xbox, where you can completely block online usage, limit the age ratings of games, block explicit content, and even set a playing time limit, from 15 minutes to 24 hours(and yes, some people play XBox for that long.)
I'm a gamer myself and I enjoy playing on XBox Live, but I don't play for hours non-stop, yet I do know people who are on it from 6am to midnight. They go to my high school and in weekends or holidays, they don't go round to friends houses or the park to meet up with people, one of my friends doesn't go out at all except for school, and all he does is game, every minute of the day. Don't think he even notices if the sun is up or if it is the middle of the night, he even gets in a rage if he has to stop playing the XBox and get some sleep, and the next day he starts playing on the game before washing or eating breakfast. Quite a waste of a day, if you ask me.
@UTalkCrAp: Actually, just because you play it non-stop doesn't mean other people will enjoy spending all their time on XBox like you. Some people don't like gaming, and find it boring.
great article.im in the exact same position with my son. same age too. our whole family worry about his usage.his nans always blame saying its me who should be telling him he cant go on there.they have suggested i take the plug away too.but then its me that has to put up with all the sulking an arguements which will last till i let him back on.and to tell the truth i was rather glad he was indoors at home at first than wandering the streets hanging around up to no good. as i child i played out all day long but times were different then. people have changed attitudes have changed for all the wrong reasons.outside to me is a dangerous place for young kids nowadays.although now because of his continuous playing i would be so happy if he just ventured outside for even an hour with his mates. he plays all day and night 7 days a week 364 days of the year.as soon as he is wake hes straight on there an plays till 1 am sometimes 3am. a few times i have caught him up the whole night i got up at 6.45am to get ready for work an there he was sitting on his bed like a zombie. i went crazy i was so angry. thank god it wasnt a school night.his grades are really good at school but i know could be even better if he had a proper nights sleep. i also hear bad language. im forever at him to stop swearing.im suprised by the things i hear him talk about.ive seen a different side to my son since hearing him chatting with his mates.god knows what my elderly neighbours must think.i no his getting older now an doesnt really want to come out with me even though i am a young mum. but before this he would come wherever i went. parks riding the bike walks with our dog. but all that has stopped and i feel ive missed alot of good times that we could of shared together instead.i reakon its definatly the live subscription thats to blame.how you can talk an play with friends. he has even fell out with mates over games an he has known them since primary school. he even eats his dinner upstairs.i live on my own with him an its just the two of us. although it feels like its just me there most of the time.apart from when he comes downstairs for a toilet or to take quick snacks and bottles of coke back upstairs with him. we do get along really well when he finally comes out of his room. latly he has been being quite rude to me and i put that down to lack of sleep.the whole holidays he has just sat in his room. i no it must be bad for his health no sunshine cant be good.an thats why i looked this up today and found this. i didnt really know how best to handle the situation but now im going to be much stricter.im going to start timing him and making him eat at the table with me at mealtimes.and also let him play of a weekend till 1am. but earlier of a school night.and try to force him to go out with a few friends. another thing are the games whenever a new one comes out he wants it the first day. so i go get it for him. then i can see a difference in the amount he plays i mean he must be on for 70 hours a week. but when he gets that new game in his hand he wont stop till hes compleated it. then he will play it online. things have got to change. i dont want to be seen as a horrible parent.
Hello I was browsing the internet and came up upon this. After reading the first paragraph and stopping at "My ex...got...xbox" I knew how to answer this. I am going through a time where I keep thinking of playing. Also, I can at least tell the parents are thinking it is Microsoft that is doing this to our youth. And respectively you are right! But, it is both the buyer of the game console (a.k.a. my ex), and the gamers fault. Now I could break down your entire post and explain to you how it all goes back to your son and ex-wife, but I won't. Also, on a seperate note I love how all of the parents are blaming Microsoft, it was your fault to begin with. And, the fact that the xbox 360 has more mature games it basically says 'child changer'. You should have done research on it. With comments by teens who own one. Since, what I can gather parents are a very unreliable source.
OMG I got my xbox taken away and i wasn't 'tased' at school and I am currently a softmore in highschool. I kind of wonder how old you are, and if you should go back to pre-K or kindergarden.
Sincerely, Micheal J.
Thank you for your comments Shelley and Michael. I no longer have an X-box in my house. The boys keep asking for one but I will never have that game in my house again. Once the X-Box was gone it was as if I got my kids back. They smiled and talked to me and we have a lot less stress. I do worry that today's youth are no longer into sports and recreation the way I enjoyed it. I also know that some of the local coaches of kids sports complain that they have kids who cannot catch and throw a baseball. That's all I did when I was a kid. I played outside until my Mom called me in for dinner and once dinner was over I was right back outside until they she called again when the street lights came on.
I wish you both the best.
This is the most helpful, true to life information i have come across in regard to excessive Xbox gaming and the problems it can cause within the family. I have exactly the same situation with my 12 year old son. I feel like I have lost him. There is very little communication between him and the rest of the family and I know this is because his life is consumed by Xbox and he can't stand being away from it. There was a period of around 4 months when we moved and didn't have internet and he was definitely a different, happier, friendlier child. Xbox has to be limited and controlled by the parent, otherwise the xbox will control you and can ruin happy lives.
Thanks for the comment Caroline. I appreciate you sharing your experience with X-Box. My boys don't even miss it at my home anymore.
I am going threw a nightmare with my son and his xbox, he stays up all night, he shouts, swears and the language is disgusting, i am tired of telling him to behave on it, i am very close to removing it from the house and when i do, there will NEVER be another xbox 360 in my home, it has been an utter nightmare
I am addicted to xbox. my mom was on this article, then she put the laptob down. I am 11 and in the sixth grade. I do use the words gay but i do not swear. I play halo and call of duty, and now that i read this, I thank you for making me realise how stupid i am. I need to get outside more.
the thing i dont like about this article is the fact you say xbox ruins lives yet still allow them to play the ps2 and the wii how is that different form the xbox?? they are all consoles! your problem was probably with the game choice, halo is not suitable for a 12 year old let alone a 6 year old! my son is getting an xbox for christmas, he his 8, he will be getting age appropriate games not having it connected to the internet and the xbox will not be in his room or used all day long. to many parents blame the consoles, if you hear your child using bad language on it you remove it straight away, end of. and you certainly dont allow children to have games such as halo, call of duty, battlefield e.t.c my partner plays these games on his ps3 when the children are in bed and some of the content on them disturbs me as an adult, so not suitable for a child!
Lol that can't be right, i do what the kids do in this article except i get-off and listen to music or watch hockey with my dad. if im told 2 get off i dont whine like a little f**k i say k lemme finish this up and im done andthen i get off again after 30- 90 mins A.K.A 30/1:30 mins and inbetween and i don't swear
get a ps3 alot better
jupju
Sorry for the weird post, I just wanted to see if it actually worked. Anyway I play xbox for about 2-3 hours a day, I don't say any bad words online, but my mom treats me like i have been playing nonstop for 10 days straight. But I have to ask, why didn't you use the hide the power cord like you told you ex?
I would love a parents opinion. I am 15 and I have an Xbox. I'm not on it that much, and there are many other thing I would prefer to be doing, but it's nice sometimes after school just to sit down and play for a bit. The problem is every time I do some thing wrong they take it away, and it pisses me off. It never has anything to do with the Xbox. What is your opinion?
I understand why you would be frustrated by the taking away of the Xbox if you feel that Xbox wasn't any part of the reason for the punishment. I am thinking that your parents feel that the only punishment that hits home is something that you enjoy. I don't really do that, take away things. I usually talk and explain why I am not happy with something one of my kids has done I feel is wrong and usually the talk makes them think and change their behavior. Thanks for the comment Daibhi.
I have been going through the exact same thing! My son is 13, I feel like I lost him last year. He never comes downstairs for anything, I have to force him to go out to dinner or to go to a movie, he wont come down for dinner, we moved almost 2 yrs ago, and dont have the best behaved children in the new neighborhood or his new school so I cant be to upset about him not playing outside. But ALL his friends are XBOX live friends-none from school and he let all his old friendships go. Hes moody,angry & resentful when ever I force him off games. His grades are exceptional in school (this new junior high does NOT assign any homework!) So I dont even have that to occupy his time on school nights. He too stays up all night,would rather play than eat,shower or do anything in life at all. And yes..Daibhi I have to take his xbox away too when hes disrespectful as its the ONLY thing he cares about at this point. I have taken it away for a month or so and theres no change in his behavior except to earn it back. But durring punishment he just hates me, wont talk to me or respond to me, falls into depression and does nothing but sleep, and then I dont even have the xbox to take away if he decides to be rude and disrespectful. I am lost, for those who dont deal with this to such a serious degree it seems so simple...everyone says take it away- His step dad and I now have lots of arguements over this-he told me NOT to let the videogames in his room when he was 7, I didnt see an issue...maybe because there was NO REAL issue when it was a playstation, the xbox 360 with LIVE and the headsets and the games that these kids will eventually (if not already) beg and plead for is the issue. Now I feel horrible and guilty as I allowed this not seeing what a complete nightmare it would turn into. Hes a teen now and most teen boys dont really want to spend much time with their moms. In response to an earlier post about wii being a console like xbox, its completly different, we bought a wii for the family to spend time togeather in between the purchase of PS3 and XBOX 360..it worked for a while, i thought if you cant beat em ,join em atleast the family will be in the same room-but once that 360 live account started and the headphones were givin from the grandparents 2 yrs ago..wii days were over,it sits with dust and I would have to threaten him just inorder to play it with the family at this point,which kind of takes the fun out of family time. I really dont know how to reverse this addiction, I dont want to take it completly away, I just want his time to be limited on it, the timer doesnt seem like a good idea because he will lose his game if not at a save point, and hes so smart he will just find a way to hack it.
Thank you so much for this article. I am sharing it with my niece who all three boys are addicted to this game.
My son has a Wii and A DS and got xbox 360 this xmas. There is something different about xbox, it grabs the kids in a way the other consoles don't. The Wii is fun, we have had many a family game on mario kart wii sport etc. He doesn't even want us in the room when he's on xbox. He's 8 so I wont allow it in his bedroom,as i want to be able to hear whats going on, so he's on it in the lounge and never wants to come off it. He's certainly changed. He's cocky and agressive if you switch it off. He's even got up at 6am and sneaked downstairs on a school morning to play it, s0 I take the controls to bed with me now. He would sit at it all day if I let him. I regret buying it and it doesn't help that many of his same age friends (8) play modern warfare and even grand theft auto! I will not allow him these games because they are certainly not for young kids and this causes arguments, so does trying to get him to do his homework properly and the way he shovels down his meals so he can get back to his friends and play on xbox live. I would never have thought this of my son as he was very sporty and usually gets bored off stuff like that quickly but xbox seems to cast a spell over kids and brings out the worst in them. I am currently using the timer. He has 2 hours play a day then it shuts him off. Leading to ..... more arguments!
Thank you for sharing your experience Duwop. I have gotten many comments on this Hub. I had a brother who was a baseball coach. He would tell me that he was so happy when he would get a kid on his team that could just catch the ball. The kids today don't go out and play like I did when I was a kid and their athletic abilities suffer. I hope that the two hour time limit works for you. I also have a Wii and we do play family Wii sports many nights a week. We have fun with the Wii. Not so with the X-Box.
Well I am 12 years old and think X-Box is a great productive way to play online with friends rather than watch a stupid show like a zombie. I love X-Box and I love playing Call Of Duty. I rage at it so much it drives me crazy. Because people don't understand, in a gane you try to be the best out of other people wich makes you try really hard. Lets say you are about to get an AC-130 and you die 1 kill before and you die, you get so angrym, but you still keep playing so you can get the killstreak you are aiming for. So don't steal your kids X-Box jsut ket them play until they get thier killstreaks or whatever they want to do. Because you cant just save this, this is online gaming sonmething live. So don't interrupt other people playing. The second thing is it is addictive because all you want to do is have fun, so if your kids aren't having fun just say alright you seem angry play a different game that will relax you now and you can play it later. Don't ever, ever take the whole console away that will just make the kid scream so loud and so angry that the whole thing of taking the Xbox away won't solve anything. Just let the kid play it until he gets bored over it, believe me they get bored after playing 1 hours straight. I have, played 15 hours straight once, but you just like getting the hot streaks and fun addictive impulse of diong so great in a video game and being high rank because you feel you are superior to other people in the lobby's. People always curse and swear in the games but it is a habit, if i die i might say "Damn it"
of "Screw you you little punkass gypsy" pr something stupid. But that is part of the game being the best. When i got the game Call of Duty MW3 I thought it was alright, but every time i would die by something random i would cry "F***" so loud my Xbox was taken away as soon as I screamed it, so if you are a parent tell your kid not to swear, but dont steal anythning because like I said again they will scream wich doesn't fix anything. X-Box wasn't meant to be like this so don't think of it as being a "drug" it is just a new style of playing outdoors. I always hear, "When I was a kid I always played outside with my friends no inside." So here is my theory, back then if you had an X-Box you would have played it, no so don't fucking tell me you wouldn't have because you would i know it. I myself have to drive 5 minutes to my friends house, 5 freakin' minutes my friends all live right down the block from each other so they dont have to have a hustle to get over their friends house, i do. Also i am only 70 pounds small so dont think im some overwight loser typoing for at least an hour on my computer. But the only reason people get addicted to it is because it is something to do, outside of my house is a neighborhood filled with people who don't bother with aynone, and their are only five year olds on my street, What the Hell! Thats why i play it to interact with others, i am addicted but so what I am on the principals honor roll in school i play on the cross country and track team so this is another thing i like to do, and if you think you hav a prblem with your kids and XBox, ask them "can i play with you" and if they agree you can have fun playing together.
Jack I am thankful for the comment and I am sure all who read this HUB and your comment will appreciate your comment as well. I wish you luck with your future.
Hi there, no. setting the timer did not work. He simply took it off! the parental settings are a farce If an 8 year old can go in and overide them. Ive since spoken to several mums at work with sons and mine is not an isolated case. They all offer the same advice, nip it in the bud now while you can, their sons are older and they dont have the same control. It was interesting to read a post from a gamer in favour of xbox advising not to take the console, but when your on the last minute for the school run and work and he's still sat there with no shoes or socks on telling you in a minute in a minute, you just snap and end up reaching for the off switch, which results in an argument and him going off to school with a long face and me feeling guilty all day and questioning myself. I dont want to spoil his fun or be a tyrant but I also don't want him turning into a pale faced hermit who can't interact with real people. So he's at last chance saloon. Ive explained to him that we love him and want the best for him and it upsets us that all he wants to do is spend endless hours on xbox.The bottom line is that He either sticks to my 2 hr a day rule, which I think is reasonable for an 8 yr old at school with homework or I will be taking the bull by the horns as Dewey had to and I will get rid, for what I truly believe is his own good. One of the mums at work with a 22 yr old son who she cannot get up for work every morning because he has been on xbox all night tells me she wishes to god thats what she had done when he was younger.
Hey, I'm 15 years old and i recently got an xbox for christmas. My 6year old brother was already spoiled and addicted before this. At age 2 and a half he had his own tv. by 3 he had a DS, by 5 his own wii, and now the xbox. It was origionally ment for both of us, but he takes it all the time. He goes into almost mental fits of rage when you tell him no or he needs to stop playing. I've tryed to control/monitor his playing by adding password locks and other things, but the problem is... My parents. Whenever i leave the house he is on the xbox and demands the passwords from my parents and in turn they demand it from me. It's annoying. I cant hide the cords or the controllers because my parents will just ask me where they r and give them to him. He plays games like Call of Duty and Halo. (my games) but he has Football, racing, and basketball games for the xbox but never plays them because they are, to him, "boring". e has no respect for the things he has and breaks games like they were something that everyone is required to have. A little while ago I got the xbox taken away for grade reason and it was put in his room. I started playing the wii and within a day and a half his words were: "Can I play wii?" I said, Don't u have the xbox? and his response.... "I'm bored of it". So when i get it back and he gets the wii..... He's bored of it and now wants the xbox. (What's wrong with him???) I need some help =( my parents just keep letting him play and do what he wants and I want it to stop/have more control over his behavior. ( Also there have been times where we are fighting over the xbox and my parents suggest throwing it out aand I have said, Do it!! It would do us all a good favor!!" and my brothers reaction was to cry and scream and then they are all, Well we cant get rid of it blah blah. WHat should I do?
=/
Gay people why the hell is xbox bad for u idiots
ufuck - I think you ve just answered your own question.
And that's why U's comment deserves to be posted for all to see. Thanks for the comments Duwop.
The above link is a story about a teenage boy who died from deep vein thrombosis after having played X-Box for more than 12 straight hours. I feel for the boys family. Suffering a loss such as this will hurt this family for the rest of their lives. Thanks for the post Glen P.
stop trying to manipulate your children
#theinfamous
Good idea let's just allow our kids to do whatever they like, what the hell! Spoken like a true non-parent!
Me as a 13 year old gamer turning 14; Xbox is something I play alot but come on, some children like me play it to escape real life. A place where there is no school, we're I can just be alone and play Xbox. But then parents see it as a thing were there children will sweated, get fat and do rubbish at school but I am very fit, smart and I have a good relationship with my parents. But my mum takes it away from me because I play maybe 2-3 hours on weekends and schooldays 1 but if I go other that time she has a realy bad go at me and sends me to my bedroom (because i am a couche potota and will not socialise and get no friends). I have lots of real life friends and I do socialise and make more friends. On Xbox live I do this as well so Xbox is great for socialising as well. Then my mum suggests me to buy a stunt scooter ( that is what everyone in my school is hyped over) but I don't like score ring and some of them kids are a bit dodgey to hang around with. So my group of friends on Xbox keeps me of the streets and out of trouble. There is the problem of younger children playing as well for example one of my friends brother who is 6 now has turned into quite a naughty swearing boy from playing Xbox with him but he was always very rude so I am not sure if it has changed him that much. But i am trying to say that don't buy a child a Xbox unless he is over 9 because a lot of the good games are quite explicit or buy them a Xbox but buy them the right age range one. Finally Xbox has not changed my langue or behaviour since I got it 4 years ago but my change other people alot more then me. Overall a Xbox is a perfect toy for children ten and above to help out problems ( example: divorce) but buy games suited for them and don't take away the Xbox because that would be fighting fire with fire but use parent restrictions and put passwords on if needed. ( I personely don't need parent restrictions because I get of when told to!
Thats just the way it effects yalls kids well i play it and i make good grades like 100s all the time in school i get on time and i dont have a head set because im preventing the bad mouthing
man my freaking mom just got pissed of at me because my room was a mess and she flipped out and threw my Xbox on the floor and it broke i told her she took it to far because she thinks that i don't do my school work when i passing all my AP classes with a and b she even threaten to kill my lizard i need some advice for this situation. pleas help.
Last night my 14 year old told me he hated me, wished I was dead and stormed out of the house because I turned his xbox off after yet another outburst of rude, aggressive behaviour towards me. He hasn't spoken to me since - I lost my temper as that was a step too far for me. It turns nice children into monsters.
Lynn, I completely understand how you feel. My situation hasn't gotten any better since my last post months ago. Infancy much worse. Since then the attitude, disrespect and anger issues have worsened. We've recently even seen a psycologist for this now. My son was so loving and cared of others feelings before Xbox and now sees us as the enemy. No time limit is good enough for him. And very funny that the only aggressive comments on here come from Xbox players. It seems even reading about it being taken away sets up the same negative attitude.I shared this original post w/ my son when I found it, we were at the table, tears coming down my face in desperation and surprisingly my once so loving only child replied, "well this ain't no Disney movie and we won't have the same outcome as that guy!" since then we've taken my son to Disney world, happiest place on earth right? WRONG! He was miserable, no fun and made no attempt to even pretend he was happy about being there. Xbox has stolen my sons innocence and empathy and all the manors he once perfected, GONE! My house is a war zone almost everyday, me, the Xbox and my son.
I am happy that my Hub has gotten people to come back and post comments to each other and has gotten people to interact about the X-Box. I publish the comments from the gamers because I want people to see exactly some of the behavior I describe in their own words. I appreciate all the comments that this Hub receives and I hope the Hub helps people at least vent their frustrations.
Firstly, you cannot be addicted to Xbox. It is simply a game console, if you had it as a child, you would understand why your sons like it so much.
I agree with the unplugging of the power cord at a certain time, but videogames are a normal part of any american household.
My sons play it all the time, the key to get them to behave is to take the cord at a certain time, for example at night.
And tell them its their choice if they don't do homework, they can fail school on their own.
I love xbox by the way
I am an avid Gamer. I play games on my xbox whenever I can, and have done so for years. When I was 12 I had the exact same problems that your kids/relatives do, the reason the swear is that they are extremely frustrated by being defeated over and over again, in this state they are likely angry to lash out in any way they can, if you really want to stop your son from being a sulking jerk then just tell him that nobody on xbox wants to hear him talk,and his friends don't want to hear him bitch and moan. One thing is for certain though, as long as your xbox is hooked up to the Internet, your son will swear like crazy. And he will stay up late whenever you let him. For me however, I eventually just learned to juggle my xbox live personality with my family personality.
I can't even begin to tell you the whole story, too long & too sad. I Wish every parent would read all of these post Before buying an Xbox & especially letting their kids play "Live". I've watched it turn a kid that was if anything too nice into a young man I can no longer stand. He went from nice, to an aggressive Jerk. Xbox convinced him he was a tough warrior / soldier to the point he joined the Army trying to be a sniper so he could actually shoot people (from a few hundred yards, like a chicken) He couldn't pass the mental requirements, so he'll be in supply. He goes in the Army in a few weeks & I Hope he can make it...so I don't have to even see him. Him & his friend play from noon til 6 or 7 AM. This is my girlfriends son, that I loved being a father to, until Xbox & she wouldn't control it. I feel sorry for you if you get one for your child without Serious limits that are set in Stone. Good luck, you'll need it.
Got an email from Hub pages today telling me one of my tags is irrelevant. They tell me that it will be reviwed by Hub moderators in a week and possibly be unpublished. I hope that doewsn't happen because this Hub gets more comments than any other Hub I have written. I would like to ask people who read this Hub to comment on what the offending tag may be? Could it be CHRISTMAS?
Thanks for reading this Hub people. I do believe many people come back just for the comments.
Thank you all for your postings. My son is coming up to 12 and has an Xbox (reasonably under control) but now wants LIVE. We will try to hold off!!
I'd much rather have my friend come over to my house and talk and game with him, some fun competition, than go online and play with random people who swear at you every minute.
Your son is way too addicted to xbox no wonder you did that
Hey guys, I posted a couple of months ago in desperation at my sons transformation since getting xbox. My posts are still on if anyone is interested in our story.I thought I would let you know the outcome. One Saturday morning I got dressed and said to my son who was sat as usual in his pjs on xbox lets go and checkout the local football team, they'll be training this morning. My suggestion was met with grunts and moans of how he didn't want to go etc as I expected. I insisted we went just to watch for half an hour. When we got there I explained my xbox problem to the main coach and his wife and they couldn't have been more helpful. My boy is only 8 and was previously keen on sports. The coach included him straight away in the training and he loved it and wanted to sign up then and there. This was back in February and we've not looked back. He is now a very proud member of our local football team and trains in the week and plays matches and tournaments on a Saturday. He is making friends, learning about teamwork and self discipline and getting exercise it's good for him on so many levels and I am so glad i bothered to push him to do it. Don't get me wrong we still have the xbox but its a part of his life now not all consuming and we still get the odd hissy fit when I switch it off which I do all the time,I set the limit and stick to it.Im grateful for this hub and the horror stories that made me act before it was too late. I believe it was easier for me with my son being so young but with hindsight I would never have got him the xbox, the change in him was unbelievable. His football team is now the most important activity to him and we are back on an even keel. Thank you all for your very honest and sometimes heart breaking accounts of your xbox woes. Good luck.
If you don't want your kids swearing so much and acting so angry then STOP buying them games like Halo and call of duty. These games are all rated 16 and above and have violence and swearing. We were never allowed to watch movies that had a age rating of oder than us so why should a game be different. so you can't really blame XBOX for ruining your kids life, blame yourself for letting 12 year olds play shooting games with swearing and killing and the ability to talk to strangers all over the world,it's your own fault.
I recently removed XBox from my home due to the swearing and and porn pics my son was viewing, I do not blame him nor microsoft but me and my husband. we should have been more aware of what was going on but instead we had someone else sitting our boy. He had the world on his finger tips, now I cant blame anyone but us. Since this game console has been gone, we have more family time and getting to know my son all over again. Tears.....I love him and I will never let another game console sit him again. Good luck to everyone. Xbox will change your child, if you do not have any, do not buy it.
Dewey Cheatem, I would like to thank you for your story..Everything you have stated I can say it happened to us. I understand that it was our fault for allowing him to play mature games, never using parental blocks, I feel that I made him to turn to this little monster and now its my job to fix him back to a 12 year old. I am happy to see him ride his bike and smiling while playing outdoors. You have definitely help my family with your story and I hope it does the same for others.
These boys seem outrageous! i would love to go outside and eat by the grill on a nice hot day with my family and get away from the xbox, i actually barely play xbox i spend most of my time on my computer reading the most interesting things but yes i used to be this way but not that bad. If i had this problem i probly would of taken a bat to the xbox right in front of them.
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Linda S. 2 years ago
I hope many read this and take a word of warning from it. Well written and Wow, very eye opening. Thank you.