ETA- I forgot to say that none of my kids get electronics in their bedrooms or bathrooms. All electronics must be used in “public” places in our house where either me or any siblings can walk behind them and look at what they are doing. Their electronics are charged in the kitchen at night. I talk to all my kids pretty regularly how electronics can be helpful and how they can cause problems in their lives. We have discussions about it pretty regularly since my kids’ friends have different restrictions and we talk about what they are all struggling with.
For my sophomore and 8th grader, videogames and anything else considered “leisure time activities” can only happen after homework, chores and other activities relating to extracurricular commitments. If they aren’t doing any organized sports at the moment, then they need to spend an hour on the treadmill, or riding their bike or something for exercise too. When everything is done, they can play video games. If I ask them to stop and help me with something, they gotta do that too unless they can negotiate with me for more playtime. But I’m a tough negotiator. . So far, this is working ok for us.
My 6th grader DS3 is struggling with this but he’ll catch on soon because if he doesn’t, I take the video games away indefinitely. When you know what they really want, it’s much easier to get them to cooperate.
It’s much more difficult to get them to do what you want and what they NEED to do, if you don’t know what motivates them. Dd is harder to push to do her chores and other stuff because the only thing she cares about is dancing. And after spending so much money on lessons, costumes, tickets, etc., it’s harder to take away that stuff. If there is something else she likes, she underscores it. ��
Last edited by gatorsmom; 01-11-2020 at 08:56 PM.
" I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." Mahatma Gandhi
"This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the universe. It doesn't solve any problems." Martin Luther King, Jr.