Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer?

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:20:13 GMT

csa — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:20:13 GMT

Just to share, i bought a NetGenie wi-fi router from a singaporean friend to control the internet access timings as well as to allow/block websites according to kids age. no need to turn on/off the parental control and can set the kids time and hours to spend online. No need to install software on smartphone, ipad, pc, laptop. Its a good investment. Hope this helps!

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:04:13 GMT

Ichigokun — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:04:13 GMT

HopeandSorrows:
My Primary 5 boy spends a lot of his free time on Facebook, chatting, playing games. Apart from his regular school work, swimming lessons and Chinese language lessons - he park himself in front of his comp.

Want to scold also dunno what to scold.

Maybe sign ur boy up for tons of tuition lessons he will get so tired and he has no time for computer?

Well, that's for if you are Kiasu, auntie and rich enough :rotflmao:

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:01:29 GMT

Ichigokun — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:01:29 GMT

XD Honestly, I find Facebook games quite boring and lame. I don’t even bother to play those games.

I just look up for some games on google and download them.

Well, if ur child is too glued to the computer, learn from my mother!

1) Take out the Internet modem from the desktop and hide it

2) If it’s a laptop, hide the entire laptop

3) (WARNING! UNLESS YOU ARE A PRO AT DISMANTLING COMPUTER PARTS, DONT TRY THIS) Dismantle the hard disk storage space from the computer

4) WHIP OUT THE CANE AND THREATEN ()

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:22:23 GMT

Wockets — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:22:23 GMT

If they have youtube available to them , this can help enlighten them if they understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz7mWKeNgZE

Letting them make the choice themselves would be far better them forcing the choice down their throat.

How long can u force things down their throat before they regurgitate them ?

Alternatively , share with them success stories and hope they can idolize one of them

e.g. Mark Zuckerberg , Bill gates etc. Not those korean pop bands or that sort of idols.

rags to riches http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/17/rags-to-riches-worlds-ric_n_671253.html#s120920&title=Larry_Ellison_Oracle

Often as a kid , they would have no idea what they want and when they grow up , they would still have no idea what they want.

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:06:28 GMT

dadsandmoms — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:06:28 GMT

hello mommies and daddies,

I think this issue is very important and should be dealt with as early as possible and as early as possible. some of my friends felt that ipads and computers are good sources of distraction for the kids that gives the parents some space to breathe but over time its a bad bad mistake. Now they are ONLY GLUED TO IPAD AND IPHONE AND ANDROID PHONE.

from some understanding of this kind of computer stuff is not allowing the children to grow a dependency on them and as parents we should physically distance the children from the computers by limiting play time or physically bringing them away from the devices by bringing them out.

of course, by bringing them out the activities have to be fun enough to keep their minds off the computer games.cos i stay near kallang there so i bring them to the indoor playground to play and make it fun for them. http://goo.gl/0OgLt i love to bring them there because i can also take a small breather by the side of the cafe while my kids interact with other boyboys

while we , as grownups, know whats good for them , better use our authority to separate them first because this is something we can impose on them. When they are older and more rebellious i think it will be hard to change them already so i try to keep them apart from computers and only limit their time with the devices hope it helps !

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:23:45 GMT

cnimed — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:23:45 GMT

I think it’s different when you set the ground rules from the start, as opposed to backtracking. I limit screen time (computer/tv/ipad) for my children from the very first time they use the media. Any screen time they get is a bonus. It’s not surprising to spend a weekday without them looking at any screen at all. There are no strong reactions, it is simply mum’s rules, and they do notice that I don’t spend much time on TV or electronics either. They have many other hobbies and activites to occupy themselves with.

I am not against computer or TV. They are indispensable to me and my husband. But I am very selective with the usage, and the time spent on them. I do also think that one needs enough of real life to be able to produce something fruitful in cyber life, be it content or design. Even internet research needs to be complemented with real research work in a library at some point if it is to be substantial.

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:25:50 GMT

HopeandSorrows — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:25:50 GMT

UncleLim:
HopeandSorrows:
U meant this is a family rule in your house and something that is agreed upon within your family that No Facebook is allowed? :rahrah:

We all have our Facebook pages to pretend we are \"normal\" like other people. But we do not log on or check for friends or play games. We live our lives in the real world and play real games like badminton, and farm real plants, and send friends real cakes that we bake!! :rotflmao:

Should encourage such culture in homes! :lovesite: But UncleLim, how did your kids react when you enforce the house rules initially?

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:41:05 GMT

Lance G.0723 King — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:41:05 GMT

I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with facebook but just like so many things in children’s lives (Xbox, texting, TV) it uses up amazing amounts of time with no real productivity. Not that there is anything wrong with that, we all need time out but children need to learn how to utilise the power of delayed gratification. "Of course you can spend time on Facebook…when your homework, your study and your chores are done"

I think there is a bit much panic about Facebook - I find it to be an amazingly open system where really it is almost impossible to hide malicious intent. The user has full control over who has access to them and it is a great mechanism for parents to use to keep an eye on what their children are doing.

Ultimately though if you are concerned about the amount of time your child is spending on the computer… turn it off! Who pays for the electricity in your home? Who is in charge? Take it away, lock it in a cupboard. But if your child is achieving well, is completing everything you expect of him and still spending a lot of time on the computer, where is the problem?

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:31:48 GMT

antebellum — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:31:48 GMT

…

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:36:52 GMT

cherrygal — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:36:52 GMT

That’s a good post Uncle Lim! We have real lives to lead, not virtual lives…

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:35:52 GMT

UncleLim — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:35:52 GMT

HopeandSorrows:
U meant this is a family rule in your house and something that is agreed upon within your family that No Facebook is allowed? :rahrah:

We all have our Facebook pages to pretend we are \"normal\" like other people. But we do not log on or check for friends or play games. We live our lives in the real world and play real games like badminton, and farm real plants, and send friends real cakes that we bake!! :rotflmao:

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:44:41 GMT

cherrygal — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:44:41 GMT

At my household, computer games (kids games, no facebook) only allowed for 1hr on Sat during school holidays. Term time no games allowed. We deliberately do not buy iphone, ipad, wii, xbox etc. He is only allowed to use our laptops which are kept at a common area. He is not allowed to use the computer in his own room, door shut etc.

Games we play are kid-friendly ones such as Fishdom, Sudoku, Word games etc. Occasionally we go to the free online kids games websites and he plays shooting or racing games.

He knows his friends will call him uncool but he also knows I control this for a reason. I tell him games can be entertaining but playing too much also makes us stupid. I show him news articles about pple who die while playing games.

You mentioned that you had no reason not to let him play after he finishes his work etc. I don’t agree to use it as a daily reward for good behaviour. The gaming time should not be a daily expectation from your son. It should be a privilege during the school holidays, not a must-have.

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:52:20 GMT

HopeandSorrows — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:52:20 GMT

U meant this is a family rule in your house and something that is agreed upon within your family that No Facebook is allowed? :rahrah:

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:34:00 GMT

UncleLim — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:34:00 GMT

No Facebooking for anyone in our family and we are still having a good time !

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:55:26 GMT

HopeandSorrows — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:55:26 GMT

You son is such a good boy! He seek your permission first! How lovely! I wish my boy's like that. My boy execute the task b4 reporting :spank: :spank:

happyheart:
My son has been nagging me to allow him to start a FB account. He complains that most of his friends have an account and thinks that not having one makes him look 'uncool'! m :sad:
Haha...Personally I feel it is not appropriate and necessary to have at his age so I rejected his request. Instead, I drag him outdoor for exercise and get him more books to read! So far so good

I do allow him one hour of online time during weekend if he can finish the tasks without complain.

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:17:20 GMT

smartmummy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:17:20 GMT

I wanted to delete. Then I didn't delete.my son's friend adding so many unknown people cos of the game.

HopeandSorrows:
smartmummy:
Does he play facebook games?Earlier we discussed here.My son in P4 and I allowed to play fb games. Then I got trouble, yesterday onwards I ban fb games. I removed all games. Fb illegal to see for primary students.He use my fb account and played. I heard from him a game called hackers. He said the game owner can use other people account and take something from them without their knowledge. I saw his friend post something undesirable. Then I enquirer him, he said the above.this kids don't know seriousness. Then I told him our fb account in danger. Then we wanted to delete our account. Then I removed all the games. Now I allow him to play other Internet games in the weekend only.

I also tried to change his activities in a constructive way writing Sci block but he started to see block then ending in games.
You meant you emailed Facebook and told them to delete the Facebook accounts? Actually I think our children are attracted to the Facebook games, not so much of the social features.

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:50:44 GMT

happyheart — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:50:44 GMT

My son has been nagging me to allow him to start a FB account. He complains that most of his friends have an account and thinks that not having one makes him look 'uncool'! m :sad:

Haha...Personally I feel it is not appropriate and necessary to have at his age so I rejected his request. Instead, I drag him outdoor for exercise and get him more books to read! So far so good

I do allow him one hour of online time during weekend if he can finish the tasks without complain.

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:56:04 GMT

HopeandSorrows — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:56:04 GMT

smartmummy:
Does he play facebook games?Earlier we discussed here.My son in P4 and I allowed to play fb games. Then I got trouble, yesterday onwards I ban fb games. I removed all games. Fb illegal to see for primary students.He use my fb account and played. I heard from him a game called hackers. He said the game owner can use other people account and take something from them without their knowledge. I saw his friend post something undesirable. Then I enquirer him, he said the above.this kids don't know seriousness. Then I told him our fb account in danger. Then we wanted to delete our account. Then I removed all the games. Now I allow him to play other Internet games in the weekend only.

I also tried to change his activities in a constructive way writing Sci block but he started to see block then ending in games.

You meant you emailed Facebook and told them to delete the Facebook accounts? Actually I think our children are attracted to the Facebook games, not so much of the social features.

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:53:36 GMT

HopeandSorrows — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:53:36 GMT

Manfrotto:
Make use of his passion and turn it into something constructive:) Get him to post pictures (may spark his interest in photography), decorate! his wall with interesting News, articles, current issues etc that he could share his input and thoughts on the subject. I thing this is helpful with his creative, thinking and writing skills:) You could even join him! I see it as a great opportunity for you guys to have a common interest for bonding. :celebrate:

I myself got hooked onto the Facebook cafe game for a while :scared: but i snapped out of it. I stopped using Facebook because I think my life is seeping away on Facebook. :frustrated:

Hmmm you are right. If i can't beat Facebook, then I shall join my son on Facebook. I could nag on him via Facebook by posting messages on his wall such as \"Have you done your Homework?\" or \"Go Shower Now!!\" :scared:

:heresmyfish:

by the way, the icons here are very cute :rahrah:

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:59:26 GMT

smartmummy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:59:26 GMT

Does he play facebook games?Earlier we discussed here.My son in P4 and I allowed to play fb games. Then I got trouble, yesterday onwards I ban fb games. I removed all games. Fb illegal to see for primary students.He use my fb account and played. I heard from him a game called hackers. He said the game owner can use other people account and take something from them without their knowledge. I saw his friend post something undesirable. Then I enquirer him, he said the above.this kids don’t know seriousness. Then I told him our fb account in danger. Then we wanted to delete our account. Then I removed all the games. Now I allow him to play other Internet games in the weekend only.

I also tried to change his activities in a constructive way writing Sci block but he started to see block then ending in games.

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:42:54 GMT

Manfrotto — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:42:54 GMT

Make use of his passion and turn it into something constructive:) Get him to post pictures (may spark his interest in photography), decorate! his wall with interesting News, articles, current issues etc that he could share his input and thoughts on the subject. I thing this is helpful with his creative, thinking and writing skills:) You could even join him! I see it as a great opportunity for you guys to have a common interest for bonding. :celebrate:

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:01:20 GMT

HopeandSorrows — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:01:20 GMT

I have no good reasons to bar him from the computer. He finished his homework, his grades are relatively okay and he help me run errands at times

I rather he spend his free time reading and i am hoping he would ask me to send him for more course.

Whenever I peek at what he's doing on the comp, it's always FACEBOOK. Argh! Should bar Facebook! I always have this feeling he is not doing something constructive on the computer. Sigh....

Manfrotto:
It will only get tougher in the next few years of you don't intervene now:) . Not going to be an easy process. You could just set a time limit during the day as to how long he is allowed to be logged on (someone has to enforced it.) Or you could spend time to reason out your concern about him devoting too much time to his online activities and hopefully he will be willing to accept your point of view. It will also be wise to have other alternatives for him to channel his access energy into. Something of greater interest and constructive. Good luck!

Reply to Getting my son not to glue himself to the computer? on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:57:43 GMT

Manfrotto — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:57:43 GMT

It will only get tougher in the next few years if you don't intervene now:) . Not going to be an easy process. You could just set a time limit during the day as to how long he is allowed to be logged on (someone has to enforced it.) Or you could spend time to reason out your concern about him devoting too much time to his online activities and hopefully he will be willing to accept your point of view. It will also be wise to have other alternatives for him to channel his access energy into. Something of greater interest and constructive. Good luck! :rahrah: