Isolda Sage said:
I am not much of gamer. I come on here to read the articles, really. I am however the mother of a 12 year old gamer, who has lost his mind to World of Warcraft. I have had to block all access to WoW because He had been acting like a true addict.
He plays all night. He sneaks up in the middle of the night to play. When I take the game and his computer away this normally well behaved child turns into a crazed idiot willing to fight me for his computer and the ability to play it.
So as it stands he cannot play and he is mourning the loss of his online friends. Is this a common experience?
When I was a kid, I discovered the wonderful world of gaming when I was around 8 years old. My mother and stepfather, however, did not share my joy of this wonderful new medium. I wasn
t outright barred from playing, but seeing me totally absorbed in what I was doing in front of the screen, must have scared them. Here I was, absorbed in something they didn't understand. Consequently, strict rules were introduced. Half an hour a day. Some days nothing at all.
The result: I'd do anything I could to sneak in some gametime, wherever I could. I would lie, I would swindle, I would do everything in my capacity to still enjoy my games in this injustice. That then resulted in fights with my parents.
My stepfather was the worst. Whenever he brought up gaming and me, he likened me to a drug addict. He would mime shooting a syringe in his arm, to get his point across. This went on from I was 10 'till I moved out, 9 years later.
I love my mom. I love my stepdad. But we don't see eye to eye. I never like talking to them, and I never feel like visiting them. I like the idea of them existing, and I hope them the best, but I feel very... Not interested in them. I have only blood-ties to them, not social ties, if it makes sense. Now, my father never restricted me much. He took an active interest, would watch me play, or on rare occasions, join in himself. He wasn't a gamer. But he saw it mattered to me, so he endeavoured to understand it. And my relationship to my father is great. We do lots of stuff together. Just the other day, I took an 8 hour drive with him, just to keep him company.
What I am getting at, is that your son has a problem. He has been introduced to something that, in my oppinion, he shouldn't. MMO's can really get into your emotional system. But you have to be really careful you don't antagonize your son, or you might loose him. I have no concrete advice on how to do this, however, and for that I apologize. I am not a parent myself, and I wouldn't want to theorize on how you should raise your children. I can only tell you what happens when parents not only show a lack of support, but scolds a child for having interests.
