Mom Calls 911 Over Son's Non-Stop Gaming

[Terramax]

As much as I did fancy having a go its got nothing to do with being uneducated or bigotted. Its about the fact that it reads like she is seeing games as unholy and has to claim that even with Jesus' support the evil of video games is still corrupting her son. As that is insane, she therefore loses credability and is laughable.

I want you to answer me one question: Where in the article does it say anything about her thinking video games are evil, or where does it say her decision was based on her faith?

I'm glad you asked that. By saying that the mother has support from the church it is stating the mother is on the side of the God. By the son rebelling, or supposedly disrespecting his mother it suggests he is also rebelling against the wishes of the church hence videogames support anti-christian behaviour.

It's no different to how Elvis Presley's sexually suggestive dance routines early in his career had Christians and the press alike suggesting he was singlehandedly corrupting the minds of all American kids and he alone would make the youth a group of sexually promiscuous, rebelling anti-christs.

 

[twistedmic]

Thankfully my parents are pretty tolerent, but this is an example of how not to handle an out of control kid.

And how do we know that the son is an out of control kid? Because he didn't listen to his mother and stayed up and played video games, then got into an argument with his mother after she yanked the plug on his console?
Maybe the son is a normal teenage kid who's rebelling slightly and wants to be treated with respect and the mother is a condescending control freak. Her idea of 'respect' could mean that he has to follow every sing thing she says with blind obedience without showing a single independent thought and the failure to do so means that he hates her and wishes her dead.

 

[chronobreak]

well, if he got it as a gift then that would mean that the parent probably bought it for him. So much as stealing it, your outa your fucking mind if you think that kids could steal something these days. Paying for it, then it is his game and the mother can't take it from him. Borrowing it from a friend, the friend is at fault. Renting it, again he either payed with his own money so it is his responsibility or the mother rented it for him. Finding it, who the fuck leaves a 40 dollar game on the fucking streets.

and this is what i say, the kid wan'ts to stay up all night playing a game, fine but he is the one that is going to ruin his learning. (yes not good grammar but i dont give a fuck.)
The mother did the wrong thing yes, but she went to the extreme, doesn't mean she is not a good parent.

from all the posts you put out it seems that you are an over protective mother/father and needs to give your kid a break. Are you taking lessons from Michael Atkinson?

Yeah, I must be WAY out of my mind to think kids could steal things, in today's day and age *first ever Escapist facepalm*

People can also get gifts from people other than their parents. I said finding it was a slim chance. Did you even read my post? If he paid for it, guess what? His mother can certainly take it away from him! It's as easy as taking it out of his hands and hiding it from him. Oh, but that isn't "legal"? Well sure, the kid can take his mother to court, have her fined, and he'll be taken out of the household and put into foster care. Sounds good, right?

Your parents can do almost whatever they wish in terms of discipline, as long as they don't hurt you, which they still can do, lightning isn't going to crash from the sky to stop them.

You say fine, the kid will ruin his learning, it's on him. HE IS 14 YEARS OLD. He is certianly in no position to be making life decisions, and that is why his mother needs to instill boundaries. It would take a very bad parent to say "Hey, go play with that lighter, that's fine, but once you set yourself or property on fire, you'll be sorry!" As a parent, you aren't supposed to let them get to that point, if you're doing your job right.

I'm not overprotective, either. Please don't make assumptions about my personal life, it is not tolerated. No, I don't let my kids stay up all night playing games. I must be HORRIBLE. My poor children don't even have a chance in this world. What does Atkinson have to do with this discussion, again?

I'm glad you asked that. By saying that the mother has support from the church it is stating the mother is on the side of the God.

Wrong. You should see the food drives my Church does. Alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals... we provide support to all of them, regardless. There are many people the Church supports who do not roll with Jesus. The Church is as much a social institution, at least in my community, as a Religious one. It offers substance rehabilitation, therapy, help with food and rent, and companionship, and we do not discriminate if someone is a Christian or not.

 

[Kukakkau]

I'm guessing this is an article made up by newspapers to keep the negative spotlight in games. It's WAY too convient for my liking - religon, young teenager, agressive reaction and of course the kicker: GTA

It just seems like the first kind of story any simple minded person who hates video games would come up with

 

[Master_Fubar23]

When I saw this in the local news, my first reactions were, in order:
"That mom is a moron."
"The kid's a prick"
"They both need help, the mom first."
I'm reading this thread three pages in, and it turns out my reaction's the same as most.
That's nice to know.

ur right
probably right
mom yes, kid help with???

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

she's the parent and yet she couldn't get her kid to turn off the console or stop playing games she didn't like? Here's a crazy idea, get rid of them! I have 3 kids in my house, and I have been an avid gamer for the last 20 years. The kids don't play the M-Rated games because I don't let them. I have complete control over what they play because I'm the adult. If she can't handle keeping her kid away from the games she doesn't like, maybe the kid shouldn't have the games at all... And for that matter, maybe she shouldn't have kids.

 

[ElephantGuts]

Isn't calling the police for that sort of thing illegal? If I was a cop and I got called out to help a mother parent her 14 year old son I would arrest her for whatever it's called when people call police for false problems.

Since she was letting her 14 year old son play an M rated game who obviously was too immature to do so, and then couldn't stop her son from playing the game, it's obvious she needs parenting help, but not from the police.

 

[Mcface]

Calling 911 because your kid doesn't listen to you? Sound more like she's got a problem.

Indeed.

Would she prefer the kid spend all night shooting heroin?
She obviously lacks parenting skills. Him playing video games is the least of her problems.

Parents need to choose their battles.

 

[Godavari]

I'm sure I'm not the first to point this out, but as the mother shouldn't she have just, you know, confiscated the game? And how did he get it anyway? I'm fairly certain Boston is in the US, and that the US says you can't have guns, smokes, fundamental rights to privacy and choice, or GTA4 until you're 18.

I think it speaks volumes about the mother. First she fails to do anything about the objectionable content her son is viewing, and after that incredible parenting fail, she feels the need to waste police resources so that they can do her job.

And also, *generic lol @ "I have the support of my church" comment*.

 

[SupaMechaDeathChrist]

well, if he got it as a gift then that would mean that the parent probably bought it for him. So much as stealing it, your outa your fucking mind if you think that kids could steal something these days. Paying for it, then it is his game and the mother can't take it from him. Borrowing it from a friend, the friend is at fault. Renting it, again he either payed with his own money so it is his responsibility or the mother rented it for him. Finding it, who the fuck leaves a 40 dollar game on the fucking streets.

and this is what i say, the kid wan'ts to stay up all night playing a game, fine but he is the one that is going to ruin his learning. (yes not good grammar but i dont give a fuck.)
The mother did the wrong thing yes, but she went to the extreme, doesn't mean she is not a good parent.

from all the posts you put out it seems that you are an over protective mother/father and needs to give your kid a break. Are you taking lessons from Michael Atkinson?

Yeah, I must be WAY out of my mind to think kids could steal things, in today's day and age *first ever Escapist facepalm*

People can also get gifts from people other than their parents. I said finding it was a slim chance. Did you even read my post? If he paid for it, guess what? His mother can certainly take it away from him! It's as easy as taking it out of his hands and hiding it from him. Oh, but that isn't "legal"? Well sure, the kid can take his mother to court, have her fined, and he'll be taken out of the household and put into foster care. Sounds good, right?

Your parents can do almost whatever they wish in terms of discipline, as long as they don't hurt you, which they still can do, lightning isn't going to crash from the sky to stop them.

You say fine, the kid will ruin his learning, it's on him. HE IS 14 YEARS OLD. He is certianly in no position to be making life decisions, and that is why his mother needs to instill boundaries. It would take a very bad parent to say "Hey, go play with that lighter, that's fine, but once you set yourself or property on fire, you'll be sorry!" As a parent, you aren't supposed to let them get to that point, if you're doing your job right.

I'm not overprotective, either. Please don't make assumptions about my personal life, it is not tolerated. No, I don't let my kids stay up all night playing games. I must be HORRIBLE. My poor children don't even have a chance in this world. What does Atkinson have to do with this discussion, again?

Well first lemme comment on the first sentence, he's 14, yeah he could steal stuff at the age, but what are the chances?
second, a gift mostly comes from relatives, yeah i read your post, found it to be quite the read (sarcasm if you didn't understand)
third, i'm not gonna comment on it.
fourth, IT WAS SATURDAY HE WILL BE TIRED THE NEXT DAY AND PROBABLY NOT WANT TO PLAY AT NIGHT, HE WILL PROBABLY GO TO SLEEP AT HIS NORMALLY BEDTIME.
fifth, Michael Atkinson needed to be in this, cause he thinks he is the father of everykid there for wanted to protect everykid from a little blood. not saying you think that your the father/mother of every child, I'm just saying let them play at least one game over their age group, it will probably help them in life, ya never know. Let em see a tit, they will get board of it later.
sixth, it is called live and learn, they stay up all night playing video games, they learn from it, because now they know that when they are so tired the next day their eyeballs burn, they could probably learn not to do it again.

you gonna flame for this go ahead do it. I am done, once the arguement gets to the second post I say fuck it im not going to fucking do it again. goodbye.

 

[Furyaki12]

Ugh...as other posters have already said, this wouldn't be a big deal if parents would be more inclined to beating the crap out of their kids.

From age 7 to around 16, I made damn sure I didn't piss my mother off enough to make her take action against my games (although if I reaaaaally wanted to beat my bro in another round of Super Smash or get to the next Save Point in Final Fantasy 7, I'd play the game muted.)

I've only gotten in trouble 3 times that I can remember from childhood:

1) Brought home a "C" on a report card. Mother took away all game systems for 2-3 weeks.
2) Got caught awake at midnight playing Super Smash. Mother took TV away for a week I think.
3) "Borrowed" money from a neighbor and Mom found out. She burnt all of my fingers with a lighter so that I couldn't use a controller for about 2 weeks without pain.

And I think she secretly *wished* I would try to call someone for abuse...she woulda been on me before I could finish dialing the 3rd digit...I love my Mommy.

 

[Master_Fubar23]

As a parent, I can only imagine what kind of little shit this kid must be and what he puts his poor mother through. She needs to mom up, and give the damn console away to someone, but if she has this much trouble disciplining her son maybe if she did that the kid would go psycho on her. She's probably afraid of him to some degree to let him walk all over her like that.

Also, from the looks of the story, she's a single mom. This kid is just a brat, too bad the cops couldn't take him away for a bit.

Also as a parent, I couldn't agree more. It's sad that she is so already defeated and he's only 14. What she thinks it's gonna get better when he's 16 or 18? Nope.

No matter what 'we' think of GTA IV and it's affect or non-affect on voilence is irrelevant. It is her house, her kid, her rules. If she feels that strongly about that game or any other game no matter what the title is, um...take it away? How hard can this be?

I have a 17 year old myself, and no way is my 17 year old going to tell me I can't enforce a no-gaming policy or 'title' policy in my house. Clearly they both have issues...her inability to have a spine and let her kid rule her, and his inability to show respect to his mother.

I'm sure this had been said somewhere else in the 160+ responses (that I'm too lazy to read through), but here's a novel idea: TAKE THE CONSOLE AWAY. If you can't do that to a 14 year old, then you as a parent have failed and my sympathy stops.

as a parent as well i cant agree with either of you. blameing the child so quickly? the child reflects the parent. so i cant image the shit that kid has to deal with. also the part when she mentioned the church i was like oh shit... that says it all. parents incompetience is to be blamed not the "lil shit".
as for GTA IV i dont let my child play it but being a gamer i dont just say dont play this even though I'M going to play it later. one thing i hate are hypocrites.so i sit him down and have him watch as a play and point out why i dont want him playing. although he isnt 17 yet but works all the same
lol correct if she needs to discipline the kid and cant take away the console then that just adds to how much i alrdy think she fails.
one more thing. it lead to an arguement when she UNPLUGED the game... sooooo anyone who is a gamer knows if he didnt save the game then all those hrs he spent playing are lost. now no one can tell me he/she wouldnt be pissed if they were doing something for many hours and then someone comes in and deletes, destroys, or breaks whatever you were working on. also before anyone wants to be a dickhead and say its unimportant, well it may be unimportant to you but what does matter is if it is important to him/her. no can or should mitigate someone elses happiness

 

[Phyroxis]

As a parent, I can only imagine what kind of little shit this kid must be and what he puts his poor mother through. She needs to mom up, and give the damn console away to someone, but if she has this much trouble disciplining her son maybe if she did that the kid would go psycho on her. She's probably afraid of him to some degree to let him walk all over her like that.

Also, from the looks of the story, she's a single mom. This kid is just a brat, too bad the cops couldn't take him away for a bit.

Yeah.. My initial reaction was "Wow, she sucks as a parent"

But I think thats too quick of a judgment. I think she needs help in finding ways to deal with his behavior. I mean, I used to play late but also had the threat of having my gaming consoles/pc taken away if I didn't follow rules. If mom said "bed," my ass was in bed, if it wasn't then my console was gone for a week. No fuckin' around.

 

[ultrachicken]

I can't believe she called the cops on her son. There could have been a rape or murder or theft going on, but instead the police went to discipline some woman's child for her. Besides, what kind of 9-1-1 officer would consider that worth their time?

 

[Master_of_Oldskool]

Well, let's see here. Kid acting up? Not going to sleep? Well, as much as I hate to admit it, my mother had the same problems with me at that age. And you know what she did? SHE BENT ME OVER HER KNEE AND SPANKED ME LIKE A 5 YEAR OLD. And pissed as I was at the time, I've come around to her way of thinking. Whack 'im across the ass, lady, I know it works.

 

[Korten12]

ugh... wished she didnt say "I have the church on my side." it makes us seem like twats...

 

[NOT WILL]

As a parent, I can only imagine what kind of little shit this kid must be and what he puts his poor mother through. She needs to mom up, and give the damn console away to someone, but if she has this much trouble disciplining her son maybe if she did that the kid would go psycho on her. She's probably afraid of him to some degree to let him walk all over her like that.

Also, from the looks of the story, she's a single mom. This kid is just a brat, too bad the cops couldn't take him away for a bit.

Also as a parent, I couldn't agree more. It's sad that she is so already defeated and he's only 14. What she thinks it's gonna get better when he's 16 or 18? Nope.

No matter what 'we' think of GTA IV and it's affect or non-affect on voilence is irrelevant. It is her house, her kid, her rules. If she feels that strongly about that game or any other game no matter what the title is, um...take it away? How hard can this be?

I have a 17 year old myself, and no way is my 17 year old going to tell me I can't enforce a no-gaming policy or 'title' policy in my house. Clearly they both have issues...her inability to have a spine and let her kid rule her, and his inability to show respect to his mother.

I'm sure this had been said somewhere else in the 160+ responses (that I'm too lazy to read through), but here's a novel idea: TAKE THE CONSOLE AWAY. If you can't do that to a 14 year old, then you as a parent have failed and my sympathy stops.

as a parent as well i cant agree with either of you. blameing the child so quickly? the child reflects the parent. so i cant image the shit that kid has to deal with. also the part when she mentioned the church i was like oh shit... that says it all. parents incompetience is to be blamed not the "lil shit".
as for GTA IV i dont let my child play it but being a gamer i dont just say dont play this even though I'M going to play it later. one thing i hate are hypocrites.so i sit him down and have him watch as a play and point out why i dont want him playing. although he isnt 17 yet but works all the same
lol correct if she needs to discipline the kid and cant take away the console then that just adds to how much i alrdy think she fails.
one more thing. it lead to an arguement when she UNPLUGED the game... sooooo anyone who is a gamer knows if he didnt save the game then all those hrs he spent playing are lost. now no one can tell me he/she wouldnt be pissed if they were doing something for many hours and then someone comes in and deletes, destroys, or breaks whatever you were working on. also before anyone wants to be a dickhead and say its unimportant, well it may be unimportant to you but what does matter is if it is important to him/her. no can or should mitigate someone elses happiness

what about autosave

 

[Low Key]

well, if he got it as a gift then that would mean that the parent probably bought it for him. So much as stealing it, your outa your fucking mind if you think that kids could steal something these days. Paying for it, then it is his game and the mother can't take it from him. Borrowing it from a friend, the friend is at fault. Renting it, again he either payed with his own money so it is his responsibility or the mother rented it for him. Finding it, who the fuck leaves a 40 dollar game on the fucking streets.

and this is what i say, the kid wan'ts to stay up all night playing a game, fine but he is the one that is going to ruin his learning. (yes not good grammar but i dont give a fuck.)
The mother did the wrong thing yes, but she went to the extreme, doesn't mean she is not a good parent.

from all the posts you put out it seems that you are an over protective mother/father and needs to give your kid a break. Are you taking lessons from Michael Atkinson?

Yeah, I must be WAY out of my mind to think kids could steal things, in today's day and age *first ever Escapist facepalm*

People can also get gifts from people other than their parents. I said finding it was a slim chance. Did you even read my post? If he paid for it, guess what? His mother can certainly take it away from him! It's as easy as taking it out of his hands and hiding it from him. Oh, but that isn't "legal"? Well sure, the kid can take his mother to court, have her fined, and he'll be taken out of the household and put into foster care. Sounds good, right?

Your parents can do almost whatever they wish in terms of discipline, as long as they don't hurt you, which they still can do, lightning isn't going to crash from the sky to stop them.

You say fine, the kid will ruin his learning, it's on him. HE IS 14 YEARS OLD. He is certianly in no position to be making life decisions, and that is why his mother needs to instill boundaries. It would take a very bad parent to say "Hey, go play with that lighter, that's fine, but once you set yourself or property on fire, you'll be sorry!" As a parent, you aren't supposed to let them get to that point, if you're doing your job right.

I'm not overprotective, either. Please don't make assumptions about my personal life, it is not tolerated. No, I don't let my kids stay up all night playing games. I must be HORRIBLE. My poor children don't even have a chance in this world. What does Atkinson have to do with this discussion, again?

Well first lemme comment on the first sentence, he's 14, yeah he could steal stuff at the age, but what are the chances?
second, a gift mostly comes from relatives, yeah i read your post, found it to be quite the read (sarcasm if you didn't understand)
third, i'm not gonna comment on it.
fourth, IT WAS SATURDAY HE WILL BE TIRED THE NEXT DAY AND PROBABLY NOT WANT TO PLAY AT NIGHT, HE WILL PROBABLY GO TO SLEEP AT HIS NORMALLY BEDTIME.
fifth, Michael Atkinson needed to be in this, cause he thinks he is the father of everykid there for wanted to protect everykid from a little blood. not saying you think that your the father/mother of every child, I'm just saying let them play at least one game over their age group, it will probably help them in life, ya never know. Let em see a tit, they will get board of it later.
sixth, it is called live and learn, they stay up all night playing video games, they learn from it, because now they know that when they are so tired the next day their eyeballs burn, they could probably learn not to do it again.

you gonna flame for this go ahead do it. I am done, once the arguement gets to the second post I say fuck it im not going to fucking do it again. goodbye.

The chance is VERY good, actually. I can attest using my own past as an example. And as for your fifth statement, Michael Atkinson refuses to recognize games for ADULTS. A 14 year old is NOT an adult, no matter how much you think they are. If the parent doesn't want their child playing a game designed for people 18+, then they shouldn't be playing the game.

It's not flaming if your argument is crap to begin with. You're kind of asking for it when you compare two things that have nothing to do with one another. Chronobreak is 100% right here.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I lost interest when I heard two phrases: "My church" and "never buy that video." Not even game, just video.