Runescape!! Arghhhhhh

TeetersOnHeels

My DS started off on Runescape. He's 14 and now moved onto World Of Warcraft (along with about 8 of his mates) His homework seems to have dwindled since the announcement that Year 9 SATs had gone out of the window. Fortunately WOW doesn't seem to be an obsession, and generally if the weather's OK they're out in the park with a football..And "girls" seem to be more interesting to him too now, so perhaps the PC's days are numbered!!!!

sylphraven

My OH is addicted to WOW, I have to make sure he does his chores first as well It does save us money though, before WOW he would want a new game to play each week to keep himself occupied when I was busy (told him I could find him lots of jobs to do around the house).

I like playing it but am not addicted, its just 1 of my many hobbies

JAZ63

Ha Ha
I agree that my son too seems to have less interest in homework since the year 9 sats announcement..funny that !!
I also agree with sylphraven ,in that at least the game he is addicted to saves us money .as we dont have to keep buying the latest games for him.
I darent mention the WOW game to him . especially at the moment.

Savvy_Sue

k60sav wrote: »

Thanyou..at least im not alone, would suggest he pays for it through his mobile but he has me take the membership out of his pocket money, he doesnt even need his pocket money i just feel obliged now as ive always given it to them both, but they do paper rounds and earn plenty for them, it's so frustrating as im seriously struggling financially but even though it's less than a pound a week each it still is begrudged by me, more so 'cos i truly hate the time they, or mainly the 15 yr old spends on this one website!

Getting back to the moneysaving , I think that I would be sitting the boys down and explaining that things have changed, and while you'll continue to give a little bit of pocket money, anything like Runescape they will have to pay for themselves.

It will be interesting to see if it's so attractive then.

pandora205

My son (17), daughter (nearly 15) and elder daughter's boyfriend (nearly 20) are all 'users' of World of Warcraft, which can be very addictive. Fortunately, the younger two now prefer chatting to friends on MSN, though WoW is still popular. My lad and friends all have sleep overs where they bring laptops and play online against each other (and the rest of the world).

I was quite concerned at one time but it doesn't seem too bad these days and they do have friends, go out and do other stuff. And these games are very complex, involving lots of problem solving and reasoning. Let's hope they have some real life benefits too.

The Byron review 'Safer Children in the Digital World' did point out many positives about playing computer games, as well as highlighting some of the issues.

shirlgirl2004

My DS who is 19 was very addicted to WOW and his personality changed. When his PC broke we refused to pay for the repair and he became so lovely to be with again. Eventually he paid for the repair himself but he still stays up all hours playing it. He's now joining the Army. I think he thinks it's like an online game

Paparika

End of the day i know where my son is, yes it maybe on wow or msn chatting to girls (this is new this week).

Rather than outside trawling the streets bored out of his head and up to no good, in the cold and dark.

Money_maker

Both my ds's (13 and 11) are addicted to runescape. Hopefully it will be a fad which wears off. I remember, yu gi oh, pokemon, thomas the tank engine etc - they all died a death.
I did make the youngest wait a couple of months to ensure he was really into it before subscribing. Costs £3.20 month, gone up to £3.50 now. They talk to their friends and complete quests.
Homework always comes first but they do spend a frightening amount of time on this game. They will come off when asked but have all but abandoned the ps2, psp and ds.
On the bright side, a very small Christmas list this year...!

Meatballs

I've been playing computer games for years and years, the problem is I like to perform well at them (generally why it's so addictive). When I played FPS (first person shooters) it was great you could start playing whenever, and stop playing whenever without consequence. Then I started playing in online leagues and competitions which took up some time but was generally only a night a week.

I started playing my first MMO about the time I was doing my GCSEs, and would generally spend all evening on it trying to be the best I could be, that was my first one and I generally played it solo (not with a group of people). Coincidently it was about the time I got growing pains in my knee and had to stop playing football twice a week afterschool and sundays because it would just sieze up for hours afterwards. I didn't get the best grades I could have at school, but I am a bit lazy and lose focus unless it's something I'm really into. I did have the self control to not fail everything and I'm a lucky sob that finds exams relatively easy (11 GCSEs A-B 2xBs and a C at A Level).

At university I started playing WoW, and joined a guild to experience the group content. You needed 20-40 people to kill 'big things', and if people don't show up it's a big let down so I felt VERY obligated to show up. Also if you didn't play often (at least 3 nights a week) it was very hard to join a group of people that did kill 'big things', for me there was no point playing unless I was doing that. At university I could fit it all in with socialising and sport.

Now I've started working I can't play at the level I want to and maintain other things, so I've stopped.

I've gone through phases of playing loads, and then stopping completely, but generally still spend a lot of spare time killing time on the internet (like here).

What are the alternatives (for kids)?

Sit in front of the telly in the evening - At least playing you were communicating and interacting with people although some families are quite social infront of the tv.
Read a book - good for education and imagination but more introverted?
Play a non MMO/console game - you can put these down much easier and make room for other things in your life. Also you can go around friends houses and play. However if you don't live nearby to friends parents need to taxi.
Sport - often requires parents to taxi and pay for the activity.
Hang out with friends on the streets, in town as you're not old enough to visit the pub!
Hobbies - can't really think of anything interesting I'd do?

Give them an alternative which is better, unfortunatly as they are kids you may need to taxi and pay more!