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How do you send a kid to their room when their room is a gamers paradise? It’s an interesting dilemma and one that parents face these days more and more. There was a time when an electronic toy was a novelty and therefore when the kid got bad a parent could take it away and it would be the end of it. These days the electronics are not just a part of a child’s fun but they are a part of a child’s life. They use their computer for homework and to do papers. They have the cell phone in case of emergencies. So when a kid acts out and they need to be punished, a parent can’t always do the easy thing because taking away a cell phone could mean more work for them.
This doesn’t mean that a parent cannot lay down the law. The first thing that a parent needs to do when punishing a kid is remove the source of stimulation. Taking away their video gaming system is a great way for them to be punished and for them not to be able to sneak around and play it.
If a child has a cell phone you can ask to have it when they are in the house. A child might need it when they are out, but when they are home it will only serve to text and chat with friends. If they are being punished then they should be doing that anyway.
Internet use is tricky. Moving the computer out into the living room is a good way for you to control their usage. Also, limiting them to using it for school projects only will help them from surfing the Internet and from hanging out on social media sites.
Being a parent in the digital age isn’t easy. At the end of the day it comes back to enforcing punishment and sticking to that.
