How to get my 6year old son from a playstation 2?

Question

Any suggestions on activities you can do with a 6 year old to get him from playing his game.My son plays from the time he gets up to the time he goes bed.Usually about 8 hours a day.

Answer 1

I had this same problem with my youngest son and it got so bad he would not even get up away from the play-station long enough to eat or go to the restroom! (REAL PROBLEM)......I was so concerned at this point that I immediately took away his playing rights all together! Then came the tantrums and the misbehavior because of his strong will of wanting to play his games so bad, he couldn't stand it! (ANOTHER REAL PROBLEM)......I was at wits end at this point and didn't exactly know where to turn; so, I made him a doctors appt. and told the doctor exactly what was going on with him........The Doctor had some interesting news for me and said I'd done the right thing by taking his rights away! Did you know that too much time in front of the play-station can cause your child to develop epilepsy and cause him to have epileptic seizures! His advise to me was to limit his game playing to an hour a day; maby two tops, but never allow him to play all day.......! My son is now 18 and still enjoys his game system, but I am so glad I took control when he was young! GOOD LUCK!

Answer 2

Well to start with, you are the parent and should not feel guilty about exerting yourself as such. It is o.k. to say...we are turning it off now! It would be really good to get him involved with something active, will help stimulate the mind and body. Bike riding, playing soccer, even if it is you and him playing tag. Something to stimulate him in a posative way. And if you don't think that you can make him completly shut off the playstation, then set limits. you have one hour a day. You choose when you use that, but when it's used it's used. He will probably throw a fit, but you need to stay strong and stick to your guns, it won't last more than two or three days before he realized he can have fun with out the games.

Answer 3

Set limits! YOU are the parent!

Here's what I do for my kids & it works really well so far. I give them tickets (the kind you buy on a roll at an office supply store). They are 10, 5, and 3 years old. Basically, they get tickets instead of an allowance. Then I set up a chart. So many tickets for a TV show. So many for a movie. So many for a trip to the ice cream store. So many for an extra trip to the park. Whatever you want! My kids almost completely gave up TV when I started this! They would much rather take trips to the ice cream shop and the park than sit around & watch a show they're only half-interested in anyway.

Anyway, that's the approach I decided to take and it's been working better than I expected. It also makes them feel as though they are in control, as they colloect the tickets and decide how they want to "spend" them.

Good luck! And remember. YOU are the parent.

Answer 4

He really should NOT be playing PlayStation or watching TV at that age.
You have unknowingly introduced a demon into your child's life, and I do not judge you for it because it is difficult being a parent and you need a break sometimes.

I would like to say that you must make it all stop now, but you have introduced these things into his life already. Do you know it retards their language abilities, and working memory and attention span and etc etc etc.
It lowers your child's intellectual abilities, so end this now while it is not too late.
Damage has been done but you can mitigate that damage.

Take away his TV and his PlayStation and read him a book, take him to the park, go to a baseball game or a hockey game or whatever.... interact with him in new unique environments.

Answer 5

Tell him to turn it off and go play with his toys. He will whine and moan at first, but eventually he will figure something out. Do it gradually, not just cold turkey. Let him play Playstation for an hour, then turn it off, then about an hour or so later, let him have some more playstation time. Also, trips to the park/playground are good...You can't just give in to the demands of a 6 year old, buck up and put up with the whining for crying out loud!

Answer 6

I would take it away completely. Sell it and let him pick out a new toy that requires thinking and/or physical activity. I had a PS2, a Nintendo Game Cube, and 2 Nintendo DS. I sold them all. I have a 6 year old girl and she loved the DS. She was disappointed when it was gone, but she soon found things to play with that were there all along. Children need to use there imaginations when playing. They need to interact with there peers and parents and they really need to be physically active for at least an hour everyday. MOST IMPORTANTLY, YOU ARE THE ONE IN CHARGE. WHAT YOU SAY, GOES!

Answer 7

8 hours a day? How can you let him stay on the game system that long? You have to break him of it. How do you do it? You put your foot down, you unplug it, you take him outside and play hide and go seek, or take him swimming, or take him to the park. Yes, he will totally be against it at first. But if you go out and have a good time he will forget all about it. And time him: let him know that he has 2 hours per day he can play his game system, and you have to take it away after 2 hours. You are the adult, so put some restrictions up.

Answer 8

I wholeheartedly agree with everyone that you need to either take the video away entirely or at least severely restrict it (in our house, kids are allowed up to 1 hour of combined TV and computer games per day, but they rarely use it since they are too busy with other things). Tell him it's not a punishment but that you realized you goofed and need to make him more time for all the other fun things he needs to do.

But you actually asked what your child should be doing instead with all that time. 6-year-olds need exercise, playmates, and time to be creative. Send him out to the backyard or take him to the park; invite his friends over often (have a firm rule: no TV or videos during playdates); buy him a bike or pogo stick or rollerblades or get him a pool membership or anything that will be fun and help him be active! Let him dig for worms or hunt for frogs or walk in the woods or make magic dirt potions. (Activities involving dirt are particularly fun and you get a bonus of adding in an extra-long bath afterwards). Designate at least 20 minutes a day to read to him no matter what, and another 20 minutes for him to read (or look at familiar books) to himself while you sit next to him and read the paper or a novel. Have meals with the family where everyone sits down and talks about their day. Play board games or hide-and-seek or whatever. Turn on some music and dance with him. Get him some legos or blocks or marble tracks or train tracks. Go the library or a museum or the beach. Cook with him. Have art supplies available and give him some ideas to get him started with them. My 6-year-old will spend over an hour drawing a complicated maze.

It's a lot more work to launch your 6-year-old into other types of activities than to sit him in front of a game, especially when he's not used to it. It will be really worth it, though. He'll end up happier, healthier, and generally more fun to be around. When he gets practice, he'll be able to entertain himself in all kinds of productive ways without a lot of help from you. Hang in there.

Answer 9

U make him stop playing it! Who's the parent here? I would never allow my 5 year old step son on the playstation for more than an hour a day. thats his limit! And he gets to choose, playstation 2 or computer. not both in one day! He should be using his imagination and playing with toys and other kids!

Answer 10

You are the parent. You just tell him he can't play all day. Give him a time when he can play and set a limit for how long. ie. He can play after breakfast for 30 minutes. He's 6, he needs to be doing some chores and riding his bike and playing out in the yard. My son would play video games all day if I let him, but I don't. Sometimes I just say no and it works for me.