HS student time usage: unscheduled leisure

carolyn
Wed, 29 Dec 2004 20:06:16 +0000

My 14 year old is much like your son. He loves his CS games to the point of obsession. Like Katwkittens boys, when he became involved with football this past fall, all of that changed. He was way too tired after practice and games to do much more than homework and fall into bed. Interestingly, as he got more exercise and stopped playing CS games, his personality also became much more pleasant. We noticed this especially after the football season ended when he went back to playing CS games.

Luckily, he seems to realize this as well and requested a weight bench for Christmas. He is also going to start conditioning for the next football season in April which should break him away from the CS world again.

I do think that there is an addictive quality to playing computer games - at least, for my son. He does not seem able to pull himself away from them easily unless we offer him an alternative or he finds one like football on his own.

As an aside, Katwkitens, I have to tell you that everything you told me about football came true - my son had the BEST time of his life and can’t wait for the team to start up again. In addition to slimming him down and buffing him up into excellent physical shape, he absolutely adored the comraderie and team work of football. We were impressed with his coaches and their dedication and caring as well. I was dubious about it all but now I see that a good football program can be a wonderful experience for a boy this age.