<p>Another thought: Many times I wished that we could have done a better job of managing the gaming. But never did I learn of any method that worked. If I knew of one now, I’d suggest it…but I still don’t.</p>
<p>I don’t regret not letting him take a hard fall on account of it, though. Missing a chance at college is too harsh a penalty for immaturity, imo, especially for a homeschooled student. He’ll most likely mature, if you help him make sure the load isn’t too heavy the 1st semester.</p>
<p>“You know, I’ve always thought maybe the thing to do with kids that get obsessed with games is encourage them on an educational level to get into game development. Graphic design, computer animation, programming, etc… Since the games aren’t going anywhere and the kids aren’t going to stop playing them perhaps stepping up the level of engagment is an interesting angle.” proudAmericanmom</p>
<p>Agree 100%. My 6th grade son is an avid gamer (mostly WOW). I enrolled him in an idTECH ([Summer</a> Computer Camps for Kids, Teens and High School Students – iD Tech Computer Camps](<a href=“http://www.internaldrive.com%5DSummer”>http://www.internaldrive.com)) 2D game development program at SMU last summer and he loved it. He is currently teaching himself JAVA programming. Actually caught him flipping through big sister’s algebra text to learn about “polynomial stuff”. I know this won’t work for everyone, but it is nice when an interest can be channeled into a real learning opportunity.</p>
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<p>Yep. I wasn’t a video gamer, but all the books I read as a kid certainly ate into my studying time. And I certainly fell behind on classes from time to time. It’s socially acceptable among parents for their kids to be bookworms, though, and not to be gamers. </p>