If you believe you have a child or teenager suffering from a video game addiction, this page could be a life saver. Proceed with care, video game addiction can be a very serious problem, and needs to be treated carefully. Don't rush your child or teen right out of video games, they could become worst, and become more aggressive towards you. They might also start playing video games without your knowledge; playing in the middle of the night, or at an Arcade, losing vast amounts of sleep or money.


Some of the symptoms of video game addiction in children and teens include:

• Vast amounts of time spent playing video games. Coming home from school and right into video games, this is one of the biggest signs.
  
• Falling behind in school and homework, failing to get assignments in when required, grades coming down.
• Not coming to dinner, apparently far too busy playing video games.
• Depressed and angry when they're away from their video games.
• Will do anything to play video games, even if it means getting up in the middle of the night to get some gaming time in.
  

If your child or teen has any of the above symptoms, you need to take urgent action.


1. First educate yourself, do some research on the games your child or teen has on their video game consoles or PCs. Ask your child/teen questions about them, even try and get hands on with some of them, play alongside them. Work out which games your child or teen should and should not have. Make sure you are in charge of which games your child or teen buys. If your child or teen has access to high-speed internet, be aware of what they might be doing. Buying games is not the only way of getting games. They can also illegally download them from the internet, its very possible to do these days.


2. Work out a system where homework and chores come first, video games should be the reward. Each chore could be worth 15 minutes playing time. Just don't let them take advantage of this system, eg doing chores in advanced or rushing them for more game time. There should also be plenty of breaks when playing video games, get them to get up and walk around, have a glass of water, go outside and get some fresh air. This will allow their eyes to have a rest, and the muscles moving.


3. Don't give your child or teen a video game console or PC in there room. This will separate them from the rest of the family. Put the video game console on the TV in the lounge where everyone can enjoy it, and can be supervised by you. Children or early teens with a laptop, PC or Mac is not recommended. They're simply too young to be given such a device. It's not only just video games to be worried about, but also online chat rooms, instant messaging software such as MSN, AIM and also websites like MySpace. If you do give them one of these devices, be mindful of what they're doing.


4. Offer moderation with other fun activities besides video games. Encourage them to enlist into a sports team at school. Get them into regular bike riding or a basketball hoop in the backyard; not only can it provide hours of fun, but also fresh air and exercise. Sit down and talk with them, try to explore other interests they may have. If it's outside video games, support them in every way for this new activity they may want to try.


5. If your still have problems so far, use a few scare tactics. Sit down and talk to them, layout a few hard facts this website and others point out. Tell some of the horror stories that have happened over the past couple of years. Where their life will be heading if they don't start following the rules you have put into place.


6. When you’re teenager gets to the right age, and when you are satisfied with their results and are confident that they understand video games can be addictive and not healthy if played too much. Graduate them to run the system when they completely understand moderation. Hopefully you have taught them well, and should do just fine from now on.


If your child or teen still having problems with video game addiction after all those steps. You should seek expert help as soon as possible, ToughLove would be an excellent choice. The longer you leave your child or teen playing endless hours of games in that terrible depressed state, the harder it will become to finally get him/her out of the addiction. You might not think it's that serious, but it will become serious. It could only a matter of time. You don't want your child or teen's video game horror story posted on an online news website. Give ToughLove a call today.