Is your child finding it hard to stop gaming too much? Given a chance, children can play for hours. It is one of the most popular pastimes among young people. Almost all boys and about half of all girls play games. Stopping play, however, is often a struggle. How do you get your child to stop playing without getting into trouble? Here are some tips!

1) Immerse Yourself in the Child’s Worldview

Immersing yourself in your child’s world of play and experience is an essential first step. This will help you understand why your child has a hard time stopping. Talking about your child’s games and watching and playing them yourself will help you better understand what your child is doing. An added benefit is that the child will feel that he or she knows what he or she is talking about and will be able to respond more honestly to conversations about gaming.

2) Teach Children to Deal With Peer Pressure

Some games require players to work together as a team. If one person drops out during this process, the group will suffer. This can make it difficult for your child to turn down the game or quit early. Your child must be able to deal with this peer pressure and dare to say no. Talking with your child about this topic will help you understand if it is still difficult for him or her. Support him or her if necessary.

3) Set Limits

This is a tough age to limit yourself. In addition, games’ (usually unpredictable) rewards are irresistible to children. Games offer more and faster rewards than other forms of entertainment. Therefore, you need to help your child set limits and respect playtime. Do this consistently. If you let your child break the rules without repercussions, he or she will stop taking you seriously.

4) Create a World of Play Together

Discussing playtime with your child and coming to a clear agreement for both parties will help keep the deal; if even 30 minutes is something for your child, it becomes a joint commitment. The amount of playtime allowed in a day varies from child to child. A healthy balance of other activities, hobbies, and live contact with friends is more important than screen time. If there are few activities outside of school, encourage your child to participate in other (social) activities.

5) Give Them Recognition

Gaming is very intense and can release much-needed adrenaline. It may be the reason your child gets angry when you stop. But it is also because at this age, the brakes are not yet fully applied. Sometimes it is helpful to recognize when a child is angry. This means, for example, saying, “I can see you are angry,” or “I can imagine you are annoyed,” and then saying, “We have an agreement. Often there is no need to say more to take the “sting” out of the confrontation.

6) Talk To Your Child

Broad conversations about the game are best made when there is no more fighting. Take something nice and cozy in a neutral, quiet moment, and then talk. This way, the child will be more receptive to the conversation. Talk about yourself, how you experience your child, or how you seem to notice your child.

7) Save the Game Progression

Young children may not know how to navigate in-game options or need help learning how to save their game progress. Abandoning the game is less likely to be a problem if they know how to save and feel that their efforts will not be wasted. At the end of the game, wait for your child to save the game and help him or her if he or she cannot do it alone!

Let us know if these few tips have helped in the comments below!