Despair at computer game teens (article - NZ)
Despair at computer game teens
TUESDAY , 19 SEPTEMBER 2006
By SALLY KIDSON
Frustrated parents of teens addicted to computer games are turning to the Problem Gambling Foundation for help to wean their children off the games.
Nelson counsellor Phil Townshend said he saw about one new student a month who was addicted to playing online or computer games, or was caught with porn on their computer.
Some students were playing up to 20 hours a weekend, and were coming home from school at lunchtime to play the games, sometimes failing to return to school for the afternoon, he said.
Dr Townshend said parents often found disciplining these children a problem, especially as many were nearly adults.
The students were often "really good kids" who were not causing parents concern in other areas, he said.
"They are not out stealing cars or doing drugs."
Students were mostly at secondary school and had been coming to the service steadily over the past two to three years, he said.
Parents came to the service as a last resort as specialised services dealing with addictions to computer games did not exist, he said.
"They are at the end of their tether by the time they see you."
He was reluctant to speak out about the issue because he worried exposure would "bring a whole lot more kids out of the woodwork".
Dr Townshend said there was not one recognised way of getting kids off computer games, but parents needed to be consistent in controlling access to the computer and encourage their teens to get involved in other activities.
It was also crucial the students accepted some sort of agreement to cut back or limit the time they spent at a computer.
Nelson College’s outgoing headmaster Salvi Gargiulo said last week he had seen a rise in the number of children addicted to computer games, which had became more challenging. "They used to say they were boring."
He had personally been involved with five boys this year whose addiction to computer games had caused problems with their school work.
The boys had come to their teachers’ attention after their performance at school dropped markedly or they started wagging.
The boys had assured staff that games, not drugs, were behind their drop in performance, and drug tests had confirmed this.
Mr Gargiulo said parents needed to take more of an active role in ensuring they knew how their children were spending their time.
"A lot of these kids have been given too much freedom, and not enough supervision."
