Girl, 9, in Rehab after Getting So Addicted to Fortnite She Wet Herself

Megalith

Megalith

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Fortnite has allegedly claimed the soul of another young victim: a 9-year-old girl from the UK is now in intensive therapy after becoming so addicted to the co-op sandbox survival game that she would wet herself instead of going to the toilet, as she could not bear to leave the screen. She even hit her father in the face when he tried to take her Xbox away.

“My husband saw her light on in the night and found her sitting on a urine-soaked cushion playing the game. I found her backside was red raw. She was so hooked to the game she wouldn’t even go to the toilet.” Shocked, they asked the little girl to talk to them about what had been happening, when she revealed she had been playing for up to ten hours a day, sometimes until 5am.
 
Ultima99 said:
So while helicopter parenting isn't the path to being a great parent, neither is being so uninvolved you have no idea they have a 10 hour a day gaming addiction.
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This.

Megalith said:
Fortnite has allegedly claimed the soul of another young victim: a 9-year-old girl from the UK is now in intensive therapy after becoming so addicted to the co-op sandbox survival game that she would wet herself instead of going to the toilet, as she could not bear to leave the screen. She even hit her father in the face when he tried to take her Xbox away.

“My husband saw her light on in the night and found her sitting on a urine-soaked cushion playing the game. I found her backside was red raw. She was so hooked to the game she wouldn’t even go to the toilet.” Shocked, they asked the little girl to talk to them about what had been happening, when she revealed she had been playing for up to ten hours a day, sometimes until 5am.
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So you're telling me parents need to *GASP* actually talk to their kids?
This being the UK, I bet the "rehab" is state sponsored as well. While I am generally in favor of state-sponsored healthcare services -- this right here is a prime example of what NOT to allow and why I think many Americans especially are rightfully apprehensive of such programs.
 
After days of doing nothing but playing with our famicom my dad told me that if I didn't stop he was going to make me eat the thing until it was all gone. Although he had never once hurt me or my siblings at that moment I knew he was going to really do it. Stopped right away and from then on made sure my chores for the day were done before touching the thing.
 
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bigdogchris said:
I wonder what amount of science they put into creating addictive qualities in these games. Would be interesting to be a fly on the wall.
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I can't speak too much to the Social Engineering side, but a while back I sat next to a guy with a PhD in Economics on a flight to SJ.
He was in-between jobs, but he worked at major game studios on their in-game economies. According to him, just the amount of simulation and research that goes into designing in-game microtransaction economies is staggering and quite scary.
They perform focus group studies, market simulations, and basically attempt to determine the thresholds for prices and how to maximize profits in the 6-18 months lifespan of some games.

Granted, this has probably changed more recently with the push towards long-lived "services" instead of actual games.
The point being, if they spend this much effort on the economics, I imagine they spend just as much if not even more on the addictive properties of games.
 
Ultima99 said:
So while helicopter parenting isn't the path to being a great parent, neither is being so uninvolved you have no idea they have a 10 hour a day gaming addiction.
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I wouldnt say breaking in on your kid's 10 hour long gaming session is being a helicopter parent. Hell if you look in on your 9 year old kid at least once an hour I wouldnt call that being a helicopter parent
 
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Ultima99 said:
So while helicopter parenting isn't the path to being a great parent, neither is being so uninvolved you have no idea they have a 10 hour a day gaming addiction.
Click to expand...
Today's society does not understand the meaning of the words balance or moderation. On another slightly related note, I feel like I'm witnessing the end results of failed social experiments.
 
What kind of parent lets their 9 year old kid play games for 10 hours a day? At 9, my parents kicked me outside to keep myself busy.
 
I'm glad I don't let my kids play computers games that often... maybe once every fortnight when it is bad weather for instance
 
I have a daughter that plays Fornite and another that plays Roblox (and sometimes the Sims). We made them do chores today before they were allowed to play - the look on their faces was priceless. If they did not comply, they would lose access to their devices.
I have a safe that can hold 2 PC's, a laptop, a few cell phones (and other things it is supposed to store). It keeps everything nice and safe. I know how much it holds because I've taken their stuff from them before and locked it up.
I also have Circle - it's a handy tool that lets you blocks their devices anytime. My favorite: my one daughter couldn't believe Disney sells the product. Her question: wasn't Disney supposed to make stuff kids liked?
 
I always feel bad for the kids and parents when I read articles like this. (But it makes me feel better about my parenting skills too lol.)

I see this all the time with my job, going to people's houses and they have their kids, usually starting at literally like 1 year old, and each kid has a phone, tablet, AND a computer. Plus game consoles, etc. Just ridiculous. So of course when you plop them in front of a device for hours on end being so young, by the time they are older, they are going to be addicted.

I've got a 6 year old son....he plays on our tablets and phones and loves Roblox and Minecraft.

However, he's limited to 2 hours a day of "screen time" whether that's playing games, watching shows on TV, etc. And to first play the games, hes' got to do chores like helping to put his laundry away, helping us clean, or put his toys away, etc.

In addition, now that's it's summer, he thought he had it made with no homework. Nope, my wife made up a complete homework packet with worksheets to do. (math, reading, etc.) Each worksheet he does he can get like up to 30 minutes of 'screen time'. Sure he grumped the first day, but now he knows what's expected of him and he's got no issues with helping out, and I feel like he's actually earned his time to play as well. Thankfully he loves playing outside as well so we usually are outside more anyway.

I worry what will happen when he's a bit older, but also I feel that by giving him positive limits now, will help him regulate himself in the future anyway....
 
Good parents of little snowflake would have gotten her a potty chair or some Depends.

Hell if my dog pissed on the sofa he'd get his ass beat, but then again he's probably a lot smarter than this little one.

The real issue that jolted these fine parents into action was when Mom "began noticing there were regular payments to Microsoft on their credit card, of about £50 a month." :(
 
Travolta said:
My dad would have kicked my ass and smashed the xbox to smithereens. And the tv/monitor.
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This right here. This didn't require rehab, it requires a parent not being a pussy. Problem one, take the Xbox away. Problem two, if the Kid lashes out, introduce them to the principles of physics of the consequences of lashing out at someone bigger than you.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
This right here. This didn't require rehab, it requires a parent not being a pussy. Problem one, take the Xbox away. Problem two, if the Kid lashes out, introduce them to the principles of physics of the consequences of lashing out at someone bigger than you.
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Or provide the kid with some meaning to life and teach him self-defense and the defense of his fellows instead of a crude introduction to natural law.
 
My son doesn't live with me and I am still able to limit his screen time on his Switch/Computer. Be a parent 1st, not a friend.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Two entirely different things there. You completely missed the point.
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I got your point loud and clear. Take away their shit and beat 'em up if they get rowdy. What you're missing is the fact that most of these kids who are obsessed with video games (and tech) don't have much else going for them. Physical discipline in response to a natural expression of anger is the wrong way of going about it in my opinion. You should be able to condition them prior to the fact.
 
Too many people having kids and not raising them. It's not the school's or media's responsibility to raise them. You can have sex without procreating; there are many contraception methods out there if one doesn't like condoms.

Too many people with all of this access to technology and not knowing how to use it (extreme computer illiteracy/ lack of netiquette). It's sickening how someone can google a pair of shoes, but can't google how to change the line spacing in Word.

The educational environment isn't helping anything. This concept of 1-1 technology for students, and more educational programs than you can shake a stick at. The reality is in most 1-1 classrooms, it's "Here Billy, grab a laptop and get out of my face for 6 hours."
 
Ultima99 said:
So while helicopter parenting isn't the path to being a great parent, neither is being so uninvolved you have no idea they have a 10 hour a day gaming addiction.
Click to expand...

Why is a 9 year old playing this game, why does she have so much free time to play, and why does she have a system in her room to play this game?

At 9 years old my kid was not allowed to play online multiuser games like this, nor did they have anywhere near this amount of free time.

Also, at 17 they STILL don't have a computer or TV in their room. (do have a 3DS and phone, but at least that limits what they can do.)
 
drdoug99 said:
I always feel bad for the kids and parents when I read articles like this. (But it makes me feel better about my parenting skills too lol.)

I see this all the time with my job, going to people's houses and they have their kids, usually starting at literally like 1 year old, and each kid has a phone, tablet, AND a computer. Plus game consoles, etc. Just ridiculous. So of course when you plop them in front of a device for hours on end being so young, by the time they are older, they are going to be addicted.

I've got a 6 year old son....he plays on our tablets and phones and loves Roblox and Minecraft.

However, he's limited to 2 hours a day of "screen time" whether that's playing games, watching shows on TV, etc. And to first play the games, hes' got to do chores like helping to put his laundry away, helping us clean, or put his toys away, etc.

In addition, now that's it's summer, he thought he had it made with no homework. Nope, my wife made up a complete homework packet with worksheets to do. (math, reading, etc.) Each worksheet he does he can get like up to 30 minutes of 'screen time'. Sure he grumped the first day, but now he knows what's expected of him and he's got no issues with helping out, and I feel like he's actually earned his time to play as well. Thankfully he loves playing outside as well so we usually are outside more anyway.

I worry what will happen when he's a bit older, but also I feel that by giving him positive limits now, will help him regulate himself in the future anyway....
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How dare you raise your kid properly. It gives him an unfair advantage over others.

I'm sure the government will find some way to penalize him when he applies for college and give preference to all the snowflakes out there.
 
The problem started when the parents put a tv and Xbox in the girls bedroom. A 9 year old does not have reason or impulse control. That is why children have parents - to make reasonable choices for them. However, when the parents are idiots you can’t expect the children not to be idiots too.
 
nutzo said:
Why is a 9 year old playing this game, why does she have so much free time to play, and why does she have a system in her room to play this game?

At 9 years old my kid was not allowed to play online multiuser games like this, nor did they have anywhere near this amount of free time.

Also, at 17 they STILL don't have a computer or TV in their room. (do have a 3DS and phone, but at least that limits what they can do.)
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Proper parenting and moderation is key. My kid has had a laptop of his own for 3-4 years (He's 10 now) and plays a variety of games, including online games. However, I use parental controls to limit/lock down use and know the games he is playing and have instructed him on proper behavior online. He's straight A's in school, in the gifted program, and is learning to program...also has a better grasp on creativity in computing than I ever have, lol.
 
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