Video Game Intervention

Every parent does it, whether it's Sesame Street, Johnny Test, Dora or video games. We allow our children to indulge just long enough to get supper cooked, the laundry folded, or that blog written without interruption.

Not my kid, but you get the idea.

But maybe, just maybe, I've been needing too much of that time and find now that the signs point to having to take a stand, being the "mean one" and cut back on their video game time. The signs? Here they are:

• During the 10 minute car ride from daycare to school, your child complains, "he's bored."
• After much prodding, your youngest son finally finishes the vegetables on his plate and announces, "Mission complete!"
• You've noticed a patchy rash area at the corner of your child's mouth from sticking his tongue out during play.
• You praise your husband for a household job he's finished, and your youngest asks, "Dad, did you get to the next level?"
• Your children keep the controller with them when they use the bathroom to make sure "no one steals their turn."
• Your oldest child's dreams involve King Kong, James Bond and Mario Brothers.
• You notice your child shaking his hands excessively, when you ask why, he explains he's getting the cramps out of his thumbs. 
• There is a permanent dent in the couch oddly the exact same shape as your child's little butt.
• Your 4-year-old can trouble-shoot any technical problems with the X-Box AND fix them.
• Your children show their dad the tricks to completing a level.
• When your children actually DO play "army guys" using their imagination, they have more than one life.

I think that if they created a reality show about my children's video game habits, it would be as horrific as "intervention." Now I just need to come up with a good retaliation to, "But YOU'RE always on the computer!"