How to tell when your child s gaming habit has turned into an addiction stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“It’s like heroin, but it’s not heroin.”
That is how my dad describes the experience of his two youngest children’s addictions to video games. My little brother currently struggles with this, exacerbated by confinement during the pandemic, while I went through it some years ago.
My dad went on to list some of the specific behaviours he has observed across both of our experiences: “Unwarranted aggression, disruption of family dynamics, unauthorised use of credit cards, the disappearance of cash, nutritional issues, hiding of food in the gaming room, lying, manipulation, falling school results, foul language use, disinterest in family activities, dental hygiene neglect, weight gain, sloth…”