The Parenting Thread

[gekisou]

Playing with PCC Huffer while wearing an Optimus Prime top...

か。。。　可愛い！！！ OMG! She is adorable!!! My missus wants 2 kids... starting with a daughter... I'm personally not sure if I want children. I have a favourite saying... 'I love all kids, as long as their not mine.'

[GoktimusPrime]

What can i do to get him interested in other things and reading? I've seen where spending all you time on video games and tv gets you and i want so much more for him.

I think role modelling is heaps important. I'm personally trying to spend less time on the computer and get more active myself to become a better role model for my daughter. I've been reading to her since she was in-utero so I hope that will get her interested in reading.

But considering that your gf's son is already 10, perhaps you could find out what kinds of things he's interested in and get him reading stuff about that. There are a lot of books out there now based on video games, like:
Halo novels
World of Warcraft Novels
Warcraft manga (I read one once, it wasn't half bad)

If he shares some interest in Transformers with you maybe read some Transformer comics or books with him. And as clichéd as this may sound, the Harry Potter books are meant to be quite good. I've only ever read The Philosopher's Stone and I loved it (a lot better than the film). If he's interested in other forms of fantasy maybe read him stuff like The Lord of the Rings. I'm currently reading "Peter Pan and Wendy" (Japanese version) to my daughter atm.

Years ago I had a year 7 boy whose reading age was that of a Year 2 or 3 student. I knew that he really loved climbing (he did indoor climbing as a sport and he was sometimes busted by the cops for climbing public buildings, like the top of shopping centres); and he had zero interest in reading any of the prescribed English texts at school. So I suggested to him and his father that he should start reading about climbing, which he did. The next year his literacy results improved quite significantly.

I also think it's important to get kids interested in being physically active too. Aside from keeping fit, a lot of studies show that it also helps kids mentally; active kids are found to be more attentive and focused in class and tend to perform better academically. Activities that coordinate left and right sides are said to help with focusing and attention too. Some studies also show that active kids are less likely to suffer from depression and other mental health issues too.

Have you been able to find any kind of activity that he may be interested in? If he's interested in shooting games then maybe just run around the yard or park and play shootings with toy guns. <shrug>

I think the key is to find something that can engage the child's interest. Good luck.

[LordCyrusOmega]

But considering that your gf's son is already 10, perhaps you could find out what kinds of things he's interested in and get him reading stuff about that. There are a lot of books out there now based on video games, like:
Halo novels
World of Warcraft Novels
Warcraft manga (I read one once, it wasn't half bad)

If he shares some interest in Transformers with you maybe read some Transformer comics or books with him. And as clichéd as this may sound, the Harry Potter books are meant to be quite good. I've only ever read The Philosopher's Stone and I loved it (a lot better than the film). If he's interested in other forms of fantasy maybe read him stuff like The Lord of the Rings. I'm currently reading "Peter Pan and Wendy" (Japanese version) to my daughter atm.

Years ago I had a year 7 boy whose reading age was that of a Year 2 or 3 student. I knew that he really loved climbing (he did indoor climbing as a sport and he was sometimes busted by the cops for climbing public buildings, like the top of shopping centres); and he had zero interest in reading any of the prescribed English texts at school. So I suggested to him and his father that he should start reading about climbing, which he did. The next year his literacy results improved quite significantly.

I also think it's important to get kids interested in being physically active too. Aside from keeping fit, a lot of studies show that it also helps kids mentally; active kids are found to be more attentive and focused in class and tend to perform better academically. Activities that coordinate left and right sides are said to help with focusing and attention too. Some studies also show that active kids are less likely to suffer from depression and other mental health issues too.

Have you been able to find any kind of activity that he may be interested in? If he's interested in shooting games then maybe just run around the yard or park and play shootings with toy guns. <shrug>

I think the key is to find something that can engage the child's interest. Good luck.

This thing is he's only interested in games. We've brought him Halo novels and other things that relate to the video games and he'll read 2 pages and thats it. Money not well spent. I've tried engaging him in other things But when we're outside he just complains about being bored or plays for a bit then bails.
I limit my play time when i'm around him. I spend more time doing things like work and study etc then i do with the fun stuff. I'm trying to let him see that the fun stuff is ok as long as the real work gets done first.
I know he can read cause he's read with me before.

[Sharky]

This thing is he's only interested in games. We've brought him Halo novels and other things that relate to the video games and he'll read 2 pages and thats it. Money not well spent. I've tried engaging him in other things But when we're outside he just complains about being bored or plays for a bit then bails.
I limit my play time when i'm around him. I spend more time doing things like work and study etc then i do with the fun stuff. I'm trying to let him see that the fun stuff is ok as long as the real work gets done first.
I know he can read cause he's read with me before.

my Sister had a similar problem with the nephew. the xbox and technology went bye bye...now he plays sports and all that sort of stuff and has his xbox back but then every case is different i guess

[LordCyrusOmega]

I think thats whats going to happen in the end. Just put a ban on all the digital stuff.

[Bartrim]

I think thats whats going to happen in the end. Just put a ban on all the digital stuff.

Thats what we had to do. My 3 year old would just there and watch DVDs all day. So we only allow a set time to watch DVD's. It worked for us. Now he is back into reading and playing with his toys and going to the park etc. Plus he is very excited that we are getting a pool.

[SamLoi888]

I think thats whats going to happen in the end. Just put a ban on all the digital stuff.

Don't waste time. Do it now. You're failing the child as long as you allow this useless behaviour to continue.

[jazzcomp]

か。。。　可愛い！！！ OMG! She is adorable!!! My missus wants 2 kids... starting with a daughter... I'm personally not sure if I want children. I have a favourite saying... 'I love all kids, as long as their not mine.'

I'm the opposite & don't like kids except mine. I remember my friends wanting to frame a pic of me & my goddaughter when i was younger. I really looked like I was uncomfortable with a baby