How Should You Address A Child Who Gets Angry Over Video Games?

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. Their child is throwing yet another tantrum over a video game. You’re torn between quietly getting on with whatever you’re doing, or confiscating the console from them. Either way, it’s only going to lead to more shouting and screaming.

Sooner or later, you’re going to have to step in. Allowing an anger problem to manifest and take hold is only going to be more damaging than addressing the problem now. We discuss how to do this.

Table of Contents

Do Video Games Cause Anger Problems?

No, video games can act as the trigger, but it’s not the heart of the matter. Anything can act as the trigger. Some children get angry over sports, whereas others get angry over something they see on TV. It’s not an issue confined to gaming.

The root cause lies in the way they’ve been raised. Those children who’re used to getting everything they want, usually due to a lack of parental discipline at a young age, are more likely to develop an anger problem. They’re so used to getting everything they want they can’t handle it when something doesn’t go according to plan.

Take Away or Let Them Play?

Never take away the games console outright. This isn’t the way to do it. It’s only going to lead to them shutting down and not being receptive to what you have to say. Instead, you need to distract them naturally. Only when someone has reached the level of a gaming addiction should the computer or console be removed.

Gently ask them to come downstairs at a convenient moment. This might be for dinner or in the afternoon after they come home from school. You know when the best time is to talk.

Start Small

You don’t want them to start angry. If someone is already upset, they won’t take anything you have to say into account. Get them whilst they’re in a good mood and sit them down. Tell them you’re genuinely concerned about them getting angry all the time.

Don’t mention video games or anything like that. This is just going to steer the debate towards whether video games are causing the issue, which is pointless because they don’t.

What Should You Do?

You need to assess where you’re lacking as a parent. Have you been allowing them to get away with things? If you have more than one child, have you been favoring them over the others?

Be honest with yourself. It’s difficult to admit these things. If you’re lacking discipline, it’s time to give them responsibility. Give them chores and make sure they do them.

It will be tough for the first few weeks. They will throw tantrums, but gently steering them away from video games through other tasks will remove the major trigger.

This is something which will only get better in the long-term. Avoid things like child psychologists until you try to do it yourself. You don’t want to make them feel as if they’re ill or abnormal. All this does is pushes them away.

Tom Taylor is the author of today’s guest post. He is an established businessman who likes blogging in his free time. He writes on a wide variety of topics and niches. He says he enjoys playing Juegos De Friv to de-stress himself.

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