Re: frustrated with 9 year old who rarely wants to participate in family
Kimberly Pennington
Sorry for such a delayed response! This has been sitting in my drafts folder.
As some of the others have said, maybe you should just allow him to do what he wants. I do have a couple of ideas of activities he may be interested in. I became very engrossed in video games in high school, and I'm sure my dad felt some of the same frustration you are feeling now. I do like to go out but I still have a tendency to play games for hours.
You could try talking to him about building a computer. Even with a knowledge of computers, though, my first time building a computer involved a lot of guessing. You can find simple tutorials online of how to get started. There may even be smaller projects that would be less costly.
I found this website after minimal browsing: http://www.brightkidsworld.com/Interest_Engineering_Toys_Kits_Models_for_Gifted_Kids_s/263.htm
It has different engineering project kits for children. If those don't seem to interest him, you could see if he has any interest in computer programming. I don't know what games he plays, but many PC games have add-ons or mods that simplify or improve gameplay. If he takes a liking to programming, he could create his own add-ons. I am very fond of programming and web site design and it is something I wish I had started much earlier in life.
This website lists several languages and some resources for kids:
http://java.dzone.com/news/36-resources-help-you-teach
He might be more interested in making websites. I started doing that around 11 or so, but I never knew what to make a website about, except whatever a silly 11 year old thinks about, hah. There are many web hosts that allow you to make free websites.
This is a very helpful resource when making web sites.
http://www.w3schools.com/
Good luck
As some of the others have said, maybe you should just allow him to do what he wants. I do have a couple of ideas of activities he may be interested in. I became very engrossed in video games in high school, and I'm sure my dad felt some of the same frustration you are feeling now. I do like to go out but I still have a tendency to play games for hours.
You could try talking to him about building a computer. Even with a knowledge of computers, though, my first time building a computer involved a lot of guessing. You can find simple tutorials online of how to get started. There may even be smaller projects that would be less costly.
I found this website after minimal browsing: http://www.brightkidsworld.com/Interest_Engineering_Toys_Kits_Models_for_Gifted_Kids_s/263.htm
It has different engineering project kits for children. If those don't seem to interest him, you could see if he has any interest in computer programming. I don't know what games he plays, but many PC games have add-ons or mods that simplify or improve gameplay. If he takes a liking to programming, he could create his own add-ons. I am very fond of programming and web site design and it is something I wish I had started much earlier in life.
This website lists several languages and some resources for kids:
http://java.dzone.com/news/36-resources-help-you-teach
He might be more interested in making websites. I started doing that around 11 or so, but I never knew what to make a website about, except whatever a silly 11 year old thinks about, hah. There are many web hosts that allow you to make free websites.
This is a very helpful resource when making web sites.
http://www.w3schools.com/
Good luck