Single mother/computer-obsessed son
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A friend of mine asked me if I'd post a question for her:
She's a single parent and works about three full days a week. Her son, 13,
stays home by himself. Although they consider themselves unschoolers, she
leaves him a list of things to do ("school"work and housework) and he's fine
with that. Inevitably, though, he spends hours and hours on the computer.
She's worried about the situation and wants to know if there are other single
mothers out there with computer-obsessed sons and how they handle the
situation.
Susan, mother of two daughters, neither one of whom is computer-obsessed
She's a single parent and works about three full days a week. Her son, 13,
stays home by himself. Although they consider themselves unschoolers, she
leaves him a list of things to do ("school"work and housework) and he's fine
with that. Inevitably, though, he spends hours and hours on the computer.
She's worried about the situation and wants to know if there are other single
mothers out there with computer-obsessed sons and how they handle the
situation.
Susan, mother of two daughters, neither one of whom is computer-obsessed
Jeff & Diane Gwirtz
> She's a single parent and works about three full days a week. Her son, 13,I have a 13 year old son who does sometimes spend a lot of time on the
> stays home by himself. Although they consider themselves unschoolers, she
> leaves him a list of things to do ("school"work and housework) and he's fine
> with that. Inevitably, though, he spends hours and hours on the computer.
> She's worried about the situation and wants to know if there are other single
> mothers out there with computer-obsessed sons and how they handle the
> situation.
>
computer - usually when he is trying out a new game or working on
programming. He seems to be good at achieving a balance. He'll
decide that he's getting frustrated because he's been on too long and
will switch to another activity. I think that's what we're striving
for - trying to achieve that healthy balance. I guess my question
would be - what is he doing when he's on the computer? Is he
on the internet? We have an agreement that my son will let me know
when he's online and we frequently review safety measures for the
internet. Also, what role is the computer playing. Does he stay on
for hours because he really enjoys it, or is he avoiding doing other
things, escaping, etc. I think these are the same questions we would
ask ourselves if caught up intensely in an activity. I would talk to
him about balance, etc. If he's not a long time unschooler, this
might be the way he's deschooling. Just some thoughts.....
Diane in KS