My 13 year old son is crazy about his PS3.?

Question

He got it connected online and set up. I don't let him go onlline without my permission and he always want to spend more time on it. The piont is that I don't know how safe that PS3 is with internet safety. He still gets to play all of his games as long as his grades don't go down. Sometimes I feel like I put too much pressure on him to have good grades. He has the highest grade in school and his reading skills are passed the 12th grade level. What do I do? He is a great son I just want to protect him. Is it safe or what?

Answer 1

maybe the rule should be "ask before you download things" ? if were talking about predators etc. then just warn him that there are bad people online too.

Answer 2

perhaps he is getting addiced to his PS3 which is pretty normal but addicting to games can make one change what he say ... He must learnt to control hymself before things got worst . This is part of discipline from engaging to intense in something . It can be a part of leisure but should not make it a part of daily activities . It will become a habit . he is a clever and good child just that he is hook to games .. ALL THE BEST !

Answer 3

This is where you occasionally sit down and watch what he's doing. There are some games which I would never let my kid play, regardless of age or gender. And many that I would beg to be allowed to play too.

The biggest thing you need to be concerned about is the time he spends playing as opposed to socializing with friends or doing active things that are good for his body. I really believe that the reason so many kids are getting fat these days is because they're spending so much time connected to gadgets. I would limit him to an hour a day.

Answer 4

yeh it's safe but hey don't worry too much!

Answer 5

I am not familiar with the PS3, but assume it is along the same lines as a PS2 as far as online stuff goes.

Basically if you are with him while he is online, then you should not have a problem.  With the PS2, you had the option of putting the audio over the TV, so you could hear what was being said.

Understand that he will be online with a bunch of other people, not all of them 13, and they can  (and do) swear up a blue streak.

Safety is what you make it to be.  You can have a child locked in their room having cybersex with the 50 yr old neighbor, or have a child sitting in the livingroom between mom and dad playing on webkins.

Answer 6

Course it's safe . Give him a break he deserves it . Smart kid .

Answer 7

I have noticed that most of these answers are geared toward whether or not the PS3 is safe, which of course it is when handled properly. But if I understand your question right your concern lies more in the online play then it does with the type of games or amount of time. I would love to say that online play is perfectly safe but it is just like any other endeavor on the internet. Especially if the game is one that comes with the heaset and microphone. This means that he is talking directly to any other person connected to the internet. He could very well be talking to a pedophile as he could a 13 year old boy in Italy. The bigger problem is that it is much harder to monitor what is being said. With IM you can see what your child and the other person are typing. In this headset format you can only hear your childs end of the conversation and that's only if you sit in the same room the entire time he is playing. My suggestion is to make sure that the PS3 is in a central location, not in his room or the basement. Make sure that you sit down and talk to him about the presence of predators on the internet. Let him know that no matter what anyone says or who they claim to be, that he should never ever give out personal information like where he live, what school he goes to, his phone number, etc. Even if the person claims to be a kid his age. That's what sickos do. They pretend to be kids until they have lured a child into their world. Just make sure you son understands that dangers that are out there. Also if you feel that he is not mature enough to handle a situation where he is connected to the internet and talking to up to 3 strangers at once then don't allow him to use that feature until you feel that he is capable of making the right decisions.

Answer 8

The answer to whether it's safe or not is yes, it is safe.

As far as the whole him wanting to spend more time on it, eh...I'd say limit his time on it starting now regardless of whether or not he gets good grades. I have been looking after my 10-year old cousin for the past 3 months and it was an easy ride until he got his PS3 for his birthday. My rule is he can play it for one hour after he gets home from school, he has his lunch, does his homework, gets to watch one of his favorite 30min shows, then it's one more hour of PS3, dinner, then bed time.

If you limit the time he plays starting now, you won't have such a hard time limiting his play time on it if his grades start to slip or if he misbehaves and you take away his PS3 priviliges.

Answer 9

Every parent has the right to worry about their child doing things like that. Because, not all people out there, are nice & safe to be around, or talk to. But, I think you should allow him to go on it, whilst monitoring him every so often. Like.. walk past his PS3 every 10-15 mintues, and just glance at the screen. If you see something going on, which shouldn't be happening, then ask him about it.

If you wanted to get a few more answers, then you could put it in the 'Adolescent' section. But, you will probably get enough answers here. Anyways, if he has good grades, and school comes first, then he should be able to go on it. If his grades slip, then limit him to the amount of time he can go on, or just forbid him from going on it at all, until he tries harder.

Good Luck!

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