Still moving in a new direction

[mleigh4]

Sotto, thank you for those ideas. I like the option of letting him play for a certain time, then take a break. I also like the idea of making a list of things he likes to do, and having him go to it when be gets bored.

Hawho, can you sit down and have a chat with my H? Because you are voicing every single thing on my mind about this. S dappled with posting youtube videos with a friend, but I actually said no because I felt weird about it, having his voice "out there" lol. However, he plays another game, geometry dash, where he creates "levels" that get posted, played and rated by people. You should see what is involved in creating these levels. This is no child's play stuff! Thank you for acknowledging that. He also plays Mine craft online and meets up with regulars to play.

The counseling is just for H and I. I plan on being a bit quiet at first, to let H voice all his concerns. Like you said, he is so lucky the only problem with S right now is gaming. We are talking good health, good manners, loved by his peers, great grades....that is why I don't get riled up about it with him, it's over the top to me. Yes, he should visit a place to witness the "real" problems out there. Wait until S is a teenager! And we are dealing with alcohol, drugs, sex....how will H handle that?

As far as the present, here is my take. My son is unique in that he rarely comes across something he really wants. He does not ask for things, and at Christmas and birthdays, when he is asked what he wants, we usually get the answer nothing or I don't know. Usually I do a grand gesture gift, but not much of a reaction from S. I don't think it's because he is spoiled, I really think it's because he really doesn't want this stuff, like he said! This year, I got S a bedspread set he liked and an ipad charger, that's it. He told me, all he wanted was a party with friends, and that's what I did. I kept it simple and he was perfectly happy. I think H is seeing S reaction to the gift as ungrateful, even though he said thank you, but S did not ask for it, he asked for nothing. H can't punish him for that?

I need to start writing these things down, to bring up in counseling.

As far as chores, I made a list of everything I do to keep our home running. What a list!!! I am going to sit with S tonight and have him pick which ones he can help me out with. We watched the good dinosaur the other day, and the parents explained to the kids, they have a farm that needs to be tended to, for shelter and food, and they would run it together, as a family. It was the perfect explanation for me to give S about chores.

H took my simple response to his rant today well. He pointed out he was not blaming me for anything. At drop off, we chatted friendly as usual. He helped me out by cleaning up a beautiful mouse head cat left me.

We are bracing for our next storm tonight, this time I have S and dog with me. Did I mention I slept in S room last night, even though he was not here? Lol. It's the only room with no trees nearby, I felt safe. YES, I am a wimpy California girl during these storms.