Parent deletes his kid's Minecraft world as punishment for sleeping late, asks if he's the asshole

[JarlFrank]

I've been thinking about the screens for kids issue lately. Got some friends whose 2,5yo already spends hours on the ipad, it seems totally horrific to me. Of course the friend tells me I'll do the same there's no other way blabla. Got some other friends whose kid is about 3,5 yo and most fun he has is chopping wood or cutting wood and that just seems absolutely cool to me. What do you guys think?

I'd slowly introduce my kids into gaming with old 90s PC games but also spend a lot of time doing other things with them, boardgames etc, buying them LEGOs and other physical toys, encourage them to play outside, read them stories and encourage them to learn to read (I learned to read when I was 3 because mom always played letter games with me, and I liked to sit on dad's lap when he read the newspaper and asked what those funny symbols were so he'd tell me the letter sounds), etc.

The biggest problems with kids glued to the screen isn't the screen itself, but parents using the screen as a virtual babysitter. As long as the kid's glued to the i-pad I don't have to deal with it!

Meanwhile my dad used to play adventure games together with me, we'd play games like Monkey Island or the Indiana Jones adventures and tackle the puzzles together, and we both had fun doing it. And two hours later we'd call it a day, go out and kick a football around.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Brilliant way to make your child resent you, and simultaneously, not solve the "problem" of getting up a little later when there's no fucking school anyway.

Jesus Christ.

During summers and weekends I'd get some hassle if I wasn't up by noon, but man, that household sounds like a nightmare.

I know of families who have splintered because of less.

This can be salvaged by the father if he teaches the son about personal responsibilities and prioritizing: That Minecraft is a useful tool... for finding autistic people. A year spent in a Minecraft world can lead to spectacular possibilities online. Meanwhile the Real World of non-Internet thingies will demand its pound of flesh. You are to Wake Up On Time, Do Your Homework and Respect Your Elders.

Which is more beneficial?

The parent is all kinds of dumb for not spelling the consequence out explicitly too.

Also, what the fuck is the value of getting up early when there's no school? What the fuck? The kid doesn't even sleep in that long - just about 9 to 10. That's not even "sleeping in". That's a normal human time to get out of bed. I get out at 10:30 and start working at 11.

There is scientific proof that getting up too early is bad for the concentration level of kids. Several neuro-specialists suggested school should start at 9 AM, not 8 AM, because 8 AM is way too early for kids.
And that kid was supposed to get up at 7 each morning for... literally no reason. Why 7? What's the benefit of getting up at 7? No sane person would get up at 7 if he doesn't have to.

School started at 7 back in my day. Goddamn millennials. Wish I could have slept like a goddamn sloth till 7.

 

[Zarniwoop]

I've been thinking about the screens for kids issue lately. Got some friends whose 2,5yo already spends hours on the ipad, it seems totally horrific to me. Of course the friend tells me I'll do the same there's no other way blabla. Got some other friends whose kid is about 3,5 yo and most fun he has is chopping wood or cutting wood and that just seems absolutely cool to me. What do you guys think?

The Internet is brain-melting cancer. Why would you give a 2.5 year old cancer?

 

[Silly Germans]

I am not sure why people think that the kid would now sleep in as long as it wants.

Ostensibly nothing to lose for the kid. You've already destroyed the power source of his autism, you can't top that now.

I hope the kid isn't that clueless. Otherwise it might be in for more hard lesson. Lets hope the kids Minecraft skills have improved so
it can learn more than one lesson per year.

This thread should be moved to GD btw.

Yeah let's just escalate from there.

Start out by deleting one year of creative work for the crime of sleeping 2 hours more than allowed, and then just make it worse if the offense repeats.

What could possibly be worse for a 9 year old than getting a creative project he invested all his efforts into and was proud of wiped out? What's the mom/dad going to do next as punishment?
"If you keep sleeping in late, I'm gonna smash your computer with a baseball bat!"
"If you keep sleeping in late, I'm gonna drag you to the doctor and have you circumcised!"
"If you keep sleeping in late, I'm gonna break your fingers so you can't use that keyboard anymore!"

No, really, where do you escalate from there without becoming physically abusive?

I said nothing about escalating but I do assume that he still has other toys/freedoms/privileges that
can be removed. From his latest experience he might want to avoid that.
But let me repeat, i do not recommend it nor do i think that that would be good parenting. As
i mentioned earlier, something to deescalate and rebuild trust would be more appropriate.
My suggestion to play Minecraft with him is perhaps not the best way but i am sure there
are other means to calm the situation.

I still think you are overstating the gravity of this and that the text does not necessarily imply that
he poured all his heart into the lost Minecraft thing. Working for a year on something is not a clear
indication how important it was for him. That could mean that he played it for 10 min a day for a long
time or it could mean that he really invested all his time into it. Kids are distraught for the silliest things, throwing
a tantrum or crying can also mean anything. I saw kids cry for not getting their favorite gum at the supermarket,
saying they won't move from the spot unless they get what they want. That was my first impression when i
read the text. Your first impression was apparently very different.

 

[Delterius]

"Hey dude, I smashed your 5m tall lego castle that you took a year to make, but it's all good, now you learnt your lesson I'll help you remake it! What? You want me to piss the fuck off and never touch your shit again? What a snowflake!"

I prefer the 'lol 9 year old child stop being such a pussy' for short.

 

[Cromwell]

As long as the kid's glued to the i-pad I don't have to deal with it!

thats a myth. My son is fascinated by screens he can push and than things happen, so we let him use (while sitting with him) the tablet to watch videos of elmo (one of his favorites) or play some coloring game were he can push that thing at random and colours appear. If you let him do that alone especially for a prolonged time he will probably use it to roder assassinations, call hookers and then destroy the evidence by smashing it into your tv (which he previously wanted to paint with his fists because he doest know the difference between touch screen and do not touch screen).

 

[Machocruz]

The mistake is to make him wake up at 7am but have no work for him to do. That oil isn't going to change itself, kid. Snap to!

 

[Tacgnol]

If you let him do that alone especially for a prolonged time he will probably use it to roder assassinations, call hookers and then destroy the evidence by smashing it into your tv (which he previously wanted to paint with his fists because he doest know the difference between touch screen and do not touch screen).

Sounds like good preparation for a future career in politics. Maybe you should let him.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Brilliant way to make your child resent you, and simultaneously, not solve the "problem" of getting up a little later when there's no fucking school anyway.

Jesus Christ.

During summers and weekends I'd get some hassle if I wasn't up by noon, but man, that household sounds like a nightmare.

The story is sad actually.

Many parents are just driven by vengeance that their kids have so many faults. They fucked up and just want to take revenge. I sometimes think they even yearn for their children to fuck up, so they can punish them even harder.

There is a big difference between punishment and sadism. Punishment has to be direct, immediate and measured, not long after the fact and so cruel.

If your kid neglects his life and spends 1 year to build a world for himself, you don't just destroy that world.

If your kid does not pay attention to the rules you can slap him, directly after it happened, and in a way that does not physically hurt.

But you don't wait 1 year and then mockingly announce you have destroyed everything he created in his spare time, while you were not the center of his attention. This is just fucking wrong.

 

[Burning Bridges]

I've been thinking about the screens for kids issue lately. Got some friends whose 2,5yo already spends hours on the ipad, it seems totally horrific to me. Of course the friend tells me I'll do the same there's no other way blabla. Got some other friends whose kid is about 3,5 yo and most fun he has is chopping wood or cutting wood and that just seems absolutely cool to me. What do you guys think?

It's possible but hard work. I have collegues whose kids grew up without electronics. They had to read them stories every fucking night, and it is extremely time consuming because you have to replace the entertainment they could get from the computer with your own time.

The kids are amazing though. But it's really a lot of work, and I reckon it's impossible if you did not grow up yourself like that.

 

[DraQ]

The story is sad actually.

Many parents are just driven by vengeance that their kids have so many faults. They fucked up and just want to take revenge. I sometimes think they even yearn for their children to fuck up, so they can punish them even harder.

Many parents shouldn't have been allowed to breed in the first place.

 

[mondblut]

Well, let be a lesson to that kid. Don't ever share your passwords with anybody! Also, don't share what is important to you with your parents. You are only setting yourself up for hurt.

Not to mention: backup everything you value. Multiple times. And have password-protected cloud backups.

 

[Prime Junta]

In other news

 

[just_dmitri]

Could have taken away kid's computer time at evening and only allow playing from 7 to 9-10 (because the kid don't seem to have anything worthwhile to do in the morning anyway) until the kid woke up on time for a week or something. Alternative was, as some said, to back up the castle and tech lesson on listening to the parent as well as backing your shit up.

 

[mondblut]

I used to get up at 7 AM until my current workplace shifted working hours to a later time. It was inconvenient that everyone else only arrived at 10 AM, while
i was at work at 8 AM.
Its all a question of habits and i have no clue why such a late time should be natural.

Its all a question of habits - and everyone else should bend their habits in favor of yours.

Fucking early birds, I hope you all catch wuhan flu.

 

[DraQ]

The story is sad actually.

Many parents are just driven by vengeance that their kids have so many faults. They fucked up and just want to take revenge. I sometimes think they even yearn for their children to fuck up, so they can punish them even harder.

Many parents shouldn't have been allowed to breed in the first place.

Thankfully, at least for males, it just takes a pair of bricks to revoke their breeding license.

 

[Excommunicator]

This will become the kid's moment of clarity when he's wheeling her off to a nursing home 40 years from now

 

[mondblut]

having a digital nanny is convenient. A kid glued to a digital fantasy world is a kid who isn't bothering you and is letting you be self-indulgent.

Damn right. God bless digital nannies. If I'd ever have a misfortune to breed, I'd lock the little shit with a digital fantasy world and a feeder tub and kindly ask to never bother me until he's old enough to get a job and move the fuck out.

 

[Reinhardt]

At least now kid can sleep as much as he wants.

 

[cretin]

I've been thinking about the screens for kids issue lately. Got some friends whose 2,5yo already spends hours on the ipad, it seems totally horrific to me. Of course the friend tells me I'll do the same there's no other way blabla. Got some other friends whose kid is about 3,5 yo and most fun he has is chopping wood or cutting wood and that just seems absolutely cool to me. What do you guys think?

again, the issue is that most people suck, which means most parents suck, and the driving force behind sucking is self-indulgence. Your friend tells you you'll be the same, and hes framing it as the kid being the problem and him being powerless to do anything about their demands. As fucking if. The real issue is its simply easier for him to let a screen babysit his kid, so he can do whatever he wants with minimal fuss and doesnt have to be involved. Lots of parents claim to love their kids, and they do, strictly in the modern sense of the word - an intense feeling of attachment or infatuation - but they dont do loving things for their kids, such as do whats good and right for them, not whats convenient, easy or desired by the child.

 

[IDtenT]

Disappointment is a formative learning event.

This will be an opportunity for the little guy to learn from it, do better next time, and never trust in authority ever again.

 

[mondblut]

It's fascinating to see people in this thread assume (based on nothing as far as I can tell) whether the parent is the mother or the father. I assumed father right away and it didn't even occur to me that it might be the mother. Probably something Freudian to read into this.

It just screams "single mother".

 

[Sranchammer]

I've been thinking about the screens for kids issue lately. Got some friends whose 2,5yo already spends hours on the ipad, it seems totally horrific to me. Of course the friend tells me I'll do the same there's no other way blabla. Got some other friends whose kid is about 3,5 yo and most fun he has is chopping wood or cutting wood and that just seems absolutely cool to me. What do you guys think?

I think both of those parents are ridiculous.

 

[Semiurge]

There's a difference between a swift beating and destroying a year's worth of creative effort.

Both can leave permanent emotional scars.

making the kid do stupid useless shit for no reason bears high probability the kid will realize he's being forced to do stupid boring shit and not wanna do it, rightfully so I think. Waking up early when there's no school is useless. Some people just never wake up early if they don't have to and they will model their whole lives to avoid having to wake up early. I don't understand it myself though, I wake up at 6am regularly.

Who knows what the reasoning behind this rule was, but some parents want to enforce certain routines regardless of the changing circumstances, in this case school. For instance they may think that it's healthy and wholesome for the kid to be able to maintain this routine even when school's out, whereas lapsing from it whenever a change
is introduced into his life is a sign of his lacking in personal discipline, which is something that children will need to develop sooner or later. Not all children will ever be able to measure up to such a standard though, we don't even know if this kid was "normal" mentally, assuming the post was real.

 

[DraQ]

Got some other friends whose kid is about 3,5 yo and most fun he has is chopping wood or cutting wood and that just seems absolutely cool to me. What do you guys think?

Bunch of pussies, just give him a chainsaw already.

we don't even know if this kid was "normal" mentally

That's some good use of past tense there.

It just screams "single mother".

That would be unfortunate - makes breeding license revocation more work than fun.