Recently, parents of children who play games a lot are trying to limit their kids gaming habits to 2 hours per day. They think that setting the limit dosen't interfere with anything else they should be doing, like playing outside or doing chores etc, and not being anti-social and/or badly behaved.

My personal assistant, who I employ on the direct payment scheme, thinks I am also spending too much time on computer games and it is getting in the way of trying to make myself live an independent life. He thinks 2 hours per day is enough, and my mum would agree, which is what I don't really like

Computer games, to me, are a source of enjoyment. If I wasn't able to play them I may end up anxious, depressed, or to some people, having a regression.

So in order to make an aspie or autistic happy without much isolation, it would be best if the multiplayer games didn't count towards the time limit but the single player games still apply. This would help socialising.

What does anyone else think of this.

I personally think that such activities should not be limited until they pose a health risk - for example if you had problems with your eyesight or lack of exercise from not taking enough breaks. I cannot stand when parents try to push their children into socialising.

Can your PA specify how the games are interefering? Are you gaming when you should be working? It all depends on the individual.

My eyesight is fine. Exercise is a problem sometimes due to when I had operations from when I was a baby. I was born with dislocated hips and because of this, I cannot walk very far and cannot stay standing up for long periods of time. When I do cooking I would have to use a chair if I feel that I need to sit down. This is why I find it better to sit down and play computer games.

My PA is also a mental health nurse. (He works in the acute mental health ward) Maybe the 2 hour limit is from facts that he either knows or has read about. He says 2 hours is enough for him and he dosen't get near that every day when he plays games on PC and XBox.

If I am really needed for something, such as helping someone with the computer, I will come off the game (pausing/saving the game itself usually) and help out because its something I also liked doing ever since my late teens.

Agreed

I could not live with a 2 hour a day gaming limit, mainly because I don't like limits. I find myself too busy trying to plan my time to get any enjoyment from what I am doing.

I have a 0 hours gaming limit - I quit gaming
I also quit TV

I have a 0 hours gaming limit - I quit gaming
I also quit TV

Good for you.

BTW its not a 2 hour limit anymore, but a 2 hour daily allowance. For example if I spent 1 hour on one day I could spend up to 3 hours on the next day and so on.

At the moment I don't have plans to reduce the allowance or spend this time on computers and game consoles outside home just yet.

well,my interest,shall we say,is Gaming.i play a great many games,and i spend almost,infact,all of my time,when not at college,doing so.

this 2 hour gaming limit?
pfft.
ok,they plan to bring into MMO's..so i'll just create a second account.i'll play a rival game.i'll go play singleplayer.
they cant enforce it,without forcibly taking control of the computer..and THAT! good sir,is against my human rights...as it were.
and i agree with bob.if there where a limit,i would spend most of it deciding what to play.

you might cite the fitness/exercise thing,but to counter that,i bought a Wii...now thats exausting.

sorry if this comes across a little aggressive.

I'm going to have to come down in the middle on this one: Games should be scheduled just like any other activity. If you don't need to use the time for something else, you're free to play games.

That's probably more than two hours daily, depending on how busy you are, but not much more.

Oh, and: You're ultimately respnosible for scheduling your own life; so your assistant's idea is really just a suggestion. Weigh the pros and cons before you implement, modify and implement, or reject it.

They are scheduled. Its usually the first or second thing (depending on how I feel) I go on when I come back home after a day out, or a day's work, but if I am staying at home all day, I play computer games nearly all the time. I have breaks in between when I feel like I should stop playing for a while.

I don't see it as a problem, but my mum or my personal assistant bring it up saying that it is a problem. Because of this, I cannot come off games all together because I am addicted and I like my addiction, so I have to find some sort of compromise and this is it.

I wouldnt play 1/2 my games if I had a 2 hour limit. Alot of games have save points & if ur not around when the limit is up there goes 20 mins or more of work which i think people not really into gameing wouldnt see it as such a big deal, but if its an RPG like finaly fantasy or something, for me at least, I dont like to repeat parts I've just done cos I already know what happened/got added plot wise/Leveled up & got some ourtagously cool spell that I just want to see again the second I play the game.

Also I would have to say MMO's should so be a seperate category. When I started play World of Warcraft I was more social then I had been in a few years. Though in the end I ended up leaving my guild cos if anything I got to social & just talked to my guildies all the time instead of actualy playing the game itself lol.

I also hate it when parents count Video Game time & Computer time as the same thing. They *can* be very different. I have almost no games on my computer at all. I mainly use it to surf the net & find out info about my interests.. Heck if they were counted as the same thing I think if Id stop using my consoles all together cos Id be on the net all the time.

I also bought a Nintendo Wii a few weeks back & those things r very much a workout, depending on the game. I only have 1 so far WarioWare SmoothMoves. Its a blast to play its so funny but man it can wear u out.

I don't play computer games but would get very irritated if somebody tried to limit how much time I spent playing unless they could show good reasons for it. It's interesting that the personal assistant said a certain amount of time was okay for him and so should be okay for D J Sim. He obviously doesn't realise the extent of our perseverative interests.

Does DDR count?

Because you get exercise at the same time.

Imposing limits never worked for me, because I would rather be doing nothing than doing something I hate (namely homework). Sometimes my mom would not let me use the computer until I finished my homework (unless, of course, I needed the computer to do the homework), so I would just sit around and do nothing. I was perfectly content with that.