13 year old's gaming hour ends just before her friends come online

breezy_veranda_170915 Oct 2026

Our rule has been one hour of games on school days, done by 7. It worked when she played alone. Now she plays with three friends from school, and none of them get on before 8.30 because of tuition. So she's playing alone for an hour and then watching them play without her. I don't want to add time, but I also don't want to pretend the social part doesn't matter at 13. Has anyone moved the slot instead of extending it? What did you do about it running close to bedtime?

2 comments

cinnamon_sandal_905815 Oct 2026
We moved the slot when our son was around 13 or 14, for exactly this reason. Same hour, later in the evening, and homework had to be done before. It cost some sleep on a few nights and we adjusted bedtime by fifteen minutes. What I'd do differently: agree in advance what happens when a game runs over. That was where most of our arguments came from, not the time itself.
- fern_moon_125515 Oct 2026
  Moving it to 8.30 means it ends right before bed though. With my daughter that was the issue, the game stops but the chat afterwards doesn't. Phone goes to the hall at 9.30 in our house, no exceptions, and even then some nights she's wired. Not saying don't do it, just plan for the after part also.
quiet_sketch_844315 Oct 2026
Not gaming in our house but video calls with friends, same problem. Our younger one is 14. We gave her a fixed window on three evenings and let her pick which three, based on when her friends were free. Weekends a bit longer. The picking was the part she cared about, I think. Hasn't been perfect but there's less fighting 🙂