Daily Mail, Tuesday, July 30, 2019 Page 19
H
Ow reassuring it is, as a
mother, to hear of a teen-
age success story. a 15-
year-old boy who, through
his own skill, enterprise,
dedication and hard graft, has fought
his way to the very top of his particu-
lar pile, from which he can stand,
triumphantly waving the gains of his
good fortune like a standard.
and what gains — £900,000 no less. that’s
university covered, plus his own home upon
graduation. what parent wouldn’t read such a
story and rejoice?
except, in the case of Jaden ashman, it filled
us all with utter horror. Jaden is the essex lad
who was runner-up in the Fortnite world
games final this week, sharing the £1.8 million
winnings with his gaming partner.
with that prize, he shot down in flames the
argument of every mother who, like me, has
spent hours coaxing, cajoling, begging, plead-
ing and threatening her children in a desper-
ate bid to stop them playing this game, which
has them in their thrall.
Children like my 12- and 14-year-old sons
now have a legitimate reason to spend hours
cooped up in their rooms playing this game
because they think — like millions of other
youngsters — that it could make them a
fortune. Because, in theory, it could.
it probably won’t, though — there are 250
million Fortnite players worldwide, and Jaden
was one of 40 million who attempted to qualify
— but the evidence is there.
gaming is even a career choice, for heaven’s
sake — they’re known as professional esports
players! what hope do we have?
My younger son, like most of his friends,
spends hours every week playing Fortnite,
which involves players parachuting onto an
island where they have to hunt for weapons to
use to obliterate rival players.
the premise is as violent as it gets, yet the
graphics aren’t gory — which is one reason
why so many parents have allowed their
children to play Fornite while banning other
violent computer games.
it has an age rating of 12, and you could
argue, as some children do, that it’s just space
invaders for the 21st century.
i wasn’t a fan of the game from the outset —
listening to your children debate the merits of
shotguns versus pistols or congratulating one
another on their ‘kills’ is enough to make any
mother’s blood run cold. But i decided not to
ban my sons from the game altogether when i
realised they had swapped squabbling for
competing with each other. instead of bicker-by Heidi
Scrimgeour
Why I
CURSe
this teen
winning
$1 million
From a despairing mother
whose family life – like
so many others – has
been blighted by her
sons’ obsession with
video game Fortnite
ing, they’d started challenging
each other to duels, compliment-
ing each other on their gameplay
over dinner, and discussing how to
improve tactics next time round.
i hate to admit it, but there’s no
question that progressing in
Fortnite requires skills — such as
problem-solving, prioritising and
keeping calm under pressure —
that won’t do my sons any harm.
that’s not to say it isn’t highly
addictive. My 12-year-old would
spend every waking hour playing
Fortnite if i didn’t police him as
vigorously as i do.C
HiLDReN also argue
the case that playing
Fortnite keeps them
connected to their
friends — another point i can’t
deny. today’s children don’t invite
friends home after school as my
generation did — my elder son
could barely conceal his laughter
recently when i suggested he
invite some friends over for a Coke
and a kickabout.
in these days of social media and
virtual reality, one of the most
sociable things a youngster can do
is arrange to ‘meet’ a classmate
online to play Fortnite.
and yes, it pains me to say, there
are benefits for parents. i spend
less time driving my children to
their friends’ houses than myparents did, and i never worry
about their whereabouts.
On the other hand, i sometimes
have to text them to tell them
their dinner’s ready, such is the
intensity of their concentration
when engaged in a fierce game.
then there are the arguments.
Oh, the fights we’ve had! they’re
usually started by me, storming
into my younger son’s room on a
saturday afternoon to find him,
still in his pyjamas, curtains
drawn, bleary-eyed, teeth
unbrushed. i’ve pulled cables out
the wall, i’ve even taken the
remote controller to work.
Needless to say, this does not godown well. Like anything you ban
children from, be it tv, sweets or
fizzy drinks, those who are denied
access always seem to be the ones
who crave it out of all proportion.
Fortnite has affected family life,
school work and even my relation-
ship with my husband.
i know we’re not alone — all the
mums i know are fighting the
same Fortnite battle. we’ve all got
stories of abandoned family days
out because our children — morose
at being dragged away from Fort-
nite tournaments with their
friends — have put a dampener on
our attempts at family time.
‘i’m just finishing this match,’ isa refrain we all hear far too often
when trying to get the family
round the table to eat or out the
door for a walk.
when my younger son started
taking part in competitions, i felt
especially worried. From pressure
to participate to frustration when
matches don’t go his way, it
started to feel as though Fortnite
was dominating our lives. at one
stage, when he was progressing
particularly well in a key competi-
tion, i found the intensity way too
stressful for what is, after all,
meant to be just a game.
and don’t be fooled into think-
ing this is just a game where the
best man wins. as is often the case
in life, it’s also the man with the
most cash.
Fortnite is free to download but
players are continually encour-
aged to spend money on an array
of in-app purchases to improve
their game — many of which are
available for only a limited time,
adding to the pressure to spend.
My sons have seen birthday and
pocket money disappear into this
virtual vacuum.
My younger son says he’s the
envy of many of his friends because
his dad plays Fortnite with him.
Of course, i value the time my
husband spends bonding withhim, but i’d rather they were
riding bikes or kicking balls than
shooting imaginary enemies.
even our daughter, who is five,
likes to watch him play. From the
cartoon characters that feature in
the game to the dance crazes that
sweep the playground, the whole
thing seems designed to appeal to
children as young as her.
Perhaps we, as parents, should
accept some of the blame for the
game’s meteoric rise. after all,
children engaged in hours of Fort-
nite are easier than ones who look
for constant entertainment.
as a case in point, my children
happily committed to a two-week
family holiday with no games con-
soles earlier this month. i asked
them why they only want to play
computer games at home, yet
don’t miss them while away.T
HeiR answers were
honest and sobering: on
holiday, we spent our
days together without
work pressures or domestic
distractions, and our time was
filled with surfing, kayaking and
swimming.
‘it’s no contest,’ said one of
them. ‘we’d rather do that any day
than play Fortnite.’ But, of course,
such activities are not open to
them on a day-to-day basis.
still, i’m not afraid to issue a
Fortnite ban when necessary. But
while my younger boy kicks
against these rules, he invariably
emerges from a Fortnite restric-
tion with a fresh perspective and
recognises that he’s more engaged
in family time and generally
happier when his life isn’t revolving
around the game to the exclusion
of all else.
and that’s why i find it sad that
winning a cash prize for playing a
computer game has become a
serious goal for so many children.
there’s something very wrong
with a world where teenagers can
become millionaires for shooting
people in computer games while
3.7 million children in the uK are
living in poverty.Fortnite fortune: Jaden
Ashman and his mum, Lisa.
Inset, the game’s graphics