80 | SATURDAY | 30.04.22 | The Guardian
LIFESTYLE ADVICEADVICE
T h e p r o s e c u t i o n
Marlene
He spends all his evenings
in the corner of our
dining room, immersed
in a fantasy world
My husband Jim is obsessed with
video games. When I get home from
work after him, I know that I’ll fi nd
him on the desktop in the corner of
our dining room immersed in a
fantasy world. When it’s dinner time,
it’s a struggle to get him off and to sit
at the table with me and our son. He
says, “OK, I’ll pause it after this
battle.” It’s a bit disruptive to our
evening. Sometimes Jim comes to
bed really late after playing games –
one time he didn’t come upstairs
until 2am.
Jim plays games with dragons,
tanks, battles and soldiers. They’re all
very noisy. Sometimes if I’m washing
up after dinner and Jim is still playing,
I’ll ask him to turn it down. He
reluctantly obliges, but I know he
prefers to play them at full blast.
Sometimes he puts up a bit of
resistance and says that I’m “ruining
the experience” for him. He won’t get
headphones. Although Jim and I both
do our share of the housework, there
are times I have to say, “Can you help
me with this?” He’ll say, “One minute,”
but that minute never comes.
Jim works hard in a government job.
When he comes home from work he
wants to switch off. He’s a very
hands-on father, but our son, who is
seven, is starting to copy Jim and likes
sitting alongside him while he plays.
Boys will be boys, I suppose. But I’d
like there to be a bit more time for us to
enjoy more leisure time as a family.
After dinner and homework, they play
games together for hours. I usually go
into the next room and watch
television. They stay in the same spot
all evening. Perhaps I’m a bit jealous. I
have absolutely no interest in
computer games, but sometimes I’d
like the boys to come into the sitting
room and for us all to chat together
while watching a fi lm.
Jim should try and ration the
computer games on weekdays at least.
Dinner together is nice but we need
more time without the video games in
the background. I don’t want Jim to set
a bad example for our son, and for him
not to develop any other hobbies.Yo u b e
the judge
Should my
husband spend
less time playing
video games?
Interviews: Georgina Lawton