What is it with idiot parents?

[Rob Williams]

I'm no parent, and to tell the truth, I have no interest in having kids anytime soon. But it boggles my mind when I read stories of issues with kids and realize just how much of the problem is the parent's fault. Take this story for example:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453447,00.html

This kid played a game so long, that he actually collapsed and convulsed.The reason? He played the game for 24-hours straight, with little food and next-to-no sleep. At what point, exactly, did the father plan on intervening? Long-session gaming deaths are all-too-common, but not to the layman. Even so, isn't this what common sense is all about?

"The boy is expected to make a full recovery but his father said he plans on limiting the amount of time his son is allowed to play computer games."

Oh really? What a good father he must be.

 

[Merlin]

I've played for 8 hours, the woke with keyboard imprints in my forehead......

 

[Rob Williams]

I've played for 8 hours, the woke with keyboard imprints in my forehead......

Haha, that's nothing! The longest session I had was with an MMORPG that lasted 34 hours. So, I'm not innocent here, but I never felt any signs of extreme exhaustion. I was fine overall. Still not sure how I did it... I seem to tire out a lot quicker now than I used to. Of course, when I am up for 24+ hours now, it's usually because I'm wrapping up some time-sensitive content...

 

[madstork91]

Ive played a game for 30 hours in an "awake" part of a cycle before. (the time between sleep) But this wasn't without trips for food, and I think one T.v. break. (maybe an hour) But besides that (and bio) Every waking moment was spent playing.

I know this is bad (physically) because of the stationary position, I know that people who do not love games have a hard time understanding it, and I HAVE SEEN first hand the lack of parenting that is becoming all too common.

It will not be too long before CPS deems an instance like this as child neglect.

 

[Rob Williams]

That experience is somewhat similar to mine. I used to eat a fair bit, so that probably helped combat some of the tiredness, or keep me energetic to an extent. I didn't take any breaks except to use the washroom, throw on a fresh pot of coffee or cook food. This is something I wouldn't do again though. In this particular instance, I stayed up that long on purpose since I had a few days off of work in a row. I wanted to see how long I could go, and that I did, heh.

 

[madstork91]

My longest stretch was ~40 hours. But it was actually for school.

 

[moon111]

I went 40 hours with 1/2 hour cat-nap, drank coffee, but no food breaks.
...although I wasn't playing a video game. I was driving from Vancouver Island, B.C. to Thunder Bay, Ontario non-stop. Boy that little nap did wonders, when I woke up the 'marshmellow man' was gone.

 

[Rob Williams]

I was driving from Vancouver Island, B.C. to Thunder Bay, Ontario non-stop. Boy that little nap did wonders, when I woke up the 'marshmellow man' was gone.

That's insane. I would never risk something like that... on sleep like that, the chance to drive off the road is far too great. I have a friend who did something quite similar, and I just don't know how someone can pull it off. I'd no doubt wimp out and fall asleep after 20 hours of driving.