Here's what we tried to restrict World of Warcraft

Bill purchased some software called KidsWatch, which enables you to place controls on computer time. It also allows the administrator to monitor all computer activity. We decided to give Josh a total weekly allotment of time of 16 hours, so that he could do his raids and not get cut off in the middle. He negotiated us up to 18 hours per week with the understanding that he would do his homework and chores first.

All seemed to be going well until we realized that he was actually playing more than 18 hours. In fact it seemed like every waking hour on the weekends was spent playing. We discovered that he had found a way to hack around the controls for unlimited gaming time. He was even sneaking down to play after he had supposedly gone to bed for the night. He was falling asleep in class but told his teachers that he suffered from insomnia. His grades began to slip.

So we decided to try something else. Bill demanded that Josh give him his WoW password and he put the limits on at the game level. This time it had to be a daily limit because WoW doesn't have flexibility to do it any other way. Josh went berserk. He yelled and screamed and swore and cried and called us every name in the book. He finally had to agree with our rules or else we would just close his account. We told him that if he didn't comply with the 18 hour per week rule we would take away his internet access altogether.

Days went by and we again found that he was getting around the system and lying about his hours. Bill took the wireless card out of the computer and told Josh he could only use it for school. Another meltdown ensued and Josh couldn't even make it throught a day at school without completely losing it. We were being called by the nurse and the social worker on a daily basis. Josh stated failing tests. He got dropped from level 4 English and history to level 3.

At this point it is pretty clear to us that he is addicted to the game. He is irritable and cranky when he can't play. He is obsessed with getting the game back and it's all he talks about when he talks to us. The kid who had been getting mostly As was getting Cs and Ds. We were engaged in a war of attrition, with Josh trying everything he could to get the game back. This time we were standing our ground and he was getting more and more hysterical. Finally, he told the social worker at school that we had ruined his life and that he didn't want to live anymore if he couldn't play WoW.

These days, when a kid says that (it's called "suicidal ideation"), the schools take it very seriously. They called us and said we had to take him to the hospital.