School can wait, I'd rather play PC games (28 January 2007) Parents of 17-year-old games addict agree to let her quit school for a year.
School can wait, I'd rather play PC games.
WOULD you let your child take a year off school so she can play computer games?
One mother did, very reluctantly, after failing to dissuade her daughter.
Kelly Ong, 17, is so addicted to gaming that she missed one of her papers in last October's O-level exams.
And she admits she's likely to fail because she continued playing during the exam period.
She can spend more than 16 hours a day playing computer games.
She would start playing as soon as she reached home from school and go on till it was time to go to school again the next morning. And she would end up falling asleep in class.
Though it has got her into trouble with her teachers and parents, she won't stop playing.
She even failed to turn up for her O-level Science paper because she said she was sick from lack of sleep.
She had a big argument with her parents after she said she wanted to drop out of school for a year just to play.
"It's only for a year. Just let me play as much as I want to and I will go back to my studies after that," said Kelly.
Her goal is to claim a place in the top five in international gaming competitions. She took part in the Electronic Sports World Cup competition here and came in third in the national qualifiers category.
Said Kelly: "Initially, my parents objected to my idea. But I told them that there is no point forcing me to continue my studies when I just want to play games. I would just be wasting their time and money."
Eventually they gave in, after arguing about it for two months.
Said her mother, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Ong: "Of course I'm disappointed she wants to stop her studies for the time being. But she is obsessed with gaming and there is nothing I can do to stop her. She is clever and I hope to see her pursue her other interests, like cooking."
But Mrs Ong, 40, does not see the need to seek any professional help because 'computer gaming is not an illegal activity'.
She has two other children, aged 12 and 13, who are not into gaming.
Mrs Ong and husband, 42, help to run family businesses. They work six or seven days a week, and often return home only around 11pm.
Mrs Ong admits that their hectic work schedule is partly to blame for Kelly's obsession with gaming.
Also, they pampered her with computer games from young.
The family has three large TV sets in the living room of their HDB maisonette in Hougang, one hooked to an Xbox game console, and another to a PlayStation. Nearby is a desktop computer at which Kelly spends long hours playing.
The chatty girl recalled how she became addicted to playing CounterStrike two years ago.
"I started forming my own girls' team and joined competitions. I get the kick from defeating my opponents unexpectedly. Sometimes my heart skips a beat. I get up from my seat and throw punches in the air. That's how excited I can get," she said.
Kelly enjoys leadership, assigning roles and responsibilities to others in her team.
"Sometimes I think I can still hear the loading of guns in my mind even though I am not playing. I am constantly thinking of which weapons to use for my next attack," she said.
Her teachers spoke to her parents when she began doing poorly in school.
Said Mrs Ong: "I confiscated her keyboard, mouse and CPU many times. She ran away from home after that."
"I later found out she would go to play at gaming centres, and stay out late at those places. So I thought that I might as well return the items to her so that at least she stays home to play."
Said Kelly: "I know that I can't be gaming for my whole life and I must control (my urge to play), but not now. Let me play now and I will study later."
Whatever her O-level results will be, Kelly has made up her mind to postpone her studies till next year.
"Now, I just want to concentrate on my gaming and try to be among the top five in regional gaming competitions."
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Discussion Topic(s)
1) What do u think about Kelly's decision to quit school for a year just to play PC games?
2) What do u think the parents could do to help their daughter kick the gaming addiction?
Vikaesh s/o Moorthy - 5.7 Star Pupil for the month of February 2008
Man Yong Le - 5.7 Best Progress for the Month of February 2008
