The SIMS. Good or bad for a confused mind?

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Sims can be paused but focus can't be paused. When I get disturbed it hurts even if I can pause the game because I know I won't be able to easily get back to the stage of mind I was in before pausing.

Natural pause points in Sims is usually the night or school/work times. Most sims are sleeping or at work then so player can only look at the screen and wait for them to get ready for interactions. Pausing and going to do something else in moments like that doesn't hurt so much. It only prolongs the natural pause.

Well, I play on the fastest speed possible and wake my Sims up in the middle of the night to do stuff, so there's no down time in my games.

For myself, sims was an escape at that age. Still would be if I had a computer to play it on. My parents set a time limit and set an actual timer - and the computer was in the family room, not in my own room where I could stay up all night. With those parameters I can't see why it would be an issue. Just keep the rules and structured time in place so it doesn't become a free for all.

I did use the notice period the first weekend so she was not asked to drop everything, except maybe when completely needed. However we thought about it more and decided to do some extra up front planning. So before she was allowed to start playing she had to do a couple of chores and complete some school work, selling it on the basis of fewer interruptions. It was also made clear she'd be expected to stop for lunch and would need to take a break in the day. It was then explained she may be asked to do things during the day but we'd try to give her as much notice as possible.

It was certainly a better weekend, she was definitely calmer overall with the excitement tempered. I think the additional planning helped as did the understanding that she would not be allowed to spend all day on the game. In fact she even took a self imposed break on Sunday, in part I think to show she learned the lesson which is great. I do think she is still a little too anxious to get back to the game at times. She also nearly went into a melt down when a minor issue meant the game would not load for her(easily fixed). However she can't really help that and we are certainly happy to work with that and helping her react better.

I'm still not allowed to play though! lol.