He ended play with his friend with no arguments

I wonder sometimes how important it is that I share what I've learned about parenting and video games. Then, I have an experience like I did last night.

My 13yo son was playing Minecraft online with a friend. They were on a Discord call. (If you don't know about Discord, yet, go check it out.) I noticed that it was getting a little late, about 8:30pm. School's winding down, so we've been a little lax with evening screen time limits. But, 8:30 is about the edge of what's ok.

So, I went to him and asked, "May I interrupt?"  

"Yes."

"I noticed that it's 8:30, and I'm concerned that it's getting late to be on a screen. Do you think you could get off soon?"

"Sure! I'll be off in 10 minutes."

He got back on his call with his friend, said that he needed to sign off in 10 minutes, finished up the Nether adventure, and then, actually signed off in 10 minutes when his timer went off.

He came in to say good night to me and THANKED me for setting the limit.

Things weren't always this easy.

But they can be!  Thanks to the Hand in Hand Parenting tools, and the work that me and my son have put it, we have a good relationship with each other and with screens. I really want this for other families. So, I'll keep figuring out how to do this whole online business thing. =)