He's still young at 15. His parents need to take action now while they still can. They need to take away his computer and Xbox. This is the only thing his parents can do besides taking his to a shrink. This will only get worse over time an he'll become more and more anti-social over time. Soon it will be too late. He needs PUNISHMENT. Its the only way he will learn. Is his mom afraid of taking away his computer? Will he go psycho and massacre the family? I don't think so.

This is how I see the problem:

1- It seems you love your brother and you are worried for him. That's a good thing, and it helps. By the things I'm reading, I can see your parents are the same way.

2- An Ass-whooping, isn't the best thing to do. You will just acomplish to make him angry, maybe he will resguard even more in videogames, and he won't trust you guys more. Plus, IT WONT SOLVE THE PROBLEM!!!

3- This problem is complicated, so, it's not as some physical reprimand will solve it. Actually there won't be any easy way out.


This is what I recommend, I hope you can take some points out of it, or at least it will help you make a decission:

1- Talk to him. First, let him tell you if he is having any problem. Maybe problems at school, or anything. But don't force him to tell anything or rush things. He need to feel that you are at his side. And start talking about his problem, maybe that way he will realize it.

2- There are some obligatory things!!!!!!!! Like going to school. He must be aware of this. It has to be mandatory to do certain things.

3- Search activities that you can do in family and that take him away from games. Also mandatory.

4- Why not take him to a trip???? Or a camp for a weekend with teenagers his age. In a way where he can't play videogames and h can make new friends.

I'm sorry I can't think of more right now. I'll come back later

The kid is borderline adult, he's 15 and obviously knows what he is doing so some sort of physical punishment may actually suffice.

No that won't work. He's not old enough to think of the long-term consequences of his actions. He needs punishment and an authority figure.

If you can't take away his computer and Xbox then cut off the internet. That will help. He will eventually get bored of Skyrim. I hear he loves playing Team Fortress 2? Say good bye to that once he has no internet.

I honestly sometimes feel western parents are too lenient to their children :S I know it's wrong to generalize and that is not what I mean at all but I see many examples around me that leads me to believe that. and I disagree about physical punishment being ineffective but that's a whole different discussion

How about locking the 360 / pc after a certain time? If that doesnt work a good whopping always helps

I dont want to share my story, but some years ago, i was a goddamn addict, placing games above everything. (and playing 12 hours a day was usual to me) - if ya want to hear the story OP, i could PM it to ya so you can get a picture of the "how's" and "Why's", but in short;

i think your brother has to realize that he's doing something terribly stupid.
if games have a higher priority than family, you have to find someone whose opinion matters to your brother.
And if such a person exists, he/she mustnt lecture him, but show off the amazing stuff that your brother missed. like an awesome party/convention/event, something that might motivate him to do something different for a change.

Something you shouldnt do, is playing captain obvious. if your brother isnt totally stupid, he'll know he is ruining his life, but this doesnt mean he care's about it- if you tell him he's doing it wrong, he'll remember what he didnt want to, and that might eventually cause damage, instead of helping him. (So in short, dont lecture him that he does something wrong, instead show him that there is other awesome stuff aswell. goddamn it, you could even invite him to a games convention, i think even that would kinda help temporarily, since he'd get outside, experiencing something cooler than just sitting at home)

@psychologist: it might be that your bro was right, and the guy youve sent him to was an idiot. possible. but if you think that guy would be able to help your brother's condition, trick your Bro. convince him that he should just go there once or twice a week to make your mother smile, and just give him the facts. tell him something like 'give this "idiot" an hour or two of your week, you'll still have X hours a day left to play, so you can still be playing games, while people around you would be proud about you to take some form of action. you dont have to take it seriously, and other than that, you could rest assured that you wont have to face other responsibilities.'

PS; Another problem might be, is that your brother maybe suffers depression (Since my guess is that it wouldnt be the best news of the day to get told that you have chronic whatever.)

___

this really is only my opinion, but this is how i think about it.

Wow my parents would beat me back to 1991 if I ever did that. If your parents won't do it...then you should just take the initiative and take his xbox away physically.

I am sorry to say this but your brother is addicted more than likely. If your parents will not do anything, then it is up to you. This is going to be much easier for me to say than for you to do. You need to take all of his consoles and games until he starts going to school. Do not destroy them, but put them at one of your friends' houses so he can not find them. It is going to be hard. He will more than likely go ballistic, and it is going to hurt you to see him like that, but you must remain strong for his own good. Tell him if he goes to school each day for a week, he can get one game/console back. I am not a parent so I do not know if this is the "best" thing to do, but his addiction must be overcome or at least reduced. As much as I love video-games, I am currently cutting back on my playing amount. I have had much less focus on college this semester than I ever had. I believe we are being hypnotized by these games and not focusing on what is important. Like all good things, gaming must be done in moderation or else it can be very destructive. I hope the best to you and your brother.

kick him out of the house, let the little asshole rot