Cyber Insecurity
Teaching good behavior to a kid with attention deficit is a parenting hack we’re still learning.
Bobby is smart and sneaky. He knows how to get into locked-up computers. It’s easy. When the computer owner – me – steps away from the machine, he rushes over and hits “control panel.” From there, he can set up what we around here call the “guest account.”
Our Bobby has ADHD, but this isn’t ADHD behavior. This is something any smart child can do in a minute. We have punished Bobby repeatedly. You think he’d understand that he doesn’t get to use the computer he hacks.
Last night, I left my laptop in the living room, as my husband and I got ready for a party. Late that evening, as I shut down my computer, I checked the control panel. Sure thing. There was a guest account. Our sweet boy had gone to bed on time, but he must have been jazzed about getting up a few hours later to play “Age of Empires.”
Trying to stay ahead of Bobby is a workout. We don’t want him up all night, so we shout out before going to bed that “the guest account is off,” so he doesn’t bother getting up early.
We give our son books, games, and one-on-one time. But on some days none of these is enough. It is tempting to hand over the PSP. But that isn’t right. Here’s to making it over one more hurdle.
