Spouse's addiction effect on children

I thought I would see if anyone else has this issue --

My husband is addicted to WOW, or maybe not completely addicted -- he does go to work, and he gets his other responsibilities taken care of -- but he is not much of a husband to me, and when he is on the game, I might as well not exist -- unless I agree to play with him.

The problem is really in how it affects his nine-year-old son, my step-son, Jay.

There is all this advice out there about limiting a child's time on the game. Well, my husband won't allow me to limit Jay's time on WOW, because my husband thinks there is nothing wrong with a nine-year-old spending four and five hours a day on the game. My husband is almost kind of proud, I think, because it means Jay is just like him.

How can I be a good parent about limiting Jay's time on WOW, when my husband won't support that decision? How can I expect Jay to only spend an hour a day on the game when his dad spends hours and hours at a time?

WOWwife - Deb

Hi WOW,

If his time and your kids time on the computer is affecting your relationship, it IS a problem. It sounds as if this is the early stage as your husband is not neglecting his responsibilities YET. But that will likely happen if things continue as they are.

I was in the same boat with my wife's chatting for hours on end. I confronted her but did not press the issue. This then resulted in her neglecting our home, our children, and her eventually abandoning our family after 12 years of marriage.

I strongly urge you to not accept his behavior and express you are not happy. He must put your marriage before the computer.

Dave