11.5 year old boy tantrums

[lexie68]

hi i have a beautiful, smart, funny boy 11.5 years old. he does well in school all his teachers like him and he is mostly pretty good. my question may seem  obvious but when ever he is denied computer time he just "freaks out" he cries and rages throws things says he hates me and this will go on for seemingly forever! ( i try to stay calm and just ignore the tantrum till its over) always after he has calmed down he comes to me very remorseful and says sorry and hugs me and is quite contrite it seems sincere to me. however the next time he loses computer , l or feels he is being denied time unfairly it will be the same thing! this is  really the only thing we fight about. frankly i hate the blasted computer and wish i had never started. he complains there is nothing to do w/o the computer. i have tried and tried to get him to do other things........ he used to play outside and do other things but seldom will he now. he likes legos and puzzles but that is only on rarely. it seems like all his friend too only want to do the computer. this is all very hard because my husband is hardly ever home and he does not thionk it is the problem that i do. its so strange to me cause i hate the computer find it very boring right now i am going crazy i would much rather be outside. so sorry for rambling on so and please i am open to any help i can get!
thanks lexie

[musicmama]

You could always remind him that if he throws a tantrum, he won't have privilidges for he whole next day.  Another thought is rewarding him 15 minutes of computer time for every 1/2 hour of playing outside, or reading a book, or something you want him to help you with.
Good luck and God Bless.

[cMei]

I think he is growing up a little bit. Puzzles and legos may still be fun, be he has discovered something else exciting! What does he do on the computer? Is he chatting, or playing games?  Remember, you are the one in charge here! Keep in mind that while you may not find the computer that exciting, he does. You can use the computer time as a tool for parenting. Remind him that the computer is a privilege that has to be earned. Also remind him that it's not a toy and that if he cannot act mature enough he will lose said privilege.
=)