Life lessons from a computer game?

 This morning,after a little TV and some imaginary games with her soft toys, Emily sat down for another go on poptropica.I sat with her for a while and watched her play.I showed her the tips and cheats page I had found and then went off to do some jobs.I kept coming back and sitting with her and would help her to read the tips when asked but generally just watched her/brought her food/water etc.She had been on a couple of hours when Al came back from shopping .She was getting a little frustrated as she was stuck in one section.He cleaned the mouse as it seemed to be sticking and the played for her to get past the stage she had got stuck.She happily went on again while he went off to paint some bargain basement dining chairs I had got months ago.

I finished what I was doing and sat with her.By now she was tired and getting frustrated.I talked to her and suggested a break for a while.She refused! She was getting very angry that she couldn't get to where she wanted to and needed to express it. My first instinct was to insist she came off it,I let that thought float through but ignored it and decided to help her get through it.

I began rubbing her back and she said to keep doing it because it helped to calm her.She was talking to herself all the time,one minute it was"I can't do this" " I am rubbish at this" and she was crying, then she would say " I can do this", " its only a game" "take deep breaths and focus" on and on the self talk went. Every time she fell back down she just got right back up again,there were lots of screams and at more than one point, tears,but she kept at it.

She moved quickly from screams and despair, through to a calmer response and then back again.She was adamant she didn't want to give up though and persisted.She kept going until she needed the loo and the break away was enough to come back to it with a little frustration released. She got to where she needed to be in the game soon after and moved on to another game.

At that point,when she was more open to suggestions,we talked about frustrations building and how beneficial saving the game and walking away could be.I also brought in her punch ball and gloves for her to use:-)

I left to walk Beauty and when I got back an hour later she was still on.She told me about the games she had mastered and tokens she had picked up.She had been flicking back and forth to the cheats tab, but had done quite a few of the games with no help at all.She continued on happily, taking short breaks, until teatime.

This was a big deal for a girl who normally runs a mile from anything that involves putting herself under that kind of pressure.It may only be a computer game but I do believe that the lessons she learnt about herself  and how she can make stressful situations easier will trickle into real life too ;-)

Nephew A came at teatime for a sleep over ........  SOO HAPPY TO HAVE HIM :) MY GENIUS COUSIN BY MILLIE :):):):) .........

I was sitting in the sun room on the sofa and started to write this (quarter to midnight) Emily came over and sat on one side of me .Then A came over with some of his drawings of guns and armour that he had designed.As I was looking at them and trying to take in the info on Kevlar and various other technical specifications of the materials he would use, Milly hijacked my post :-)

Anyhow,didn't get to finish it as we then went to find out if we had any cornflour to experiment with! A had a stress ball that had come apart and the goo he had brought with him from inside had similar properties to cornflour goo.It was pliable when handled but was rock hard when it was hit Unfortunately I didn't have any.Milly decided to paint and A found a spray bottle with some watered down paint we had used to snow paint and he used that to create a few pics.A then blew some touchable bubbles and we had fun with those for a while.Finally managed to sit and read the end of The lost Symbol when they went up at 12.30.

A good day all round.