Parents of Brandon Crisp blame video game addiction for his death...

Sigh...Kotaku reports that foundation has been established in Crisp's name that is going to encourage unfortunate children to go outside and play sports. This is all good well-intentioned, but the article implies that his addiction was somehow responsible for his death. I do feel sorry for the family and everything, but I fail to see what Crisp's habits contributed to him falling from a tree.

http://kotaku.com/5084555/foundation-established-in-brandon-crisps-memory

Let me get this straight.

Kid runs away and dies, and games are at fault? 

Not parents?

Not because he wasn't well diciplined enough to not run away because of silly argument. (It might be because I'm old school, but I NEVER even thought about having a argument with my parents. That meant major foot in my @$$)

but nooooo it's gaming's fault because THAT'S why he didn't listen to his parents. Not because parents haven't been parenting, but because of gaming, their son didn't listen to them and ran away.

People do these days to avoid being at fault. Very much like fanboys in gaming industry. Coming up with excuses after excuses. 

Well for this case I can see why they would blame his addiction. That's the key word. They're not blaming games but his addiction to games. A lot of people would say he was simply a stupid kid. Of course he was, but he was a teenager. Lot's of teenagers are arrogant and stupid, me included. So it's good to see they're telling kids to crawl away from their Xbox's and expose themselves to the bright shiny thing in the sky.bigfatcrap

never thought i would see the day that i utter these words: i agree with bigfatcrap. :P addiction is indeed the key word here. 

Why are they expecting over 1000 people at his funeral though?Nifty_Shark

Because it's a tragedy.  If the media latches on, you'll get thousands at your funeral.  If they don't, you'll have family and a couple of friends.  The media latched on for this one, partiually due to the game angle.

If I'm not mistaken, he died because he fell out of a tree, not because he played himself to death like some in Korea do.  It wasn't addiction that killed him, but being unable to control his anger and throwing a tantrum.  And his father actually sat by and let him run away, calling his bluff and suggesting he pack something warm.  Maybe it's just me, but if I were young and my dad saw me running away from home, he'd grab my ass and throw me back in the house and tell me to just deal with it.  Because that's the better solution - you're not spending a cold night freezing next to some railroad hobos.  You're home and safe and will get over it in a day or two.

The parents were not wrong in taking away his xbox. They were wrong in setting up the conditions in which he would be allowed to use it AND more importantly how they handled things after taking it away from him. I dont think they were the grossly irresponsable parents normally associated with kids who go nuts "due" to video games. But they are responsable for what happened. It didnt sound like there was very much communication between parent and kid. _AbBaNdOn

i agree u all are being to hard on the parents just think of what there going thru right now sure the reason why wasnt because of a addiction they werent being bad parents teenegers are just stupid(all teenegers no matter what they are all stupid lol myself included when i was a teen) i believe the parents were good parents

They use games as the scapegoat because it's their fault that they weren't good enough parents. *reality slap*

there's strong bias here. i know for a certain that there exist a family wherein there are good parents but a stupid and bad child being because of his/her environment and not his/her parents.lordlors

This much is true, and usually I'd give them the benefit of the doubt, but they admitted they just let him walk out right in front of them, calling his bluff and figuring he'll be back in an hour.  I just really question that move.

They're also citing addiction to video games as being a primary cause.  It was a tantrum from having something not go his way that was the cause.  He could have done the same thing if they said he couldn't go to a certain movie with his friends.

Anyone have a link to an article that details everything? The disagreement, to him running away, to when they found him and when they suspected he died? I can only find articles with small chunks of info.

It is tragically ironic that he died doing something kids never do anymore because of video games (exploring, climbing trees and walking around) yet they blame video game addiciton and start a foundation to keep kids outside.

I too blame the parents. This kid was used to getting his way. Even when he wanted to run away, they let him do it. Parent's of runaways all seem to have the same parenting style. (Very liberal with a 'let him learn by mistake' attitude.) They need to start a 'Better Parenting' foundation. Also, letting a kid out while that angry is dumb because they tend to make dangerous mistakes that are self destructive. They need to also realize that if the kid was 'addicted' to video games, they allowed him to become addicted.

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Level 1?  Posts 1?  I flipped it!!!!

I posted so many times I flipped it! 

He did go outside and "play" it's how he died. :| Had he been inside playing COD4, he'd be alive right now. Cold thing to say sure, but true all the same. His parents pushed him out the door, they're idiots.ViewtifulScott

I know this is horrible but I found this comment extremely funny... 

I agree with AtomicTangerine - how old does one have to be to have responsibility?

I remember being his age and getting pissed if my parents took away my...SNES, I guess? But I never ran away, especially into a farmer's field in winter. Even if I had, I figure after a few hours or so, I would've realized I made a huge mistake, sucked it up, and returned home, not wander a few miles and climb a tree. I hate to sound insensitive, but the kid was stupid enough to get himself killed, and his parents weren't able to handle the situation well enough to prevent it. But then again, I don't have an addictive personality (and to be honest, I don't really buy into the whole dangerous and scary video game addiction), so I can't say I know how the kid or his parents felt or acted.

On a different note, I was annoyed to hear that the kid's father was sure Brandon had been lured away by someone he met online while playing COD4. I never really imagined a FPS would draw getting-to-know you chats with creeps and pedophiles - I always though they stuck to teen chatrooms and the like. I'm glad this didn't start a frenzy of paranoia about online gamers.

Of course, ultimately the fall from the tree is what's responsible for his death and he climbed it and fell.  It could have happened even if he had not run away but the point of all of this is blame.  His parents blamed video game addiciton.  One way to prevent this is to have the game system in a family room....not the kid's room.  Video gaming should be a reward for keeping up the grades and helping out around the house.  Even adults shouldn't play games unless their stuff is in order.  Times when the kid cannot play be it due certain times and when certain goals are not being met should be clearly defined.  That's good parenting and prevents a kid from freaking out because he can't understand why his parents are suddenly saying enough is enough.  Of course the kid made mistakes but he isn't old enough to wave blame from his parents. 

How ironic that parents blame his addiction for games as the cause of his death, but they don´t say who´s responsible for his addiction.

That´s why you should monitor your kids all the time. Your job as a parent is to balance your kid´s life because they can´t do it by themselves until certain age when they´re mature enough.

And what about the game he was playing? Their job as parents is to keep an eye on what your kids are playing. How did he get COD 4 which is a game for mature audiences only?

At what age should a child be resposonsible for their own actions?

I'm in Ontario so we're heard a lot about this tragedy, I followed the story from the first weekend in October when he ran away to when they found his body weeks later.  I'm quite honestly shocked that so much blame is being thrown at his parents.  At 15 he should have had the maturity to understand when it's appropriate to play video games, at 15 he should have been aware that there were punishments for bad grades and he should have taken the consequences like an almost-adult, not like my 5 year old who threatens to run away when she doens't get her own way.  His parents helping him pack...well I can honestly say that I might do that as well.  There is a sad sense of entitlement amoung young children today that I find very sad...he would rather run away than do the time until he could play his game again. 

I content that Brandon was trying to hurt his parents and make them worry by running away.   At his age, he was too told for his parents to restrain him in order to keep him in the house, imagine the call to police for false imprisionment?  Why didn't he go to a friend's house or a relative or a runaway shelter?  We all have choices in life and his choice resulted in his death.  His parents can not be blamed for that.

So I ask you teens who think his parents are responsible for his death...what should his parents have done.  Just let him play until he flunked out of school? 

You know the parents initially blamed games, but it's tough to take that too seriously. They were grief stricken and the initial reaction was to lash out at anything they could. Yesterday they released a press statement and didn't mention gaming at all. They just expressed their sadness and announced a foundation being set up in his name for kids who need money to play sports.

Before you start jumping up and down on the parents because of one soundbyte step back for a second and try to recognize that just maybe you're being a bit manipulated by the media. The parents aren't blaming gaming now. Looks like they've had time to process and maybe even accept their role in what happened. The source of all of this is coming from the media, and for those who keep going on and on about this, congratulations. You've fed into all of it. This is the same way Jack Thompson managed to stay relevent for as long as he did. People fed into the hate he spewed and that kept him in the media.

So I ask you teens who think his parents are responsible for his death...what should his parents have done. Just let him play until he flunked out of school?

DDRMom

I wonder why you classify as teens everyone who´s saying his parents are at fault. Taking care of your children is a process. It´s not only about a decision you make when things get tough. They should monitor their child constantly to see what he/she´s doing with his/her life, set some ground rules, stuff like that. They made the right decision by taking away his Xbox 360. The problem is that the kid´s addiction with games is the result of their lack of knowledge of his lifestyle.

[QUOTE="DDRMom"]

So I ask you teens who think his parents are responsible for his death...what should his parents have done. Just let him play until he flunked out of school?

Solid_Snake_7

I wonder why you classify as teens everyone who´s saying his parents are at fault. Taking care of your children is a process. It´s not only about a decision you make when things get tough. They should monitor their child constantly to see what he/she´s doing with his/her life, set some ground rules, stuff like that. They made the right decision by taking away his Xbox 360. The problem is that the kid´s addiction with games is the result of their lack of knowledge of his lifestyle.

Perhaps my choice of words should have been non-parents instead of teens.  You're absolutely right, parenting is a process and it's not an easy or a even a fun job sometimes.  It something that someone who is not a parent won't understand.  For all we know taking away the xbox was the last straw in the whole process of learning of their son's "lifestyle."

Lifestyle?  At 15 his lifestyle should have been going to school, hanging out with friends, having a part time job and playing video games.  If he was only interested in playing video games, how should his parents made him more interested in leading a full life?  Hmmm, maybe they thought if they took away the video game part he would concentrate on the more inportant things in life...like real people.

And just so I don't come off as a stuffy parent who has no idea what it's like...I'm also a runaway.  I ran from an abusive home and managed to do something productive with my life regardless of my parents.  But I was all about self preservation and can't comprehend not getting myself somewhere safe.  He choose to stay in a cornfield and not let anyone know where he was or that he was safe.  That was his choice, not his parents.

He did go outside and "play" it's how he died. :| Had he been inside playing COD4, he'd be alive right now. Cold thing to say sure, but true all the same. His parents pushed him out the door, they're idiots.ViewtifulScott

true he fell out a tree

 

Perhaps my choice of words should have been non-parents instead of teens.  You're absolutely right, parenting is a process and it's not an easy or a even a fun job sometimes.  It something that someone who is not a parent won't understand.  For all we know taking away the xbox was the last straw in the whole process of learning of their son's "lifestyle."

 

Lifestyle?  At 15 his lifestyle should have been going to school, hanging out with friends, having a part time job and playing video games.  If he was only interested in playing video games, how should his parents made him more interested in leading a full life?  Hmmm, maybe they thought if they took away the video game part he would concentrate on the more inportant things in life...like real people.

 

And just so I don't come off as a stuffy parent who has no idea what it's like...I'm also a runaway.  I ran from an abusive home and managed to do something productive with my life regardless of my parents.  But I was all about self preservation and can't comprehend not getting myself somewhere safe.  He choose to stay in a cornfield and not let anyone know where he was or that he was safe.  That was his choice, not his parents.

DDRMom

In an ideal world, his lifestyle would have been that, but its not the ideal world. Everyone seem to forget what teenage years are like when they grow up, its far from easy for everyone. At fifteen, you are pretty much in the pinnacle of what teenage hardship is and its often where the kids need the most support.

Let me get this straight, he more than likely didn't have a lot of real friends and must have been in a teenage depression. I don't see a game addict there, but a kid who struggled to survive and video games were his escape, thats why he threw a fit over it. If he had friends, he wouldn't have had this problem, he would have went out with them, play games with them, check out movies, go to parties and so on but its obviously not the case. I know what its like, i went through similar stuff in my teen years and in the end, games were my escape too. You know, the parents should simply been glad he didn't fell into drugs instead of games. 

I don't see anything really special, its just a mere accident who made it to the media and like every good journalists they made this way more dramatic than it really is and now everyone is falling for it.

Every day of your life is a gamble, just last week i went to see my father and we went out in ATV in the woods. On our way back the bridge broke, we fell from the equivalent of a rooftop and we made it out with merely a few bruises. We could have died there but the ATV got stuck on a stump so it didnt crush us, its about the same as what happened to that kid but he wasnt as lucky as we were, he got the wrong side of the dice. There is nothing to blame, its merely an accident. Of course its annoying and it also is a normal reaction to search for something to blame, but the thing is, there isn't a reason. So what do you do out of frustration when you cant blame anything? You blame it on the first thing that cross your mind.

Silly parents. The "addiction" - assuming that was the cause - was not the fault of games and the industry. It's clearly the fault of the child.

EDIT: And the parents of course.

Silly parents. The "addiction" - assuming that was the cause - was not the fault of games and the industry. It's clearly the fault of the child.luke1889

Its not the fault of this kid but merely a defensive mechanism, there is no addiction. Check out my post.

I'm quite honestly shocked that so much blame is being thrown at his parents.  At 15 he should have had the maturity to understand when it's appropriate to play video games, at 15 he should have been aware that there were punishments for bad grades and he should have taken the consequences like an almost-adult, not like my 5 year old who threatens to run away when she doens't get her own way.  DDRMom

 He was fifteen years old and addicted to games.  Successful businessmen in their thirties, some of them married with kids, succumb to addictions and make irrational decisions in life.  It's not a matter of maturity (you really expect adult-like maturity from a fifteen year old? ;)), it's a matter of addiction, and anyone will tell you that the worst way to deal with types of addiction such as these is to quit cold turkey.

[QUOTE="lordlors"]there's strong bias here. i know for a certain that there exist a family wherein there are good parents but a stupid and bad child being because of his/her environment and not his/her parents.argianas

This much is true, and usually I'd give them the benefit of the doubt, but they admitted they just let him walk out right in front of them, calling his bluff and figuring he'll be back in an hour.  I just really question that move.

They're also citing addiction to video games as being a primary cause.  It was a tantrum from having something not go his way that was the cause.  He could have done the same thing if they said he couldn't go to a certain movie with his friends.

I think if you ask around, at least 50% of kids would say they've done the same thing. You say "I'm running away," your parents say "have a nice trip", you get to the end of the block, realise you need your parents, and turn around. I'm pretty sure I'd do the same thing as a parent. So 1/3000000000 don't return. Acceptable losses IMO.

In an ideal world, his lifestyle would have been that, but its not the ideal world. Everyone seem to forget what teenage years are like when they grow up, its far from easy for everyone. At fifteen, you are pretty much in the pinnacle of what teenage hardship is and its often where the kids need the most support.

Let me get this straight, he more than likely didn't have a lot of real friends and must have been in a teenage depression. I don't see a game addict there, but a kid who struggled to survive and video games were his escape, thats why he threw a fit over it. If he had friends, he wouldn't have had this problem, he would have went out with them, play games with them, check out movies, go to parties and so on but its obviously not the case. I know what its like, i went through similar stuff in my teen years and in the end, games were my escape too. You know, the parents should simply been glad he didn't fell into drugs instead of games. 

I don't see anything really special, its just a mere accident who made it to the media and like every good journalists they made this way more dramatic than it really is and now everyone is falling for it.

Every day of your life is a gamble, just last week i went to see my father and we went out in ATV in the woods. On our way back the bridge broke, we fell from the equivalent of a rooftop and we made it out with merely a few bruises. We could have died there but the ATV got stuck on a stump so it didnt crush us, its about the same as what happened to that kid but he wasnt as lucky as we were, he got the wrong side of the dice. There is nothing to blame, its merely an accident. Of course its annoying and it also is a normal reaction to search for something to blame, but the thing is, there isn't a reason. So what do you do out of frustration when you cant blame anything? You blame it on the first thing that cross your mind.

Cenerune

I don't see anyone falling for anything, I see this as a good jumping board to an open discussion for children and their parents.  I think if more children allowed their parents into their game world they would have better relationships. I also think that more parents should show an interest in playing the games with their kids but I don't hold Brandon's parents responsible because they didn't.

No one forgets how hard it is to be a teenager.  It shapes who you are for the rest of your life and it shapes how you parent your own children.

I just listened to this interview with Steve Crisp, Brandon's father.  He describes the events leading up to Brandon leaving and from his accounts, the fight could have occured in any house with any teenager.   He reacted as any parent would have and a lot better than some.  I really feel for his parents.

[QUOTE="DDRMom"]I'm quite honestly shocked that so much blame is being thrown at his parents.  At 15 he should have had the maturity to understand when it's appropriate to play video games, at 15 he should have been aware that there were punishments for bad grades and he should have taken the consequences like an almost-adult, not like my 5 year old who threatens to run away when she doens't get her own way.  Angel_Belial

 He was fifteen years old and addicted to games.  Successful businessmen in their thirties, some of them married with kids, succumb to addictions and make irrational decisions in life.  It's not a matter of maturity (you really expect adult-like maturity from a fifteen year old? ;)), it's a matter of addiction, and anyone will tell you that the worst way to deal with types of addiction such as these is to quit cold turkey.

Listen to the interview I posted in the last link.  

To sum up:

• His parents routinely used the xbox being taken away as a consequence so this was not the first time nor was it cold turkey.
•  
• He skipped school, snuck home and played the game
•  
• Lost privlidges for the weekend.
•  
• snuck xbox from hiding place
•  
• Caught and xbox taken away again, father describes cooling off period of 24 hours and then they will discuss again.
•  
• 24 hours later, son won't talk to father about it, father says he's lost the xbox for good.  Child leaves.

If he's addicted, what more could his parents have done?  Unfortunately we're not granted super powers when we give birth.

Yeah, it's definitely a lot his fault too, perhaps moreso.  Why bother climbing the tree in the first place, etc.  But the reality is, if you're not 18, in the eyes of many you're just a child and don't know better and all that stuff, no different than a 6 year old.  Around here 17 year olds can commit violent hate crimes and get a slap on the wrist and have it permanently erased a year or two later because they're kids and don't know better, even though they most certainly do.  If he was 20 and died in a similar manner, honestly, no one would care.  But he's 15, and his parents keep mentioning the video game angle.  Some politicians or other public figures will speak out on this, I'm sure.  They'll also point out it was a violent game, even though he technically shouldn't have been able to get it without his parent's permission as well.  I wonder how that will play out.

I don't know.  I think most of the blame is on the kid, but most people don't want to hear that.  Even suggesting that it was the fault of a kid who tragically died is pretty much taboo.

[QUOTE="Angel_Belial"]

[QUOTE="DDRMom"]I'm quite honestly shocked that so much blame is being thrown at his parents. At 15 he should have had the maturity to understand when it's appropriate to play video games, at 15 he should have been aware that there were punishments for bad grades and he should have taken the consequences like an almost-adult, not like my 5 year old who threatens to run away when she doens't get her own way. DDRMom

He was fifteen years old and addicted to games. Successful businessmen in their thirties, some of them married with kids, succumb to addictions and make irrational decisions in life. It's not a matter of maturity (you really expect adult-like maturity from a fifteen year old? ;)), it's a matter of addiction, and anyone will tell you that the worst way to deal with types of addiction such as these is to quit cold turkey.

Listen to the interview I posted in the last link.

To sum up:

If he's addicted, what more could his parents have done? Unfortunately we're not granted super powers when we give birth.

Thanks for the link 

To All,

If you read my post about using video games as a reward you will see my point that the parents handled this wrong from the beginning.  Study behavioralism and you will see how easy it is to take something like a game system and turn it into a helpful parenting tool.

Adults and children must learn moderation and delayed gratification.  You never goof off until you have your chores and work done.  

The fact that he was 15 and had these problems (including running away as a reaction) shows that he was poorly parented.  Think of the responsibilities a 15 yr old had just 50 or 60 years ago.  Most had to wake up before the sun was up, take care of the farm animal chores, walk several miles to school and come home and pick cotton and/or plow fields, eat, sleep, repeat.  Many parent are like this kid's.  It's a problem in society.

Lastly, if a kids seems obsessed with anything.  Yank it as soon as possible.  You kid text messages over 3000 times in one month?....Take it away....remove texting and explain that is obsessive.

I think htis time games are at fault as he did pretty much die from his addiction didn't he.

When someone dies form drugs we never go ohh i blame the parents for giving birth and not parenting them away from drugs.

I think htis time games are at fault as he did pretty much die from his addiction didn't he.

When someone dies form drugs we never go ohh i blame the parents for giving birth and not parenting them away from drugs.

 

Poshkidney

Yes we do.  If a kid starts using drugs, get addicted and eventually dies from an overdose, you have to look at the parents.  How could they not know there was a problem?

Regardless, I believe his parent would agree that they waited to long to put a stop to this.  He skipped school to play video games and his punishment was 'no xbox for a weekend.'  Sound like they were too easy on him.  I feel horrible for the parents though.  They thought they were doing a good job.

too bad his life was only about video games and he died because of it

I think htis time games are at fault as he did pretty much die from his addiction didn't he.

When someone dies form drugs we never go ohh i blame the parents for giving birth and not parenting them away from drugs.

 

Poshkidney

Sorry, man, I'd say crystal meth, crack and heroin are a little more dangerously addictive than video games, and until several scientific studies prove otherwise, and force us to put addiction warnings on game packages, I'll have to disagree with you. And while I'm ready to admit that many parents do all they can for their children and some kids still end up addicted or dead from drug abuse, I do still think many parents don't do a good enough job ensuring their kids are leading a balanced life, watching how their time's spent, who they're hanging out with, etc. and, like another commentator has said, using proper positive reinforcement.

But again, maybe this kid was especially susceptible to addiction, and if he didn't have video games, perhaps he would've gotten addicted to drugs, or other more dangerous habits. Even if this was the case, you can't blame the games, they're just a means to an end - giving him a high he needs. If he didn't have games, we'd be blaming household cleaners, or porn, or innumerable other things identified as addictions. 

 He was addicted and his parants took his xbox away and forced him outside.

 Hmm.. and you blame it on video games

He had an addiction like smoking, if you steal some guys cigs and all of his money he would probably go crazy aswell :P

The parents just need something to blame.

They chose video games.

I'm really surprised the guy was willing to run away from home just because his parents took away his Xbox. It would take a hell of a lot more than that to get most people to run away. I'm even more surprised that he didn't go home after a few days or even a few hours.

I can't decide whether it's bad parenting or if the guy was just a dumbass...

His parent could only do so much with what they had there arn't any clinic that treat this well only in Holland or Denmark its one of those two that treat this sort of addiction.

I think they are just as deadly and Drug you might not be sticking things in you are, snorting up or nose, drinking, inhaling or what not.

Just because your looking at something and interacting with something doesn't mean its not as deadly.

The thing is we can get addicted to anything if we find satisfaction from it as you'll do mmmm that was nice I'll think I'll do that again and then its not as good as last time so you try getting that first experience again and you just can't but you want it so badly and that was what he was wanting.