Girl, 9, in rehab for Fortnite addiction after becoming so hooked she WET HERSELF to keep playing

A girl of nine is in rehab after becoming addicted to a video game that is gripping the nation’s kids.

Her horrified parents tonight told how their daughter is in intensive ­therapy after ­getting hooked on the Fortnite game.

The obsessed primary school pupil...

- Secretly got up in the night and played until dawn.

- Neglected to go to the toilet because she could not bear to leave the screen.

- Hit her father in the face when he tried to confiscate her Xbox gaming console.

- Dozed off in class because of her night-time addiction.

Experts fear she is one of many children at risk of developing mental health problems as a ­result of over-exposure to the fight-to-the-death scenarios.

The girl’s mum tonight said: “We had no idea, when we let her play the game, of the ­addictive nature or the impact it could have on her mental health. She is in ­therapy for the addiction after she ­became withdrawn, ­agitated and disturbed from playing up to ten hours a day – sometimes playing until dawn, wetting ­herself so she didn’t have to leave the screen.

“This is a serious issue which is destroying our little girl’s life and someone needs to step in to ban it before it becomes an epidemic.”

“Of course we were furious and confiscated her Xbox. But then she lashed out and hit my husband in the face.”

Despite limiting their daughter’s time on the game to one hour on school nights and two on weekends, they were still suspicious.

Carol said: “My husband saw her light on in the night and found her sitting on a urine-soaked ­cushion playing the game.

“I found her backside was red-raw. She was so hooked to the game she wouldn’t even go to the toilet.”

The mum said: “Crying, she told us that every night for the past two months she had waited until we were asleep and then got up to play, sometimes until 5am.

“We worked out that she could have been playing for up to ten hours a day, and we’d had no idea.”

The parents contacted addictions counsellor Steve Pope, who agreed to see the girl for psychotherapy. Steve told the Sunday People: “Over the last two months I’ve been ­contacted by dozens of parents with children as young as eight showing signs of addiction to Fortnite.

“I’ve been working in this field for three decades and never seen anything like it, how widespread and potentially damaging this is.

“I know bright kids who will fail their exams this summer because of Fortnite, kids who are stealing from their parents and friends to pay for the extras, kids who urinate in bottles because they can’t bear to leave the game.” Experts claim it is the high-profile celebrity ­endorsements in recent weeks that have fuelled exposure.

Steve added: “You see Premier League footballers celebrating goals with Fortnite dances and it’s the biggest possible advert for kids.

“It’s the perfect gateway into ­addiction and gambling.”

Source.

Is it time to ban Fortnite!?

Videogames are way more fun than school. Who can blame her?

Oh, wait, this is a complete failure of parenting. Why should anyone else be punished for this?

All I see is someone with a pre-existing problem and irresponsible parents.

Maybe ban parents from buying a console or any other electrical device that they can give their kids.

And the game is rated teen, she should not be playing it.

TF? My daughter is 9, I can’t even begin to imagine her behaving like this

Sounds like she already had mental health issues and lousy parents.

Her parents need smacked smh

My daughter is 11 and loves to play games on her PC/Nintendo Switch and as her Dad, I make sure she never get's addicted and focus on school first!

Parents need to monitor there kids more carefully.

Bad parenting is the culprit here. Never let your kids play videogames for hours to no end. They should be kids and have other activities outside of staring at a screen.

The slapped the dad got me LOL, did he cry or something. Sounds like one of the SJW dads.

You are asking the wrong question there.

The correct question, IS it time to take these parents out for an educational tour of how to be parents.

Clearly, the problem here is parents who forgot to be parents.

When will parents learn not to buy consoles and use them as babysitters for their children.

My 12-year-old niece play's Fortnite but she love playing outside riding her bike and climbing tree's and skate boarding just like her dad did when was a kid.

Shit parents

XBOX truly is a disease.

Time for someone to step in and ..... make these parents be parents instead of trying to be their kid's friends. REALLY easy solution.

Totally agree not the game fault

Has this anything to do with System Wars?

And is it obvious that bad parenting is to blame and nothing else? What is to discuss about?

40 year old WOW addicts were doing the same thing....lets be real

@loco145:

I don't play Fortnite but I know it's still not the problem here. It all starts at home. Her parents as well as anyone's parents, are fully responsible for what they expose their children to when they buy games like this for their kids.

Online gaming is a big thing to introduce to a kid, especially at that age. If left unchecked, it can literally control your life! And children don't have that switch that tells them when it's time to turn off the game. And that's why it's up to the parents to know what should and what shouldn't be okay to play.

I know the feeling. Poor kid. Hopefully they sort this out and teach her healthy habits. She might have mental issues, but maybe they can channel that obsessiveness into something constructive.

What the hell her parents are doing???

Can't believe things like these happen in a "normal" family!!!

Their too busy on Facebook and the IPhone.

She's too young to be accountable, their parents really should be ashamed to behave like this :/

As a father to 10 year twin girls, I find this horrifying. I always try to get my girls away from screens and out into the fresh air as much as possible, playing with their friends and having actual fun. I monitor their screen time and and always check to see what they've been playing and viewing on Youtube etc.

The biggest question I have around this is, how the heck did her parents not see this long before it got to this point?

Banning games is not the answer to lazy parenting, they obviously didn't even bother to check if it was age appropriate for their daughter. In the UK, at least, it has an age limit of 13, not sure what the U.S. is but I'd imagine it's something similar and most definitely not a suitable game for a 9 year old to be playing.

True and sorry no kid need be playing a game for hours without taking a break and doing homework or going outside.

Shitty parenting.

You know, not giving your kid a mobile phone, moving the computer into the living room or no computer on weekdays, no mobile phone at home should sort that right out.

According to the ESRB, the game is rated "T" for "teen," suitable for ages 13 and up.

Fortnite makes 9 year-old girls wet themselves confirmed.

Ewww

Men use empty bottles to pee in during online games. Girls should figure out alternate means.

TLDR :

We cannot discipline our kid. SO GOVERNMENT SHOULD COME IN AND PUNISH EACH AND EVERY KID.

Weak parents, extremely weak parents, especially from the father, I mean he let his 9 year old daughter hit him? clearly she was never disciplined properly. As for the rest of the article, pathetic, this is a VERY pathetic attempt at video game censorship and it will not work. This is completely the parent's fault for letting it happen, I mean what made them think it was OK for a 9 year old to participate in online matches?

We should probably file a lawsuit against the developer for the grief they've caused this poor family.

Blame the parents. Parental controls, use it.

Why would anyone even go to the press with a story like this, it's probably made up.

I had computers all my life, I've never had the urge to play them 'till I wet myself.Weak minded parents and weak minded child, or for the money which is more likely.

Take the kid from the parents, and sterilize the parents while you are at it.

Absolute idiots.

Also the reason she probably pisses herself is that she doesn't want to make any sound and wake up there parents.

These parents are so retarded, that they get outplayed by there 9 year old kid and blame the industry instead of there own parenting or the kid for god sake.

Is sterilizing the parents too extreme? Is it like jailing a thief and cut off his hands as well?

Where is the concept of the punishment must fits the crime?

I'm completely agree with this... it's called being a freaking Parent. I'm pretty sure the girl didn't get hooked in one day... and i'm sure they could have detected her erratic behavior in advance...however since they did such a horrible job with her, now they are searching someone to blame and solve their problems.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to have kids.