The Fortnite Obsession: I Pulled the Plug on the Game After This Happened... by Belinda Lichty Clarke

30Seconds is talking about it. Your friends and baseball moms are talking about it. It's not just a phase – Fortnite's an obsession. At first, I worried it was too violent, and that allowing my teen boys to become studied assassins with multiple weapons was just plain shi#&y parenting. And then the cool mom part of me told me to relax. So I did … for a while.

Fast forward to the months following winter break and we get the wake-up call. Two Fs, a D, a few Cs and maybe a B+ – and that was in gym. This is not the same freshman who pulled a 3.9 (weighted, to be fair) at the end of fall term. This is a kid in the grips of Fortnite.

So, we pulled the plug. At least on weeknights. Did we get push back? Oh, yeah. But only temporarily. Luckily, baseball helps, since during baseball season there's less time during the week to do much of anything.

Grades are up, but it's going to be tough undoing the damage before school ends in June. He now knows that digging yourself out from even a short stint of crappy grades can really impact the big picture. And even college prospects, possibly.

Like everyone else, I'm waiting for this phase to curl up and die.

Do your kids play Fortnite? I'd love to hear your thoughts below!