
Ask HN: How can I make YouTube load very slow and buffer a lot? - Snowalker
My son spends an insane number of hours daily on Youtube. How can I slow it down and make it buffer a lot so he hopefully gives up?
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xyclos
I suggest that you have a direct and honest conversation with your son about a
habit that you believe to be harmful.

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coreyp_1
^ This is good advice.

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Snowalker
I tried an honest conversation but he is back to his old habits. I like to see
him happy and I like him to feel unrestricted but he watches these teenagers
everyday and some of them speak pretty bad and do bad stuff. All I want to
keep him away from this.

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davismwfl
I have an 18yo boy and 2 pre-teen daughters. Kids will do what you allow them
to do, youtube isn't the issue cause he'd just find a different site/game etc.

I am no yard stick for anyone to measure to, but I would suggest that your
desire to have him feel unrestricted is the issue. Kids need boundaries, they
need restrictions, they need discipline (not beatings, just rules and limits).
Do they complain about it? Sure, they do. But they crave it, because without
it there is no guidance to show them what is right and what is wrong. Also,
how do they develop healthy habits unless you push them to have them and take
away negative habits? They won't, they'll do what is fun and easy because most
kids are all about instant gratification, although there are those that are
just internally super self disciplined. I am pretty positive you don't let him
write on walls or swear at adults or be disrespectful to you, so why is
computer time different?

For my kids, they get a limited amount of electronic time per day, e.g. iPods,
iPads, PC etc. For the pre-teens, they get no more then 90 minutes during the
weekday and no more then 4 hours on a weekend day for "electronic" time. It
may sound harsh, but that forces them to choose what they want to do with that
time wisely. As the get older, I'll expand/adjust it. Also, I don't include
them doing homework assignments in that time, that is always allowed. I also
allow them to research something if they have a question etc, it isn't like I
hammer them at the exact time, but it is a limit that they respect. And they
always ask before starting up a PC etc. Even TV is monitored, but not strictly
limited. But by doing so they choose to go outside and play, they choose to
still make up games to play etc.

For my 18 year old, he had the same type of restrictions too, but as he got
older they of course got less and less to the point I let him do what he wants
now. He spends too much time in my opinion on youtube, hulu, netflix etc. But
he has great grades and has a social life etc, plus now he's an adult with a
new job and college coming soon, so he's gotta figure out some new balance.

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noobie
I am not trying to tell you how to raise your children of course but here my
two cents.

I am 21 and growing up my parents also limited my siblings and I's computer
time. They'd go as far as hiding the mouse or the power cords. I don't blame
them BUT at the time (14-18) I used the computer to experiment with
programming and it seems like my peers who did the same but had "unlimited"
access to a computer had a great headstart.

So I think the time kids spend on the computer should factor in what they use
it for. I'd secretly monitor their activity to determine that.

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davismwfl
It is a fair point which is why I allow them to use it for research or
learning without many limits.

But honestly even if they started programming and doing that type of activity
I'd still pull the plug on them daily at some point. I did to my son until he
hit around 16-17.

Everything in moderation is generally ok or neutral. Anything to excess almost
always comes at a price not worth paying.

Just my opinion of course but a computer can't teach you to deal with
adversity or people. Sure you can read about it but doing is always a better
teacher.

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jmnicolas
Youtube is not the problem, it's the symptom. You're looking for a technical
solution to a psychological problem, it won't work imo.

But I realize I'm not helping you much here, good luck ;-)

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kleer001
> psychological problem

I would suggest also possibly a social and or economic problem. There might
even be a "magic bullet" where a single change can reap huge rewards. More
allowance, less allowance, different school, after school program, later wake
up time, the variables are myriad.

I would suggest looking into kinesthetic intelligences (sp?). Moving around.
Sports, music, karate, track and field, etc. Positive and creative physical
discipline.

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noobie
I am on the phone so I haven't tested these.

[http://www.net-peeker.com](http://www.net-peeker.com)

[https://www.netlimiter.com](https://www.netlimiter.com)

[http://freenet.mcnabhosting.com/python/pyshaper/](http://freenet.mcnabhosting.com/python/pyshaper/)

Like others have pointed out if this is just a symptom of another problem
you'll only be teaching him how to be more patient and thus result in more
wasted hours.

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tkinom
I setup the wifi AP to block youtube for his computer for certain time period.

Also, I reward him with game time / RC air plane building project time with me
if he did certain % of Khan Academy each weekend. He's 4th grade and finished
35% of 6th grade math himself and did some javascript program course on Khan
Academy.

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Snowalker
Interesting, my son is in the same grade, 4. Would you mind sharing the Khan
courses your son follows? Maybe I can get him do some coding. I'm a coder
myself and I know this can be fun. Thanks.

