Ten-year-old Bailey spent up to 80 hours a week fixated on fantasy computer games. He even ate all his meals in front of the screen. With his obsession affecting his progress at school, Jo's help couldn't come a moment too soon for him and his single-mum Louise.
Jo soon discovered Bailey's computer addiction wasn't quite as it first appeared, but a symptom of something else. With Louise's attention diverted to his two demanding sisters, and exhausted by their erratic sleeping habits, Bailey was getting bored.
Jo first helped Louise to see that she needed to take control of her daughters' sleep routine and make time for the family to do something together if she was going to help her son. And if Bailey wanted to spend more time with his mum, he had to put something into the bargain too - wean himself from his love of online games over time.
It wasn't easy, but they persevered. Louise practicing the techniques Jo had shown her so that the girls learnt that they couldn't just get what they wanted, especially at bed time. And Bailey found that going out to play with his friends meant he didn't even think about his computer, managing to wean himself down to just three hours a week in front of the screen from his excessive total.
Two years on, Jo meets a bubbly, smiling Louise and a happy family. Louise says, 'I don't have cabin fever any more. We go swimming every week, go to the park, even if it's just playing outside the house, we're out there doing stuff'. Not only did they manage to get Bailey's computer habit under control, but they are a much more active family than before. As Louise says, 'the secret is, being a happy mum, you've got happy kids.'
