Shocking I know. But has any parent ever told off a child for being on chess.com...?

Of course. All time. It doesn't change anything though.

that would be silly. why wouldnt someone let a kid play chess ???

Every day.......

What about when the kids start telling off the parent for being on chess.com...?

I'm a minor and my parents encourage me to be here.

Here is the fact. First of all, the brain is a muscle and it needs to be worked in order for it to grow just like biceps, triceps etc. People put their kids in sport to work their muscles and get active etc. They also buy dumbells and barbells for their kids. However, they dont focus much on the main muscle in the body, the brain. The brain is worked by thinking, learning and memorizing and getting faster at it. Chess Makes you think, learn and memorize tactics.

Chess is the best workout ever! Everyone should play chess.

i get given out to by my parents sometimes for spending long time on chess.com!!!! Im not exactly a kid but i sitll live at home.

I've heard parents are afraid their kids will get addicted. And that they will meet someone and that person tries to meet and kidnap the kid.

I try to kidnap people. But only the stupid ones have anything to fear.

I'm smart, I'm not afraid.  brb, there's a candy-van just outside my door...

Srsly though, people are paranoid about their kids online, just raise smart kids & you'll be ok.  Don't advertise your age if you're a kid & no one will even know (unless you spam up Live Chat with stupid comments).

Being a kid I do once in awhile.

lol, my parents have yelled at me for being on this site too long. I currently have AP and IB tests, but meh Chess is waaaaayyyyy more important

Seriously (and I try not to be serious...) I have two daughters under 16. Of course I worry about them on the internet, but no more than I worry about them anywhere else!

What I was wondering aloud here was whether someone spending a lot of time on chess.com was deemed by outsiders (parents, for example - or children, in some cases!) to be better or worse or the same as someone spending too much time on gambling/war/porn sites! Obviously addiction is bad in any form, but is chess seen as less harmful because it is regarded as "high brow"? And if so, is that fair?

Also if they worry your not doing your homework.

My feeling is that it's the kids causing half the problems on this site, such as stupid posts, trying to annoy people, and silly comments in live chat.

[quote]Obviously addiction is bad in any form, but is chess seen as less harmful because it is regarded as "high brow"? And if so, is that fair?[/quote]

Many of these other things(drugs, gambling, pornography) can cause harm in their own right, regardless of how people view them. I imagine that any hobby has the ability to become addicting in a harmful way, but to my knowledge no one has ever overdosed from an addiction to harlequin romance novels.

Too much oxygen is fatal.

I spent too much time on this site last term (I'm a college student), and I had to scramble to catch up for finals week, so it is possible to spend too much time here when the homework needs doing.

I actually somewhat agree. There is a fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness' I am one of theese 'kids' playing chess (12 years old) but I really don't understand what the idea of this post is. Are you annoyed of the kids who make accounts yet can barely type or don't know how to play chess? Or are you upset that theese kids might get too addicted?