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What to do about a little brother that unintentially flicks soda at your expensive LC

MacNoobie

MacNoobie

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 15, 2005
545
0
Colorado
I have a little brother that loves to sit and play The Sims 2 on my Mac, problem is while he does it he drinks from a cup with a straw and for what ever reason or another he gets specs of soda/milk/water what ever he happens to be drinking on my 30" LCD. Is there ANY way of dealing with this I've tried yelling at him, a smack upside his head. Seems like nothing stops him he comes in when I'm at work and I come home to see spots of something on the lcd and even on occasion noticed actual runs down the LCD portion of the monitor what looks like into the frame, I have to clean it up and while I don’t mind doing it its really starting to annoy me. The LCD runs great but he's 12 almost 13 and nothing I do seems to make him change his ways, if I yell at him or hit him he seems to just take the soda down stairs and either drinks it there or just sits with it for awhile then when I'm gone he's sitting at the computer which is when I tell him to get off. I'm tempted to put in a doorknob that has a key to it (the one we have now doesn’t) or a dead bolt and just dead bolt the door with my father and I having the key.

Is there ANY way to deal with this? Like I've said I've yelled at him and smacked him upside his head and still he keeps on doing it, even my parents yelling at him doesn’t seem to change his ways.

DRIVES ME CRAZY!!!!!!!!!
 
Try these...
 

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did you actually try telling him without yelling? when you yell at him, all he wants to do, is do it more, to spite you, it's really quite simple.

as for the lock, why not just password protect your account so he can't use your computer?

sounds quite simple to me.
or just send me the screen and i'll take it out of harms way.
 
Tell him that he's welcome to drink his drink, and to play on your computer – but not at the same time! Let him know that food and drink aren't to be consumed at the computer, and that if he breaks this rule and any damage is then caused to your kit then it's up to him to pay for repairs or a replacement.

If he then chooses to ignore your perfectly acceptable request, then you smack him upside his head. :)
 
Think you gonna have to find something he loves (playing on you mac, PS2,etc) and ban him from it everytime it happens. Putting a lock on the door would be a good idea then only let him play on ure comp when your their and has has no drink with him.

or you could try rdowns suggestion :p
 
I think you should tell him that you'll punch him once for every soda fleck, then follow through on that. Tends to work with little brothers.
 
Explain the situation in a reasonable tone. If he persists, lock up your computer as someone else mentioned.
 
evoluzione said:
did you actually try telling him without yelling? when you yell at him, all he wants to do, is do it more, to spite you, it's really quite simple.

as for the lock, why not just password protect your account so he can't use your computer?

sounds quite simple to me.
or just send me the screen and i'll take it out of harms way.
Click to expand...

Thats usually the first step is to kindly tell someone to stop, next level is usually to get a decent sized not to do it again then it goes to full on yelling. I've locked the computer before and that "seems to work" but I manage to find soda anyways so I guess he might be sitting at the computer but watching the big screen.
 
Jaffa Cake said:
Tell him that he's welcome to drink his drink, and to play on your computer – but not at the same time! Let him know that food and drink aren't to be consumed at the computer, and that if he breaks this rule and any damage is then caused to your kit then it's up to him to pay for repairs or a replacement.

If he then chooses to ignore your perfectly acceptable request, then you smack him upside his head. :)
Click to expand...

Lol I guess I'm a bit hypocritical here because I tend to drink a soda or something at the computer while I use it but I dont flick it at the monitor or spill it. Maybe a good idea to cut it out first before I start to yell..
 
Try using a monitor cover. Or but something over the monitor and but some twist ties around the base to keep him from removing the cover.

Nuc
 
All good advices, probably need to stop drinking at the computer first off then asking him why he does it, have a password in place and go from there
 
I would tell him no drinks around the computer. I can see disaster looming, especially with a young teenager. He's going to accidently spill something.

I'd give him one more chance, and if he doesn't comply...lock him out of the computer.
 
I'm with the others who say he should be banned from eating or drinking while at your Mac. If he retorts with "Well, how come YOU get to drink at the Mac?", your reply should be "Because (1) it's my Mac and (2) I don't get crap on the screen."

I have drinks at my desk all the time, but I don't spill... if anyone else was sitting at my desk, I'd have to enforce a no-drinks policy.
 
looks like you'll have to smack him around a bit, that's how I kept my little brothers in line. At least before they grew up to be bigger than me....
 
rdowns said:
Try these...
Click to expand...

That gun is a model made by artist MAsamune Shirow, correct?

I'd say beat the piss out of him. It's the only thing kids understand these days.

Or, get a lock on the door. Tell your parents about it and more importantly, password protect your accoutn so when it goes into screensaver/shutdown/logout he cannot access it, and thus won't sit and play it.
 
MacNoobie said:
All good advices, probably need to stop drinking at the computer first off then asking him why he does it, have a password in place and go from there
Click to expand...

Just let him know that you don't mind him playing on your computer, but any more soda flicks and he will have to find another computer to play on.
 
Make him clean up his own mess.
If that doesn't work, ban for a week (password change on the account).
Next time, ban for two weeks ... etc
He will get the message fairly quickly.
 
Onizuka said:
That gun is a model made by artist MAsamune Shirow, correct?
Click to expand...
I think it's whatever the standard issue rifle for the UK military is. The SMG seen in GiTS is usually a P90

I'd say beat the piss out of him. It's the only thing kids understand these days.
Click to expand...
That's what my brother would have done. Except I actually listened to him when it regarded eating or drinking at the computer. I do it fairly often now, but I don't usually eat things that make a mess on anything other than a napkin. Most of the gunk on my PB is from sneezing and the rare ramen-slurp.
 
I can understand your situation, but violence will only make things worse in the long run. I've seen many a younger sibling (including my own) turn to drugs and gangs because of an unstable upbringing (I'm really just a fluke; I shouldn't be any better off than him).

Explain that if he ruins the monitor, he will have to pay to replace it. Tell him how much it costs, and tell him how many christmases, birthdays, and fun outings he will have to give up to repay you.
Tell your parents about this, and have them explain it to him too. Making him feel guilty will be much more productive than hitting and yelling.

Maybe sit him down, ask him why it happens, and that you'll allow him time to use the computer if he doesn't mess up the monitor. Putting in a deadbolt might be an effective step towards this. Maybe spend some time with the kid while he's on the computer.
 
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