A boy wearing headphones is playing video games on a computer screen.
  • Sherry Williams was initially worried that her son, Taylor, was gaming too much.
  • In frustration, she even threw Taylor's Xbox from the second story.
  • Today, Taylor is a high school senior and has won scholarships from esports.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sherry Williams. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My sons, Taylor and Tyler, started playing video games when they were 5 and 6. Like most kids, they loved gaming and started playing a bit too much. They started rushing through homework in order to play. I'm an elementary school teacher, so that wasn't going to fly. I made a new rule: the boys could only game on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.