Balancing school pressure and family expectations can be exhausting.

In this story, a teenage boy is currently in Year 12 and is preparing to apply for university.

His mother was too strict about him having to study even during summer and winter breaks.

So when he decided to have a few hours of play time to relax, it led to an unexpected conflict.

Read the full story below for all the details.

AITA for playing videogames when i’m in year 12

I’m in year 12 of the UK education system.

This means I have to take exams in the summer of 2027 to get into uni.

So I study around two hours on normal school days.

I rarely play any games, as I’m not allowed to.

This teenager began to lose interest in playing video games.

At the start of 2025, my mother said I would be allowed to play two hours on Sundays.

But I’ve slowly lost interest in playing as time has gone on.

I rarely even played during the summer because my mother works from home.

She has online meetings which she takes in the living room. She works until the night.

He asked her mom if she would like to play a board game with him.

I rarely had time to play. I played around maybe ten hours in total in the summer because of this.

As it’s winter break now, I thought it would be a nice time to play a board game with her.

I rarely get to spend time with her.

I asked her in the morning, and she said I shouldn’t be thinking about playing games.

Her mom insisted that he study first.

So, I went and studied for about four hours. This was like any other day during the break.

But when I saw she was free, I asked her if she wanted to play now.

She then responded with “Go and study first. You haven’t studied all day.”

This wasn’t true.

He asked her again, and she said no.

I sucked it in. It was understandable for her not to believe me.

She was busy all day and didn’t see me.

Fast forward to one hour and I came back.

I saw her sleeping on the sofa. I saw she got woken up when I walked in.

So I asked if she still wanted to play. She responded with no.

So now, he decided to just play his PS5.

I was disappointed. I turned on my PS5 to play Elden Ring.

I never get time to play, so I haven’t beaten it yet.

This is even though I got the game two years ago.

Fifteen minutes later, she woke up. She got really annoyed. She said I didn’t study.

I did study, but she fell asleep.

Her mom declared that he isn’t allowed to play PS5 for the entire winter break.

As punishment for my actions, she wasn’t going to play the board game with me.

I can play sometimes on my Switch 2. But I only have a handful of games from the original Switch.

I already beat them. If I get caught, it’s game over for me.

Now, I’m not allowed to play my PS5 for the whole winter break.

AITA? Or should I try to convince her again to let me play.

Let’s see how others reacted to this story.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

Here’s a valid point from this person.

This teacher says he is entitled to play after studying.

Here’s another honest opinion.

Enjoy whatever makes you happy, says this one.

Apparently, studying hard doesn’t always unlock the “free play time” achievement.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.