SANDPOINT — The Idaho Court of Appeals is upholding the termination of parental rights of a North Idaho woman who claimed video game addiction was partly to blame for neglecting her kids.

The three children, who ranged in age from 4-14 years old, were removed from the Kootenai County woman’s custody in 2010. Officers found the home in disarray and an insufficient supply of food, according to court documents.

An unsecured butcher knife was found on the floor next to a children’s toy, while the younger children had lice and the older child had severe tooth decay.

The woman, anonymously identified in court records as Jane Doe, admitted playing “World of Warcraft,” a multiplayer online role-playing game, approximately six to eight hours a day.

A case plan to reunite the family was developed in 2011, but Magistrate Court Judge Scott Wayman terminated the woman’s parental rights in 2013, finding that she had not complied with the case plan.

Among the arguments on appeal were claims that the court failed to adequately consider that she had a disability or recognize that Health & Welfare offered her inadequate support as a disabled parent.

But appellate Judge Karen Lansing rejected those arguments. Lansing held that the record demonstrated that Wayman was aware of the woman’s diagnosis and that she rebuffed Health & Welfare’s efforts to support her mental health treatment.

“The Department began by attempting to

treat the most obvious issue, Doe’s repeated choice to play ‘World of Warcraft’ rather than parent,” Lansing wrote in a 12-page unpublished opinion released on Oct. 16.

Lansing said the record showed the woman received treatment for video game addiction but she “unilaterally” disregarded the social worker’s opinions and findings, and opted for faith-based counseling which also addressed video game addiction.

Chief Judge Sergio Gutierrez and Judge David Gratton concurred with Lansing.

Video games such as “World of Warcraft” and “EverQuest” have well-established reputations for consuming players’ waking lives and the American Psychiatric Association has reviewed whether video game addiction should be added to the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

The fifth edition of the manual, released in May, identifies Internet Gaming Disorder as a condition warranting more clinical research and experience before being considered for inclusion in the book, according to the APA.