The Wii and Preschoolersby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 22 Mar 2009 07:11 AM
When the Wii video game system came out, we thought the craziness surrounding it was completely ridiculous. Why would people practically kill each other trying to be one of the first ones to plunk down a lot of money for a Wii system and then even more money on the games themselves? Well, after much of the hoopla died down (and several friends of ours had continuously praised the Wii, we did some research and found that it was probably the most family friendly system out there. Also important was the fact that many of the games required you to actually move around, instead of gluing yourself to the couch. There are a few games that we allow our preschooler to play. The first is the Wii sports game that came with the system. For the longest time, this was the only game that we had. Our daughter, talented in coordination for her age, quickly picked up the sports games, even beating us in bowling and giving everyone a run for their money in tennis. We've tried a few other games by checking them out at the library, and we finally actually purchased some family friendly titles, used at a sale. The games give us a fun outlet for the whole family to play on a weekend night or lazy afternoon, when we want to do something that all of us can play together. Some tips about the Wii (or any video games) and preschoolers:
Do you let your preschooler play the Wii? Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right. Related Articles: Setting Nintendo Wii Parental Controls Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantbaby tags User Comments jonesx6 (1606) 22 Mar 2009 02:04 PMWe have the Wii and our 4 year old is not interested in playing it at all. lol Isn't funny how kids are different?? Laura  Mary Ann Romans (26876) 22 Mar 2009 02:11 PMYes, their little personalities are so precious. Molly just loves beating Daddy. LOL  Cat-Mom-of-3 (180) 22 Mar 2009 02:20 PMWe love the Wii and play once or twice a month as a family, we bought it when our youngest was 4. Our kids are many years apart but this is something, (along with some board and card games), that everyone enjoys together! Our youngest can keep up with her much older siblings pretty easily!! No Wii on school days though! Mary Ann Romans (26876) 22 Mar 2009 02:31 PMCat--how far apart your your kids, and do you have any games that you would recommend? Cat-Mom-of-3 (180) 22 Mar 2009 06:41 PMMy kids are 19, 13, and 6. Yes, same husband!! We also like the Wii Sports games and enjoy the Wii Fit but find some of the games on Wii Fit difficult for the 6 year old. Mary Ann Romans (26876) 23 Mar 2009 07:31 AMWe haven't tried out Wii fit, yet. It comes with the balance board, right?  ruthann8 (6378) 23 Mar 2009 09:47 AMI personally think that Nintendo in general has had better family friendly systems & games. The Wii sport games can be a great activity on a rainy day or during those long winter months! There are not a lot of indoor activity places in small towns. Maybe a roller rink or an open gym if your lucky. We love ours and very often play it at family gatherings. And certain games have wi-fi and allow you to play over a wireless internet connection, which has allowed us to play with our distant family. I totally agree with limiting screen time but would be flexible depending on why and what they were playing. Ya the Wii fit comes with the balace board and now there are other games coming out that use the balance board like snowboarding. ruthann8 (6378) 23 Mar 2009 09:52 AMI love the Wii, but I really don't play it that often. Once a month at the most b/c I prefer playing with people. It is much more fun:) Mary Ann Romans (26876) 24 Mar 2009 04:13 AMWhen an elderly relative came over, he had a lot of fun playing Wii sports with the kids. We haven't explored playing over the Internet yet, because I am too cautious. ruthann8 (6378) 24 Mar 2009 05:52 AMMy dh's grandparents play Wii Sports with us too! Only certian games you are able to play over the internet, but you can play with other family & friends over the internet as long as you have there friend code. That way you are playing with people you know & makes it less scary but more fun! The Nintendo DS works the same way too. Mary Ann Romans (26876) 24 Mar 2009 09:42 AMI will definitely have to look into this. How do you set it up? ruthann8 (6378) 24 Mar 2009 01:50 PMFirst you have to have a wireless internet conection if you don't you can get an Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector for your computer. Check your Wii manual to set up the conection to work with the Wii. Then you have to have a game that has this feature. The game box will have a blue Wi-Fi symbol usually on the upper left corner. You will then need to check the game manual for instructions. Also your Wii has a hard drive on it and you can download games, old and new, from nintendo. We have downloaded a few of our favorite old Nintendo games. Try these sites for help http://wiiportal.nintendo-europe.com/12365.html http://us.wii.com/connect/ Mary Ann Romans (26876) 25 Mar 2009 06:59 AMThanks! Do you have any recommendations for the downloaded Nintendo games? Community Tags preschooler, video games, Wii, wii sports Discuss this article
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