It may surprise you to know that I let my preschooler play video games. In fact, she is pretty good at them. Here is why we have made the Wii available to our four-year-old.
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:
- Limit the total screen time including video games, computer games and television
- Only allow games rated E around a preschooler, and research the titles before you play
- Look for puzzle-arcade or sports related games that are simple and can teach coordination and spatial relationships
- Make sure to have your preschooler take frequent breaks or only play for a short time of no more than 15 minutes.
- Always supervise the video game play time
- Make sure that proper safety precautions are taken, such as using the wrist strap on the controller and keeping your preschooler far away from the television.
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.
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