Young kids and Wii-good idea?

Get_Right

I have a five year old son. I was thinking about what to get him for Christmas.
We have not let him play any video games other than educational online games, and then always with a parent involved.

But I was thinking, the kid is gonna start T-ball in the spring and he isnt very skilled with the bat. I thought maybe a Wii baseball game might help with his coordination and help his confidence (at least a little).

My wife thinks its a terrible idea-too young to start with the video games.
I think it might actually get him more interested in sports and help his hand/eye coordination. I know its no substitute for being outside, he loves playing outside, reading and art-and I dont think that will change.
I think it could lead to him being more enthusiastic about participating in real sports.

Crazy idea? Will he scream for the video games and head down that slippery slope to being a reclusive gaming geek? With my luck he will want to take up golf-one of the more expensive sports to support! Just curious what experiences others have had.

blackredyellow

yes...

any of the sports games will be fun for him, and you can get those steering wheels for a few bucks and he will have fun with driving games like mario kart.

My son is almost 3, and he plays around with it a little bit, but can't do much except drive into stuff lol... friends of ours have a 5 year old and he likes the driving games and stuff like the winter olympics.

it might give him something to do on those winter days when he's stuck in the house all weekend.

Get_Right

blackredyellow wrote:

yes...

any of the sports games will be fun for him, and you can get those steering wheels for a few bucks and he will have fun with driving games like mario kart.

My son is almost 3, and he plays around with it a little bit, but can't do much except drive into stuff lol... friends of ours have a 5 year old and he likes the driving games and stuff like the winter olympics.

it might give him something to do on those winter days when he's stuck in the house all weekend.

Thanks
Thought about that too, but I am having nightmares of hearing Wii sounds in my head at night

Rygar

I would say it is fine (coming from someone who had video games as a child but was still active daily).
I would assume his interests would grow to include non-activity and sports games before too long, though.
There are a ton of various under the radar activity games for that system though, from racing and off road driving games as bry stated, shooting games, all the sports games, etc.

guitar59

Santa brought a wii for our kids last Christmas. It was played with constantly for a few weeks, but doesn't get played a lot now. No one is addicted and refusing to go outside. We were very picky about the games we added to the collection. In general we avoid buying games that are just played using the classic controller (we call them thumb games). We purchase games that are fun when played as a group, so one kid rarely sits and tries to play for hours.
I would not expect any game on the wii to develop sports skills. Kids quickly learn to bowl sitting down! The baseball game I've played (Mario super sluggers) does not really swing like a bat, more wrist action. Some games are really hard to play, as the way you use the remote is tricky.
Our youngest is 5 and he plays it the least. He doesn't seem to have the patience to learn how to move the remote to complete the tasks. He does like the light sabre duel and the sword fighting, but prefers to play with a parent and is not happy to play by himself. The older kids enjoy the wii fit. I saw a commercial for the u draw and it looks interesting.
I think it was a good gift, the kids enjoy it, and I am pleased that they do not flock to it all the time.

MrMerkinball

There has been a Wii in our house since 2006. Our Oldest was 5.

There are some great games for the whole family. Actually we are finding our best "family time" is when we are all playing Wii.

For the little ones, get Wii Sports Resort.

Also - we play this game every weekend together (Brain Academy):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGFaPKUfbLg

Get_Right

Thanks all!

Steve Dunne

my six year old daughter can kick my ass in mario kart. :shock:

elvistheking44

I imagine you could find a gym or a YMCA, or specific baseball training facility that offered a class and instruction on the basics of baseball/Tball rather than buying him a video game.

Get_Right

ofthegirl99 wrote:

I imagine you could find a gym or a YMCA, or specific baseball training facility that offered a class and instruction on the basics of baseball/Tball rather than buying him a video game.

they have a clinic, but it doesn't start until late March-there is one other private facility, but its beyond the budget at the moment-Very expensive and they only accept pairs at a time. Not as many options when the kindergarten is full day.

I don't really want him playing cart or anything other than a sports game-although if there is an art or other education game that would be cool. I am not sure about it, so I am curious about others' experiences. I see the other kids in his class with game boys and DS' and they are so isolated-aint gonna happen.

tinkerbell

I imagine Dad will probably enjoy it more than a 5 year old....

Get_Right

tinkerbell wrote:

I imagine Dad will probably enjoy it more than a 5 year old....

well there is that.......check in the plus column
I convince my wife I will use the Wii fit

81

sounds like you are trying to really push sports on the kid...

but if you want him to learn to hit a ball, take him to teh park and pitch the balls to him.

real life baseball > make believe baseball.

LikeAnOcean

I was playing Atari when I was 4, and it was the greatest thing ever.

How is it not a good idea???

LikeAnOcean

81 wrote:

sounds like you are trying to really push sports on the kid...

but if you want him to learn to hit a ball, take him to teh park and pitch the balls to him.

real life baseball > make believe baseball.

R.B.I. Baseball > real life baseball > make believe baseball

LikeAnOcean

Get_Right wrote:

. I see the other kids in his class with game boys and DS' and they are so isolated-aint gonna happen.

Stop being square. I had a Game Boy back in 1989 and I turned out fine.


Seriously, a video game system is 10x better for them than TV. It exercises the brain.

Get_Right

81 wrote:

sounds like you are trying to really push sports on the kid...

but if you want him to learn to hit a ball, take him to teh park and pitch the balls to him.

real life baseball > make believe baseball.

nah not pushing, but trying out different activities until he finds one he likes
cant pitch balls to him when its 20 degrees outside

fife

I think the wii is great for kids. My niece has had won since they came out and she was about 7 years old. she likes to play the games that have more interaction such as wii resort among others. Yes it doesn't replace going outside but here in Canada it gets cold and you can't always go outside to play. the Wii us better and more active than just sitting there and watching tv all day.

81

fife wrote:

I think the wii is great for kids. My niece has had won since they came out and she was about 7 years old. she likes to play the games that have more interaction such as wii resort among others. Yes it doesn't replace going outside but here in Canada it gets cold and you can't always go outside to play. the Wii us better and more active than just sitting there and watching tv all day.

don't you all play hockey 24/7 up there in the winter (september - june) :P

fife

Bizarro wrote:

fife wrote:

I think the wii is great for kids. My niece has had won since they came out and she was about 7 years old. she likes to play the games that have more interaction such as wii resort among others. Yes it doesn't replace going outside but here in Canada it gets cold and you can't always go outside to play. the Wii us better and more active than just sitting there and watching tv all day.

don't you all play hockey 24/7 up there in the winter (september - june) :P

no not 24/7 we also drink a lot of beer. its more like 18/7 if you must know

PureandEasy

just watch them with control gadgets, my 9 year old nephew lost control of his and it slammed into the giant flat screen. Cost my sister $1,000 to have it fixed.

81

different sport, but didn't Crosby develop his hand eye coordination from firing pucks in the basement at a dryer?

imo, real practive with real equipment is much better than playing a video game.

you could toss a wiffle ball in the basement and not do too much damage.