Wii U Arrives

It has finally happened…what I said wouldn’t happen…what I was adamantly opposed to entering my house…yes…we bought a gaming system.  My house is now outfitted with a brand new Wii U system, complete with controllers for all four of us, the personal game pad, nunchuks, and 3 new games. The Works.

For those who know me, and those who have followed my blog, you know that I am not a gamer and have really battled with how to approach gaming with my kids so that it is a healthy part of their lives.  I have always been very concerned about IT taking over our home.  I have visualized my husband and children sitting in the basement with the blinds closed, eyes glassy from being fixated on the screen for hours, their social skills completely eroded with the lack of talking or contact, their muscles becoming atrophied from lack of exercise, all the while their brains turning into a pile of mush.

So how then, did this happen?  What changed my mind?  Part of it has been the passion that my 5-year old has for technology and gaming and his daily negotiating for a Wii.  The other factor has been what I have learned from my course of Digital Game Based Learning.  While working on the major assignments, my kids sat with me and played Where’s My Water and Minecraft (on the iPad) and showed me how they worked.  While my 4-year old figured out how to angle the water so that it flowed into the pipes for Swampy, and my 5-year old built a virtual castle, I was awed at the degree of problem-solving and critical thinking that was taking place; all while they were having so much fun.  I played with them and we talked and cuddled and had fun working through the games.  As my husband and kids saw my disdain for gaming beginning to wane, they capitalized on the opportunity and I caved. 

Three days with our Wii and my house has not turned into a dark cave.  My children have continued to play on their walkie-talkies while camping in the basement, super heroes have prowled the house looking for bad guys, we’ve played at the park, and our evening has still ended with a good book.  Sure, they’ve asked to play Wii  (many times) but we’re trying to balance the time with other kinds of play, and so far, they seem ok with that.  When they have been playing, we’ve been doing it as a family.  My youngest jumps up and down and cheers for everyone, while my oldest son encourages me and shows me how to play.  We have laughed, high-fived, cuddled and had fun, quality time together.