Lisa's Side on the Wii

Ezra really wants to get a Wii--EVERYONE has one, you know. Think of all we're missing!

I do not want to get a Wii. Here are my reasons:

Eleven months ago we made a drastic change in our home—no tv for the kids. No PBS Kids, no Disney Channel, no Nickelodeon. No videos from the library, no Wiggles! Only two or three times a month for family movie night do they get to sit like rotten vegetables, staring and drooling at our television.

It took two agonizing months for the “can I watch TV?” requests to go from at least twenty per day to now only once or twice a week. The new “default” activity has changed from watching TV to picking up a book or crayons. Natalie has become a voracious reader. And even though he can’t technically “read” yet, Brendan can spend hours engrossed in books. And when they are not reading books, sometimes they actually play creatively. They use their dress-up clothes, food and dishes, dolls, trucks and lots of empty boxes to head off on some sort of adventure together. Often the adventures are a re-enactment of Little House on the Prairie, a series that Natalie has been reading (they have never seen the show). Playing creatively like that was rare when TV was an option.

Now why would we want to take these two “unplugged” kids and plug them back into electronic entertainment? They aren’t even asking for it. They do not know what a Wii is. Someday (probably soon), they will play it at a friend’s house, love it, and ask for it. We can think about it then. But as for now, we have a "no video games" plan for our family. And that plan is working just fine.

Ezra and I are having a fun debate over this and figured that if we each posted our point of view, we'd be sure to get comments and advice from everyone. So . . . what do YOU think?

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Ezra's Side on the Wii

So I’m torn.

Lisa doesn’t want a video game system in the house but I’m a little more willing to try the Wii (although I have no interest in the other game systems).

I think the differences lie in how we view the system. Lisa looks at it like another mind numbing activity you play for hours on end. I view the Wii not as a video game system, but more of an activity; similar to a trampoline, pool table, or even a TV.

Her biggest concern is manageable, I think. We (including me) don’t want to become the zombies who think about beating Zelda during Sacrament meeting. The risk is manageable (again, I think) because we manage the TV very well and only turn it on for two monthly Netflix movies, Lisa’s The Office fix, and Lost.

The Advantages: The Wii looks like something I can compete with my kids on and get some activity (or wear out the kids) even when the weather outside is less than appealing. To play, the kids have to move and I won’t bet bored playing Chutes and Ladders for the thousandth time.

Things we will have to deal with:

• Brendan begging, “Can I play the Wii?” Very similar to what he does now with the computer.
• Shutting it off after the kids go to bed. I can just see myself playing until the late night hours-Just like I played Zaxxon in high school with my Dad.
• Setting limits on how much we play. We already have a limit on computer time, bed time, shower time, etc…how many more timers do we need to have? At some point these kids are going to wake up starting their stopwatch.

I guess I’m hoping for the ultimate entertainment device that Lisa can plug the kids into as she cooks dinner. The kids get all the wiggles out and sit down to a calm, peaceful dinner. Strangely, their reflexes are so much faster from the exercise that they manage to catch everything before it spills or falls on the floor. Once dinner is over, the kids exhausted from playing the Wii, complain that they are tired and want to go to bed early. We all calmly sleep the night away while the kids do math problems in their heads.

Doesn’t that sound idyllic? I don’t have any idea where the math part comes in, but if it helps me convince Lisa, I might try to justify it.

Anyone else have thoughts on the video game system vs. no video game system?

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Brendan Sleeping

Brendan insisted on sleeping with all of his stuffed animals (or at least those he could find). When we went in to check on him, he had made space for each of the animals and had no room left to sleep. He squeezed into the corner and zonked out. I think his leg is actually falling between the bed and wall.

I wonder what he'll look like at 2AM. I'll bet he climbs into the other bed....Can't disturb Dalmatian, Quacky, and the others.

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Camping During Spring Break

Because we were confined to the house during Spring Break, we decided we had to do something interesting to keep the kids entertained and make up for the loss of the missed trip to California.

So what did we do? We went camping inside. Yes, we set up the tent, made smores in the fireplace, and ate tinfoil dinners by flashlight. The tent was a tight squeeze, but it fit! We'll have to test it out during the summer!


As usual, Natalie has tied to a book and could hardly finish dinner.

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Brendan's 5th Birthday

When we are celebrating three birthdays in eleven days early in the year, Brendan feels like it is NEVER going to be his birthday. But sure enough, it came! We had a Transformer-themed party (just the five of us).

He couldn't wait to open the birthday package from Grandma and Grandpa. He thought this was a very cool birthday card.
Mater pajamas that are his favorite color! What a score!
Blow out the candles! Happy birthday, Brendan!

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Bike Riding

Brendan got a bike for his birthday. We had planned to go bike riding right after his birthday dinner (pizza and broccoli--his choice). First, he needed a little help from Dad. In this photo, Natalie is riding behind Bren and Ezra on the path.

He was very happy. The joys of a bike ride!
After about two minutes with dad, he was ready to go on his own. He even turned his head and smiled for this photo as he raced around the track.
He caught on pretty quickly.
Hey! Wait for us!
Amanda explored the t-ball field while everyone else was riding around.

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April Fool's Day Pranks

We are always up for a few pranks...

Ezra started the day finding green milk and all the cereal bags switched around to different cereal boxes. He gave up and finally opened a new box of his favorite Wheat Chex. When Natalie woke up she said, "Why is the milk colored when it isn't even April Fool's Day?" It took her a while to wake up, I guess. Brendan was delighted when Cinnamon Life poured out of the Cheerios box and refused to "fix" the cereals when it was time to clean up. "I want April Fool's tomorrow, too," he said.

Then as Natalie scrambled for the bus, she found all the coats (we have a lot!) separately packed in grocery bags and thrown in a pile on the floor. She screeched and worried show would be late for the bus. After a few minutes of calming down, she dug through the pile and ran out the door.

Then for dinner, we all sat down to eat with unusual utensils and plates. Brendan struggled to keep things separate in his salad bowl, but he ate everything without complaint so maybe we'll try that again tonight. Natalie ate with salad tongs off a muffin tin. Ezra did well with his spatula and Lisa really liked eating off the cookie sheet because it was hard to spill--Everyone agrees that Natalie should use the cookie sheet every night. Amanda did just fine with her fingers, as she does every night.

Happy April 1!!!

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