Well, I finally broke down and did it….  I bought a Wii.  I’m still not sure if this is good (fun for the kids and the whole family) or bad (another reason for the kids to fight and another machine over which I have to monitor their time consumption), but the kids are ecstatic about it.  I guess time will tell.

So I was curious and wanted to get some of your thoughts…. First, are you a Wii (or Xbox, etc.) family?  And if so, has your purchase of Wii or Xbox had a positive or negative effect on your household?  Is it a way for you to bond and have fun as a family?  Or does it breed fighting amongst the kids and/or do you have to constantly monitor the kids’ time on it?  On the other hand, have you decided against purchasing one of these video game systems?  And if so, why?

Second, what is your favorite Wii game?  Our Wii came with Wii Sports, which includes Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf and Tennis, and Wii Sports Resorts, which consists of 12 sports and activities including Waterskiing, Archery, Basketball and Table Tennis.  Then we bought Wheel of Fortune (that was my choice), and the kids picked Mario Party 8.  I just played Wheel of Fortune with the kids yesterday (and I had to chuckle about the coughs and other audience noises while we played), and it was so much fun.  I must say that the kids have played Wii quite a bit over the years, so they are Wii experts, but I am a complete beginner.  And that adds a fun twist because they get to tell me what to do, which they love…. In fact, all this talk has given me an idea – I think Friday is going to be Wii night for the Williams family.

I’m curious about your thoughts on the subject.  Have you purchased a video game system like Wii for your family?  And if so, has it had a positive or negative effect?  Finally do you have any tips for a new Wii family?  I can’t wait to hear….