I hope he gets over his cold quickly, and over the next couple of months you can “retrain” him to sleep on his own. Glad to hear from you, buddy.

–Rick

Glad to hear your son is feeling better. I’m sure that was really scary for you and your wife. Sorry, no tips to share but only my thoughts and prayers for you and your fam! Hope to see you soon.

Kristen

You’re absolutely right. No matter how a person chooses to spend their downtime, that should not be considered a waste of time. I take back my comment.

I’d just like to comment on the idea of “a waste of time”. It’s an extremely difficult argument because it is so subjective. I consider gaming a form of entertainment just like watching sports or going fishing. Anything that you do during your own personal time out of your own choosing is not wasted.

If your comment about wasting time is good for us because it relaxes us and lets us essentially forget about the hard days work, then no longer is it a waste of time. There is purpose to it.

I agree with you that the Wii offers up a host of options for gamers, but unless you consistently buy or rent new games every couple of weeks, the console does not offer any lasting gaming experiences for most gamers.

To me, having to constantly buy new games–or invite friends over regularly–just to keep myself interested in a console system is a waste of money. Nintendo tricked me with that tactic in my youth. They won’t get me so easily now.

Systems like the PS3 and XBOX 360 may not offer the unique gameplay or control scheme that Nintendo has, but they do offer better games, graphic quality, game play and longevity of use. These are things Nintendo can’t compete with … yet.

Perhaps I may buy the Wii again, or more likely, I will pick up a system that will offer me more bang for my buck. Thanks again!

Thanks for your guys input. I did eventually make the decision to take the system back, but it was nice to get your varying points of view.

S.M., I did check out the possibility of buying up some GameCube games, but in the end decided against it, as it would likely also require the purchase of a controller, memory cards, etc. More money wasted.

Gil, your comment resonated with me cause it proved my point. Once the initial fascination with the Wii died down, it would start to gather dust on my video stand and with nothing else to bring me back to it (like a DVD player), eventually it would only be used when friends wanted to try it out. Again, more money wasted.

I returned it and haven’t regretted the decision. Looks like it wasn’t just buyer remorse on my end. Thanks again you guys!

However, I also feel that a little wasted time is actually good for us as humans. It helps us relax, it gives us a break from the stresses of our day, and in many cases, it improves the hand-eye coordination for many people.

That said, I do also agree that console gaming plays a big role in contributing to child obesity. But it’s not the only cause.

In fact, I think the bigger blame for children playing video games all day and not engaging in more physical activity lies squarely with parents. It’s up to them to ensure that video games are a temporary distraction; not a permanent babysitter.

Maybe I am wrong, but it always seems to me that the children who are obese come from families who don’t know where to draw the lines or set the rules.

In terms of changing technology, I agree that consoles are constantly changing and that something new is always coming out.

But, most console makers are cognizant of their audience and want to retain their customers and keep them happy for the long haul. That’s why so many systems offer up some sort of backwards compatibility with older games.

Until the Wii, Nintendo had never done this. That’s why I lost interest in them; and its probably one of the reason’s they never (again, until the Wii) were a major competitor against titans like the PS2 and XBOX.

In terms of my Wii, I returned it. It wasn’t a good investment at this time. Perhaps I might get it again in the future, but more likely, something better will come out from one of my preferred console makers.