Well, you’re not so little anymore, and you’re the big sister whose job it is to break ground ahead of your little sister, and you’re doing a great job of it! And even though you drive me crazy sometimes, “I love you anyway”! I always love you, no matter what.
I’m a little sad that I didn’t take you anywhere special this year, just you and me. On the other hand, we did get you an aquarium this year, so maybe we can go choose some fish together.
Thank you for teaching me about saying sorry, saying “I love you” and forgiveness, in your way.
Guess what? Daddy loves you. Time to go and wake you up.
There’s some interesting discussions going on about when is the right age for kids to play video games, and parents and psychologists are weighing in on the issue.
I think I can agree that the educational aspects of some games is definitely overstated, and I think parents definitely need to be involved with their child in any kind new media situation, whether it be gaming or electronic gadgets or otherwise. Having grown up with my fair share of electronic educational toys, and also just purely non-educational but fun electronic toys and games, I feel pretty comfortable allowing my children access to games and computer, as long as I have approved it.
What do you think? Do you have parenting ‘rules’ about gaming and computers? I’d love to hear from you.
Today I worked all day at the studio and then went straight to a committee meeting at church, so I didn’t get home till 9:45PM. DW was holding down the fort tonight, and as I was driving home from the meeting she called me to tell me that something happened at home. While she was giving the kids baths, the Linguist pulled on the soap holder on the wall. Well, she’s a good 40 pounds now, and she pulled pretty hard, and the whole thing came off the wall, taking 5 surrounding tiles with it. All this comes crashing into the tub, while both kids are in it, having their bath!
When she told me this on the phone, I stifled a laugh, because I thought it was kind of funny, not realizing that the tiles almost fell on the girls, and that it was a huge mess.
I got home and checked out the damage, and cleaned it up. We’ll have to clear up out basement bathroom and shower (thankfully we have one) so that we can have a functioning shower. And it looks like we’re going to have to renovate the bathroom now, rather put it off till later.
The other news is that the Comic had a major allergic reaction today, after she was mistakenly given a chocolate that they thought DW had said was safe for her, when in fact it most definitely was not.
This news gave me a knot in my stomach. I get that every time the Comic has a reaction, because it means a setback in the attempt at ‘zero-exposure’ and possible ‘growing out’ of the allergy. I feel like my role for my food allergic child is to be her advocate, to make sure she doesn’t get exposed to any of her allergens in the hopes that she may one day outgrow them. But if she does get exposed, she’s more likely to keep on reacting to those things, and to carry on having those allergies. So I get a little uptight about it. And when it happens when I’m not around, then it makes me upset.
It’s frustrating because it’s not a ‘oh well, what can you do’ kind of thing. It’s a ‘if I stick to this zero-exposure plan, there’s a chance, however small, that she’ll grow out of her allergies’ kind of thing. And I want her to have that chance.
For Christmas we got a Nintendo Wii game system “for our kids”. Since living with the system for a few weeks, I have a few thoughts on gaming with little kids, and playability of games for a 3 and a 5 year old. Please note that these observations are strictly limited to my daughters, and so your results may vary.
1. Wii Sports by Nintendo: My oldest likes to play the Bowling and Golf games, and not the other ones so much. That said, she is REALLY good at bowling, routinely throwing spares and sometimes strikes. It must be the straight arm. Or is it the clear unfettered psyche, unburdened by performance anxiety and real-world bowling experience? Whatever it is, her high score in bowling is 163. I only recently passed it (and after a lot of practice!) So for a 5 year old it’s great.
However, my youngest has difficulty with holding the “B” button underneath, so bowling is frustrating. The other sports don’t interest her at all, they’re too complicated at this stage.
Note: We didn’t let them play boxing, lest they try and box each other after the game is turned off!
2. Cosmic Life by Ubisoft: This game is targeted to 4-8 year olds, so my oldest loves it. It’s perfect for her. It’s a game about a family that lives on a spaceship, and you explore the different rooms of the ship with the Wiimote. There are minigames that pop up tailored to the young set, puzzles, matching games, and so on.
The younger one likes to watch big sister play it, getting particular enjoyment out of the funny cut scenes involving dancing, and she can do some of the puzzles with help. Mostly it’s help using the Wiimote, as her hands are still small.
3. Mario Party 8 by Nintendo: We just got this game and it’s a hit with the whole family. There are enough minigames that only involve simple motions with the Wiimote, like shaking a pop can, or turning a crank, that they youngest doesn’t have trouble playing them. Both my older and younger girls like playing this game. And it also brings out the competitive nature in both my DW and I.
We got a Wii (over any other gaming system) because of the ‘get up and move’ aspect of the games. While I was a big Playstation fan (Gran Turismo 2 was my favourite game EVAR) I didn’t see us getting a conventional gaming system for our kids at this age. I guess there is truth to the stereotype that “Nintendo is for kids”! It’s definitely the most kid-friendly. It’s also the most inter-generational gaming system ever, as grandparents discover they can bowl and have fun with their grandkids. It’s no wonder Nintendo can’t make enough units to stock store shelves!
4. Mii channel: I know this isn’t really a game, but I thought I’d mention it. The kids love it! They had almost as much fun doing this as playing the sports, initially. They enjoyed trying different eyes and noses, and different heights and body types. They get a laugh out of exaggerating the features, or by moving the eyebrows up and down. The oldest even went and made an edit to her Mii, giving herself blonde hair instead of black. And they enjoyed sharing their Mii’s with our friends that also have Wii consoles, and seeing our friends as Mii’s on our console.
One caveat: as with any kind of stimulating activity, things can get out of hand, so definitely keep an eye on your kids if they’re getting overstimulated and hyper. Setting time limits and clear end points for gaming is a good thing to start teaching and modeling for your kids, especially as systems like the Wii make their way into younger and younger players’ hands. So while we enjoy the gaming and movement aspect of the games, we also don’t want to create game addicts!
All in all, we’re very pleased with the Wii, and are looking forward to choosing games for the kids as they grow that will be enjoyable for them and fun for the grown ups too.
I am the dad of two girls, a husband, and a Mac Nerd.
I work two part time jobs as a music pastor and recording engineer, and do photography on the side. I often feel like a jack-of-all trades, master of none.
This is my place to geek out.
watching DW and friend race Mario Kart Wii 6 hrs ago
over at a friends house with the kids. Successful strawberry picking excursion completed. 8 hrs ago
having a 1.5 yo and a 6 mo over to our house reminded us of exactly why we don't want to have any more kids. You tend to forget with age. :) 12 hrs ago
Whatever it is, her high score in bowling is 163. I only recently passed it (and after a lot of practice!) So for a 5 year old it’s great.
