Rained Out Activity – Wii Sports

We were planning to go to the Rink on the River in downtown Reno, but it rained all afternoon so we canceled the plans. Instead we decided to have a family game of Wii bowling. I have never been much of a bowler so I don’t know if the video simulation is realistic or not. I am hoping it isn’t real since the second game of the night resulted in my five year old beating both my wife and I. A lot of people probably think I’m old for blogging about a video system that came out a while ago, but it is new to us. We just got the system for Christmas. My two year old is a little young to get it, but the rest of us really get in to it.

If you want to get into it I have a couple of tips for you. First of all don’t just let your kid win. I think it sends the wrong message to your kid. Sports are not win-win situations someone has to lose and losing isn’t fun. A tie is also a loss. I think the people who easily accept defeat most likely suck at most things in life. Competition is how the world works anyway so you ought to teach them correctly as early as possible to give them best chance in the long run. If you challenge your kids on a regular basis you’ll probably be surprised how quickly they improve. My daughter wasn’t very good the first game she played, she is only five after all, but now she is tearing up the virtual alleys. The reason you need to make it competitive is so you have fun playing too.

Another way to make it fun is by dressing the part. Don some goofy bowling clothes like the characters in the movie Kingpin. I wouldn’t stop there though. Give each other silly nicknames too. We have a couple of good ones our family uses, but I am not going to share. You will need to come up with a few of your own. Just coming up with the nicknames is fun in itself. Your kids will have a great time for a fairly reasonable cost.

The price of the system is somewhere around 200 dollars and you can pick them up anywhere. We got our system at Costco and it came with the sports package. If you don’t have a membership there you can also get the system at places like Walmart or Target. You could also go on ebay and try to pick one up for a great price, but to tell you the truth I prefer physical stores.  I might go on-line to pick up games since they run about 40 to 50 dollars apiece for good ones. The price might seem high, but for the hours of in home entertainment your family will enjoy the cost seems reasonable to me.

You might not agree with my ideas on competition with your kids. The cost of the system might seem a little high, but once the game is on in your house decide for yourself the real value of competing with your kids. My daughter cries when she loses, but she also feels the excitement of winning since there is no faking when the game is on at our house. She is experiencing pure competition in the friendliest environment I can provide and we are both enjoying every victory. I love to lose to her when I know I didn’t just give it away.

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