Wii - Pueblo,CO

J.,
we bought a wii for the family, last Christmas.
My 11 and 8 year old quickly moved on to playing only more traditional video games. After spending the $ for the base system, I was reluctant to by the balance board and other remotes, etc. needed to play the more active games. The one exception is we found Guitar Hero, used, and they will use that game with friends (extra remotes needed!)
Still, they end up sitting down to play golf and tennis!!!!
For a 3year old, I would put off the video games and use the money to buy a family pass to the local rec center!!
good luck, A.

Hey J.,
My sister & hubby have a 6 yr old and twins that are 3 1/2. They love to play the bowling, baseball and Mario Kart. They really are good at it (they beat me anyway, although that's probably not saying much). :-)
B.

If you and your husband LIKE to play video games, you'll like the wii. If not, it would be a waste of money. I do like the active aspect of wii, but I would rather have kids building forts and more creative activities. If you do decide to go for it, I'd tell her you were planning on buying a Wii for the family Christmas gift and would love her to purchase a few games. My 4 year old LOVES his Lightning McQueen racing game. The Wii ski is also fun for the whole family, but you need to buy the balance board. You could also put together a book wish list or suggest that the family buy only one small gift and donate the rest of the money to charity.

We got a Wii for Christmas last year (my son had just turned 3 at the time) and we love it. It did take my son a little time to adjust to it (he gets frustrated very easily), but he quickly picked it up and loves playing it. We got a Diego game that is perfect for that age (I think there's a Dora one too that's similar) and the game was only $20 versus most others that are $50 and not age-appropriate. Overall, I love the Wii and would buy it again in a heartbeat - it's been a lot of fun to watch him play and play as a family (we just got the new Sports Resort with Wii Motion and it's awesome too - my son's been able to play quite a few of those games on his own). Good luck!

My hubby and I love our Wii, so you might get more out of it then your 3-year-old (at least initially). If you're buying it soley for your daughter, you might want to check out if there are any age-appropriate games first.

J.- I bought a Wii and Wii fit for my husband's birthday last February. We have really enjoyed it as a family. I think that is the important part...playing as a family. We put ours in the livingroom so everyone can play. There are several games that a three years old could play and grown ups can enjoy.
Wii Play is fun for all (tennis, baseball, bowling, etc..) and Carnival games...steer clear of Shrek (hard to use)Just watch the ratings and be sure they are for everyone...some are violent!

Good luck! H.

They are very fun - and expensive - but I don't think your 3-yr-old will get much value out of it for a few years. I'd recommend the Disney Playhouse UltiMotion Motion Controlled Video Game. Our 3-yr-old son got one for his birthday and he loves it. It's educational, features characters he loves, and a good stepping stone to "big kid" videos. Plus it's far less expensive than a Wii (around $80)!

http://www.disneystore.com/handy-manny-disney-playhouse-u...

Our son is the youngest, and his older siblings are 8-10 years old. They have a Wii. He watches them play and likes to mimic what they do, so the Disney UltiMotion is his version of the Wii. It's very similar with movements of a wireless remote, yet simple enough for him to understand and play correctly.

Enjoy!

You know...my hubby really wanted to get one but I was like "when are we going to find time to play with it??"!! Sure enough, we got it and we make "date nights" of it. We've had it for about 6 mos and we don't use it as often as when we first bought it...but the summer is here. Also, when we get a new game it becomes a lot of fun again. So - we put the kids to bed, order dinner in and play some Wii. It's a lot of fun. My 4 year old has played with it but she's more interested in watching the game then playing it. But i bet she'll enjoy it more as time goes on. Plus it's a cool thing to have while the winter is here. We purchased ours at Costco - at the time, it was the best deal going. Enjoy!

We love our Wii so much we don't even use our playstation anymore. I love that at least at our house we enforce full play Wii. No standing around. The kids, even out little ones, get a lot more exercise than the did previously. Of course it can get a bit rowdy around here. I have used the balance board for snowboarding and I can't wait to get one of our own. Talk about a workout. I think Wii is like anything. If you want it and use it appropriately you will like it. If you see it as just a way not to get a bunch of sweaters and grill equipment than you may not like it.

Ok, so I hate video games. I hate game consols. I just needed to point that out first. With that out of the way...I let my husband talk me into getting a Wii, even though I promised we would never have any of that stuff in our house. But, I am glad we got it. I am not sure about a three year old liking it, but we play bowling all together, as well as mario kart, and other sports games that came with the sports pack. I am really careful about the games my kids can play. I do not buy games with any violence in them; they are inappropriate for kids. I also use the Wii to exercise on and that has contributed to my lossing 30 pounds. I would suggest going to a store like game stop to get games because they allow you to try them and if you dont like them you can exchange them for others. I still dont really like how much time my son wants to spend playing games on the wii but if I felt like he has played too much I just tell him to turn it off or that he cant play. It is a little frusterating when he asks all the time but I just say no. Over all I am happy with the purchase. I think you will enjoy it.

We have a Wii - we've had it for a few years now (found it actually in stock on a fluke when they were still hard to come by). My 4 year old is just starting to get the hang of it, but he is pretty advanced in his computer/game skills. Your 3 year old might have some fun with it, depends on the games you get. My 4 year old likes Lego Star Wars, mario cart racing, and the basic Wii sports (he's a fantastic bowler). They are fun to play and fun to watch. We mostly play ours in group gatherings and when we have people over. If you like the more cartoony games, then you'll love it. My hubby prefers the more realistic games so we use our XBox way more.

I just purchased this for my husband and we love it. Even my 3 yr old loves it. We were on a budget so we only purchase the system and extra set of remotes and the Wii active game so my husband can use it to work out at home. My son got a Cars game for his birthday and LOVES it, he may not know how to use it properly but he thinks it so fun to just jump up and down and make Lightning McQueen jump around. We love to do the Wii Sports (that come with the system) even my 3 yr old has fun attempting baseball and bowling. It may be "expensive" but I think it's really cheap compared to the other game systems out there. My brothers family has a Wii and they use it all the time they have 4 kids 15, 12, 9, 4 and they all play various games and they've had the Wii for 2 yrs now. We are a TV watching, video game playing family but that's why I love the Wii is it gets us active.

We love our Wii.....my twins-4 years old-love to play it with me. They also love to workout with me on the Wii fit....they are always asking to exercise so I feel like they enjoy games but also love exercising. I would recommend it!!!

My kids were three and five when we got the wii and they love it. Of course there is the problem of them always wanting to do it and my having to restrict it some. But there are good games for the little ones and many games have two player options so the kids play together. For the younger one the sports bowling and golf that the game came with was something he could do. He also liked the Diego game. Since he has turned four the games are much easier for him and there are more choices although we haven't tried many of the games. We do sometimes rent them to see if they are too hard for kids.

You definitely need to make suggestions and the Wii is a great purchase. We love ours. My husband makes comments once and a while that the games are not challenging enough but you have to remember he is a Vidiot so not a fair judgment. As far as your three year old, mine is not really getting into it unless his older brother plays it and he watches. He will do the Wii Fit once and a while but needs probably a year or two before he really loves it.

Enjoy.

my vote's for a wii. they are fun and interactive and the kinds of games vary from exercise, music, sports, to more traditional video games. it can reach more people's interests.

we have the dora ice princess game on the wii and my 3 yr old loves it! she loves playing with mom or dad. I think there are totally age appropriate games for that age and they teach good hand eye coordination. she's better than I am. lol. if your mom usually goes for several gifts for all of you the cost will be about the same if you ask for just a family gift? thats an idea.
anyway my 3 yr old likes to hold onto an extra controller and do my wii active with me too. so I would recommend getting a couple of extra controllers even if they don't work--(my nephew has one that was purchased from a thrift place knowing it didn't work but he's 19 mo. and so that was perfect, he gets to play with that controller instead of his dads)
when we have family get togethers we have contests with bowling, baseball etc. and it was really nice to have that last year in the winter when no one wanted to go out but wanted to be doing something-

we love ours, especially in the winter. The kids and the parents all play together and have fun. Highly recommended.

the wii is wonderful but 3 is too young in my opinion. However, you and your husband can enjoy it for a couple of years before she's ready! We gave it to our 10 year old son this year, and we have to choose games carefully to find appropriate ones, since we do not allow him to play violent games. We love the sports games - we all play bowling together - and he plays things like NHL Hockey, Lego Star Wars and he just got Ghostbusters.