Wii Are Done with Video Games

Wii've got problems here.

Last Wednesday, I couldn't get the kids out the door in time for the bus. We woke up on time, but the kids, mostly Bubby, we're not moving. Just as I was opening the front door, the bus was speeding by. She doesn't stop unless she can see the kids waiting by the mailbox. There have been a few times when we've had to run down the driveway while waving our arms and yelling, "STOP!!! WE'RE HERE!"

So we missed the bus and I had to take Sissy and Bubby to school. This wasn't a big deal and I really don't mind driving them. But I was a little annoyed with Bubby's attitude when we got to his classroom. He refused to go inside. Finally, his teacher saw us and he immediately followed her into the classroom. Then she said to me those words that no parent wants to hear: " Mrs. K, I think we need to have a talk."

We scheduled our talk for after school that day. For the entire day, I wondered what she wanted to talk about, and I was convinced that Bubby was going to be grounded forever for his offenses.

His teacher informed me that Bubby seems depressed. Depressed? Depressed.

"Lack of interest in activities. Constantly worn out. Doesn't participate. No sparkle in his eyes." And her list went on.

Then she asked me if Bubby has been having trouble sleeping. Yes. He was waking up at least three nights a week with nightmares. She wanted to know if he was engaging with us at home. Not really. He had been keeping to himself. Then she dropped the bomb.

"Has he been playing a lot of video games?" Well, I never! I was offended by her question. Of course I wasn't allowing him to play a lot of video games. I'm a much better mother than that. But then I thought about it some more. Maybe he was playing a lot of video games.

I was so excited in November to find a Wii video game console. I couldn't wait to give it to the kids at Christmas. It seemed like a perfect present... we could have fun, be active and play together.

I did notice Bubby's affinity toward the game. And I admit, we were a little concerned that he was playing it too much. But since he was up and moving with it, we ignored the concerns and focused on the positives. He was active and was never bored. After a few weeks though, we knew a problem was developing. He had this blank stare at all times, like he wasn't here. He didn't talk to us about his day. Each question was met with short, one word answers.

After talking with the teacher, Big A and I decided to ban the video games for a while, just to see what would happen. Two days later, Bubby was whining that he was bored.

"Why don't you draw a picture about something you did today at school? That would be fun." I encouraged.

And so he came up with this little drawing.



In case you're wondering what this picture means, allow me to interpret. Bubby drew a picture of himself, sitting in class, daydreaming about playing video games. If you notice in the details, his schoolpaper has an F grade and his video game has an A. He clearly wasn't happy with the video game ban and he still had games on his mind at school.

But now, just a few days later, we're noticing something. The old Bubby is back. He's happy. He's excited to read and participate in family activities. He's not constantly annoyed and most importantly, the distant, blank stare is gone. In less than a week, the teacher has already noticed an improvement in his behavior at school.

So for now, we're limiting the video games to 1 hour on Saturday and Sunday. And we've stocked up the art supplies, legos and board games so we always have something to do together. While I didn't agree with many things his teacher said that day, including her recommendations for counseling, I'm so glad we listened to her concerns about the video games. And we're reminded again as parents that moderation is key - a lesson that wii've been taught over and over since having kids.