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Can a 3.5 yr old handle a Wii??


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I just saw in another thread that some are considering buying a Wii for a family Christmas gift. I've considered this as well since our space is somewhat limited and more toys just aren't needed. However, I'm not sure if my 3.5 yr old ds could handle it, even though I think he's pretty well coordinated. If it's going to be a family gift, I want him to be able to participate. Any Wii owners out there have any thoughts about this?

 

Thanks!

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We have a wii... we are like little kids and purchased it for ourselves.:blush:

 

DD will be 3.5 in December and we haven't tried to let her play yet. We just give her a wii mote to hold while the grown-ups play:D. She thinks she is playing, but usually looses interest fairly quickly.

I guess it may be nearing time for us to put a 'live' wii-mote in her hand and see what happens.

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Yes. We have at least 1 or 2 games that my younger dd has enjoyed. There's a Diego game that shows what movement is required along each phase of the game. She played that one last fall, so she would have been a few

months past 3 years old. There is a Cars game that she enjoys, although she ends up driving the wrong way half the time.

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Dd3 loves Rockband on the Wii. I bought her a pretend guitar that looks a lot like the Wii guitars and she is a happy girl. She rocks out like a big kid.

 

I don't think that they really have to play the games at that age as much as just participate with everyone else.

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Our 4 year old is a yoga champion :D

 

The neat thing is that even if they aren't very good, they can still play. DD4 loves the Wii fit free running activity, she gets to run with puppies and enjoys seeing all her friends and family members' miis along the trail.

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We have the Wii and I had to laugh when our 4yo went for his physical and the doctor asked him to balance on 1 foot and he immediately did the "tree" position from the yoga. Surprised, the doctor asked if there was a popular "yoga for kids" or something like that out because our ds was about the 10th kid to do that. We explained about how it is on the Wii fit.

 

Our 4yo's absolute favorite game is Mario Cart Wii.

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Our almost soon to be 3 year old loves the wii. She can play the Dora and Diego games independently and the princess game with a bit of help (we also have an almost 5 year old who has been playing all three independently for about a year).

 

She can also handle wii sports and enjoys mario racing even though she usually goes the wrong way and crashes constantly.

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Yes! Just make sure that you give them lots of room and loop the controller onto their wrist, every time. We have had some close calls, things get wild and the controllers start flying. :D

 

I think a good rule is: if a kid can figure out how to use a mouse, they will be fine with operating the Wii controller.

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I get a real kick out of putting him on the Wii Fit 'jogging' and turning him loose while we try to do school. =) He will run and run and run.....

 

 

oooh! Thanks for the idea!

 

My 2 1/2 year old likes to play Monkey Ball with the computer during school time or with the older kids. He's been getting better and better. He also plays Mario Kart, though we only have the GameCube version so it uses those controllers rather than the Wii ones. It's funny to watch him because he turns his whole body to try to get the car to turn.

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Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like he wouldn't have much problem handling a Wii with the right games. Now I just need to decide if I want to go down the video game path. (As an aside: A couple of months ago my ds3 was playing with his friend's leapster between choir practice and the beginning of our evening service. When I told him it was time to stop playing, he gave me this look that made me think an exorcism was in order!! Yikes!! I decided right then that a leapster was not something he could handle!)

 

But I do realize that the Wii is different from traditional video games in that it involves physical activity. I think it would be nice to have something like this to do as a family when we're stuck indoors. I just need to think on it some more....

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can do some of the games--and when he can't, we just take out a battery from his remote and let him 'think' hes playing.

He has had a LOT of fun with the Wii.

I get a real kick out of putting him on the Wii Fit 'jogging' and turning him loose while we try to do school. =) He will run and run and run.....

 

My son loves to run on the Wii Fit. He also tries to hula hoop, but his weight doesn't seem to shift enough... but it sure is cute to watch.

 

He can do many of the games, but not independently. We have it out of his reach. We don't plan to replace it anytime soon, so we make sure he can't get to it.

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