This weekend we acquired a Wii. After two days of Wii Bowling and Wii Golf, the adult members of our household had to take a break yesterday. This is mainly because we are old and out of shape. Our bodies were protesting in parts that we had forgotten existed.
So, I decided to head up to the little hangout by my house yesterday to see what was going on. One of my favorite regulars was there so I made my way over to sit with him, easing into my chair. He asks me if we partied for New Year’s, and I told him we had gotten the Wii and we were so busy with that we lost track of time and almost missed New Years.
He looks at me funny, cocks his head and says, “Alisha, I didn’t know you did that.”
And then I realize that he thinks I said, “Weed”, not “Wiii”.
I burst out laughing because of course I’m not into that. So I explain to him that I meant the game system Wii. And we talk about that for awhile. He had heard about it before, but didn’t realize how physical it is. And we discuss what a good thing it is for kids these days to get them active.
He tells me that he got an email recently about a dad who said he punished his kid and made him go play outside. And I had thought this before, but it really hit home how different things are from when my generation grew up. Even a little different from when my son was growing up.
When I was growing up, going outside wasn’t punishment, it was something you just did.
In fact, in the summertime, you played outside because it was cooler outside than it was inside. You found a big tree with lots of shade and you found something to do. The only rules I remember was, be in the yard before dark, and if mom yells for you, then you better be within hearing range and your rear end better be scooting toward your home soon.
Of course, I grew up in a very small town where everyone knew everybody. And if you were doing something wrong, your phone was ringing before you even made it home.
Twenty years later, we’re buying game systems for our kids to keep them active. Nintendo and Super Mario Bros have come a loooong way baby!
But have WE? Good question. And definitely something to think about.
Something I will ponder later.
For now, I’m off to be as lazy as possible on my last day of Christmas Break.
Peace! I’m out!
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I have a Wii and really enjoy playing the active sport games and even have EA Active, which is a home fitness game. I used to play video games a lot, but that’s died down since I got married. The only way I could convince my wife to get one was the fact that the games involved something more than sitting on the couch and only moving thumbs and fingers.
Growing up, video games became a part of my life in middle school. The boys in the neighborhood and I would mostly play outside ’til the sun came down, especially in summer; though, this was not always the case. If a new game came out, or if we played some sort of video game tournament, we’d end up in the house almost all day playing. I remember a few times when my dad came home, yelled at all of us for “killing our eyes and dulling our brains while wasting the beautiful summer days” and then he kicked us out and told us to play like “real kids.” It wasn’t as bad as today’s youth, but it’s funny to look back on those days.
Thanks so much for the comment! I know how you feel, that’s kind of how I was raised. When we got the very first Nintendo, we played Mario Kart until our eyes crossed (or mom ran us outside!)
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