To Wii or not to Wii?

[Lisa1970]

My children sort of have a Wii. But it broke. No idea why it broke. I have examined it and as far as I can tell, it just stopped working. 

I have been trying to reduce computer game playing around the house. BUT, all the relatives, it seems, have purchased Wii things for the kids for Christmas. The original Wii was a gift too. Younger DS prefers the old Playstation 2 to the Wii. Older DS prefers the Wii, but does not play much. But, the only thing he has asked for, well, it is 2 things actually, is 2 Wii games. He is 9 and has autism spectrum disorder. 

My dh and I are not really thrilled over having another Wii, replacing the Wii that is. I would like to see us go more computer free. But ds9 only wants the 2 Wii games for Christmas. That is it.

Would you replace the Wii and make that their Christmas gift? I just get worried with DS9 special needs, that he would just not get it on Christmas when he does not get the only thing he asked for. It is not a financial issue at all. It is strictly an issue of wanting the kids to get something they wanted and worried about tears on Christmas morning. Plus, in addition to that, when I tried to inform relatives that our Wii broke so Wii gifts are not a good idea, they all paniced and told me they cannot possibly reshop now. (one is flying in Wednesday and working today and tomorrow).

[AbbieB]

Ours mysteriously stopped working too. You can send it back to Nintendo and get it fixed for a fee (ours was listed as $75.) Instead we went and bought a new one (normally not what I would do but for complicated reasons we needed the Wii NOW.)

If money was not an issue, and it was not used so much that I felt it was a problem then, yeah, I'd replace it or have it fixed.

In your situation, this close to the big day, and all your son asked for is Wii stuff, yeah. There is no time to sell the idea of something else and Christmas morning heartbreak stinks. If your son believes in Santa, then getting a new one because Santa knew that his was broken would be kind of magical.

On the other hand, especially if your son knows that less screen time is a family goal, I would not think it evil of you to hold off on replacing it. That way there could be some discussion of your screen time values and some new rules or limits could be put in place before you replace it.

[camracrazy]

Our Wii stopped working and we thought it was broken. We unplugged it. One day I decided to plug it back in and lo and behold, it was working! Now we simply unplug it after each use and it works fine. I think the fan on ours stopped working so if it's played too long it gets overheated.

[maberrysx5]

ours did this too last year, we looked on Nintendo's website and there was a suggestion to unplug the Wii from the outlet and take the cord out of the console as well.  after 30 seconds we plugged everything back in and it was working fine!  we were very happy because dh's brand new game disc was in it, lol!  so now we definitely make sure that game discs are taken out when we're done playing.

[LynnS6]

You know, if it's not a financial issue and it's the only thing that your child has asked for, I'd do it. Of all the gaming systems, I find the Wii the best. It's actually been pretty good for my socially awkward 9 year old to play with other kids. It's more interactive than a lot of them.

[chaoticzenmom]

If unplugging it doesn't work, Nintendo will repair or replace it for you for 75 dollars.  If they search the ID number on it, they may even say it's under warranty.  I took mine into nintendo and they did it while I waited..we ended up getting it replaced.  Look up where to send it (may be in Kirkland, Washington or Bellevue.)

[Spring Lily]

Funny to read these stories, because we just had trouble with our Wii the other day too--it wouldn't turn on. We unplugged it and plugged it back in and it worked fine again. It's plugged into a surge protector, but according the the book that is common after a power outage. So maybe that's what caused it for you in the first place. Have you checked the instruction book?

Just because they have the games doesn't mean you can't stick with the idea of reducing video game time. Just help them plan out how they're going to spend their allotted time--which game, etc. Or set a timer so they can learn to self-regulate it. Or whatever you want to do. I think Wii games in particular can be fun and social for families to play together, and aren't necessarily a bad thing.

As for deciding not to give them other presents for Christmas, that seems a bit harsh. They aren't the ones who asked for the Wii games your relatives bought. If your relatives had kept the Wii gifts a surprise you wouldn't have changed the kids' gifts. And if you want to encourage the kids to do other things than the Wii, why not give them other toys to be excited about, instead of making all the gifts center around the Wii? And also, if they already HAVE a Wii, what kid is going to be excited to get another one for Christmas instead of anything they were hoping for?

[mattemma04]

I was not impressed with nintendo when we had to send a NEW ds to them.They sent it back saying it was fine,and ofcourse it did not work.We had to wait an entire year and replaced it at the store we bought it from once the extended warranty kicked in.

Anyway if you can get the games on ps2 that would be a good option.We unplug our wii after use due to the fire risks.

[Linda on the move]

This info might be too late to do you any good, but we were able to have our Wii repaired for about $40. I started checking around with places after it stopped working, and a small gaming store at our mall was able to do it.

We've had fewer problems with our Wii than with our laptops or DVD players.