we may be heading for video games...

[flea]

In Alabama on Saturday afternoon, mr. flea asked a hipster barista if he could recommend a good place to eat that was family-friendly, specifically mentioning a "traditional diner." We ended up at Shakey's Pizza, which is basically a stealth Chuck E. Cheese. Yoicks. But it was too late by the time we were in the door.

They had an arcade version of Guitar Hero, which Casper was fascinated by. She told her father that they should play together and "rock out." She told me she liked the way the female guitarist was dressed (in low cut jeans with a thong showing, and a bra top instead of a shirt) and I pointed out the unclothedness, and Casper said, "That's how cool people dress, mom!"

Then that evening Casper decided that a flat rock and small piece of plastic of unknown origin she'd collected during the day were a video game and stylus. All evening, with great dedication, she "fed" the "virtual pets" on her "video game". These included a kitty, puppy, horse and turtle. She kept at it from the first chunk of the next day, too.

So when we went to Target the next day, of course we looked at video games and wii and Nintendo DS. I dunno, dudes, but I see it coming.

Comments

[ste-noni.livejournal.com]

We have lots of kid-friendly fun with our Wii. Frisco's big achievement is simply standing on the balance board, but Ellie likes Wii golf, bowling, all the Wii Fit balance games, and the Wii Fit running. I'm hoping when we move to Colorado, where we will have more open space, less humidity, less fireants, and hopefully a safer street, we will do more actual outdoor games and less indoor fake outdoor games.

eta: and I find it very amusing that the barista directed you to Shakey's. Is that all they have or did she look at a family of four and decide Shakey's would be hip "for you". (or me, because we are basically the same family of four, a year behind.

speaking of that, Ellie wore the blue gingham Hanna dress to church last week and the swimsuit to the beach. All very cute! Thanks again.)

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

It was a boy barista, and I think he knows very little about families.

I saw a photo of Ellie wearing one of the dresses! I love to see recycled clothes in people's pictures. I'm a little goeey/silly about it.

[noradeirdre.livejournal.com]

Oh, heh. When we were spending a lot of quality family funeral time with the kids a year or so ago, Tom would play videogames on the DS with Sean (5 at the time). This led to much whining about getting a DS to my sister which led to us purchasing a DS for his 6th birthday. Which my 3 year old niece promptly broke by jamming the stylus in where the games go, but my sister was able to exchange it.

The Wii's a little more active and social than the DS- Kate says it's a godsend for car trips but we find that Sean isn't as keen to hang out anymore when he can retire to a corner with his games.

[forodwaith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if you give in to the lure of the video game it's definitely worth getting a Wii. It does seem to encourage more social play, and (slightly) more active -- at least you have to stand up!

Nora kicks my ass at Wii golf & bowling.

[amy37.livejournal.com]

You mentioned the Nintendo DS -- if you're thinking about a handheld, try the Leapster. We got one for Sara and she LOVES it. The games are totally her speed and not even stealth educational, but at their age I think they usually like the learning aspect, especially with the positive feedback. Sara does, anyway.

[dxmachina.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, it sounds like Casper was having a wonderful time with the flat rock.

If I were to get a video gaming system, it'd be the wii.