Question
We have a 6 1/2 yo son and 5 yo daughter. We finally got cable TV 2 years ago. I never wanted it, but my husband wanted the golf channel and now he has purchased a Wii. (TV screen computer games) I was against this as well. To appease me he vowed only to get the sports programs.(golf, tennis, skiing, fitness, etc.) (if you are not familiar-these actually get you moving and even break a sweat)He also lets my son get on the computer and play on a few age appropriate "dot-com's". I'm against this as well. I so support computer use with educational programs, like math, reading, but in a very limited capacity, and will not allow computer use unless dad is their to supervise this activity.
When my husband is working I either do not allow the Wii or limit the amount of time to an equal amount of reading time. (reading for 30 minutes, Wii for 30 min) My husband is more liberal with the Wii time.
I feel like my son is addicted to the Wii. My husband disagrees. He talks about it constantly. Over breakfast, dinner, etc. It's making me a little crazy and sad having him so focused on this. We encourage lots of other activities...and our children participate in other activities but my son keeps focusing on the Wii.
My questions: How to handle the obvious differences in our opinions regarding TV, computer and Wii use? How to deal with my son's preoccupation with these items?
