I can’t really remember when Little Bean began to show an interest in the family games console. I know with Curly it was from day 1 when we bought our first Nintendo Wii, he just seemed to ‘get it’ right from the off. Little Bean first showed interest with all of the dancing games, these were really easy for her to begin with because it was more about her movement and less about her using the controller which she struggled with initially. I love the dancing games for the children too because it’s a great way to give them some exercise on a rainy day!
As Little Bean grew and became more confident with the Wii Controller she enjoyed more platform games and drawing games. Her current favourite is Disney Princesses Enchanted Storybook and Super Mario World on the Wii U.
Curly and Little Bean each have a Nintendo 2DS which we gave them for Christmas last year and so now we are slowly introducing Beanie Boy to gaming. He wants desperately to join in with his older siblings. When we went to a Nintendo Blog Event before Christmas he had his first taste of the Wii U and surprised me by getting his character to move around the screen and feel like he was actually playing the game, even if he didn’t really understand the game itself. Slowly I have been teaching him to play Super Mario World on the Wii U and he is getting there. If he is left to play by himself he does quite well but sometimes if Little Bean decides to join in, she leaves him behind and he gets frustrated or she tells him off for doing something wrong.
I should point out that we aren’t one of those families who have our children constantly stuck to a games console, far from it. Curly and Little Bean have a very healthy attitude towards their gaming and it is very rare that we will have to tell them to put their games down as they will naturally just stop at a suitable place and start a new activity. Hopefully Beanie Boy and eventually Jelly Bean will follow in their footsteps. We also only let them play age appropriate games according to their PEGI rating.
At what age did your child begin using games consoles?
DISCLAIMER: I am a member of the Nintendo Family Blogger network but I have not been asked to write this post. It is something I have been thinking about recently.