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Nintendo Wii - still THE Kids' 1st choice

Update: November 2008
We still use our Wii almost daily. I managed to grab a Wii Fit (SO hard to find) and we love it. I've been doing Yoga and strength training but I most enjoy the soccer goalie game. Sometimes, I take a shoe to the head just to enjoy that unique sound - and the kids' peals of laughter.
We also play Wii Ski - I can't believe how much "freedom" you have in this game! You can go anywhere on the mountain and go down different runs. The kids love it and there are mini adventures and challenges that keep things interesting.
We do have Guitar Hero III and while there is the "parental warning" I let the kids play the tame songs. Hit Me With Your Best Shot....

May 2008
Okay, we've had our Wii for a year now. At this point, I'd usually be grumbling about having spent all that money and no one playing it anymore. This is not at all the case with our Wii.

So many parents are concerned about welcoming a gaming system into their children's lives - and with good reason. Some of the games available today are not intended for children's eyes or minds.

My kids are now 6 and 8. We now own games for grown ups as well as kids and we love ours as much as they do theirs. And hey - we like playing theirs' with them, too!
We still love bowling and playing golf - tennis is fun but we have trouble managing four people in one space, playing tennis. Two is perfect and you still want to keep a good distance from co-players and spectators! Our Tiger Woods gold gets a lot of play when the kids aren't around. Guitar Hero, despite its warning gets played by all of us. The kids only like "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" anyways.

We review and offer the best prices on kids' Wii games below, but be sure to check out some of the resource links to parental and child reviews in addition to some resource sites when making a decision like this. In our own family, it gave us all something to do together that keeps us entertained and involved with each other. And that's what Wii's all about... restricted online access (no worrying about chat boards and stranger-danger with the Wii) and family time. But hey - there's no saying friends won't want to join in!!

Resource links:

WhatTheyPlay.com - the videogames guide for parents

Forbes.com - Wii's popularity continues


Game reviews and links:

Wii - Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

My girls like the real Olympics so what's not to want to try here? I've read a couple reviews by adults but this one's good for kids, too. A wide variety of mini games, creating a "built-in bedtime" feature I love. Some of our other games are "I just have to get to the end of this level so I can save" stall tactics and I can't let them start those within a half hour of another scheduled task.

Wii - Mario Party
While this could get boring for a teenager, it's popular for kids in the younger age bracket. I'd say from 3 or 4 to 9 or 10, depending on your child.
There's enough physical activity in this one to feel you're not enabling couch potato time and when it's raining but you still want them to get moving, this is a great tool. Occasionally, the announcer's voice can be annoying but again - I'm an adult and the kids have never mentioned it.

Barbie Island Princess (Wii)

I found a review of Barbie Island Princess for Wii online that said exactly what I thought already. Has all the necessary pink-related items to maintain an already-loyal Barbie fan. Could be dull for parents but the cooperative play is fun for kids and is a series of mini-games which unlock levels of play. Yes, they can play the trailer ad-infinitum and, alternatively, "discover" new toys they'd like to have. If you can resist the siren song of "buy me"s, then this games will keep your little Island Princess wannabe busy for a while.