We resisted Playstation, Wii and Xbox for a few years. Matt gave me his PS (at least that's what I think it was) complete with steering wheel but we never got round to setting it up. (Sorry dude!) One of the reasons for not getting started is the fear that the kids will be addicted to mindless violent games.
I caved when I repeatedly saw demonstrations of dance games at the mall. All thanks to the Gangnam style craze which I'm so sick of. What I saw was a chance for the kids to do some dancing at home. A chance for Keane to get a bit of workout while having fun.
So I bought the Xbox Kinect when I found out that there are more wholesome games available as compared to the other platforms available. Besides Kinect offered a hands free experience.
That turned out to be one of the best things I bought for the kids. We started with dancing, then included fitness and adventures. Their favorites include Kinect Sports (seasons 1 and 2) and Rush (A Disney Pixar Adventure).
They learn to take turns as well as cooperation. They compete in singles games as well as doubles games. They also learn how to cooperate to beat the game by letting each person play the part they are strongest at as required. Talk about strategy. And they do sweat after each session. The only thing missing is the fresh air and great outdoors.
The only sad thing is they don't ask to go to ah-ma's home as often. But it keeps them away from shopping. We must sprinkle our weekends with visits to the zoo to keep them interested in the sun.
There will always be pros and cons with all decisions in life. We just have to learn to manage in order to preserve our sanity. Manage our expectations and manage our reactions. A bit of a dramatic description over an Xbox but very true in real life.