With Wii it *IS* whether you win or lose

My family and I got a Wii recently and have gradually accumulated games such as Wii Sport, Wii Fit, Big Brain Academy and Wii Play. My family is loving the Wii and having such fun playing together. We really enjoy bowling, pool, tight rope walking and hulahooping to name a few. Overall I've been impressed, but I have some wishes for future versions of Wii.

My kids are 3 and 5 and they think the Wii is great, but -- I'd love for Wii to be more kid friendly with an option to turn off certain features.

1) The super sad faces on the Mii characters as they hang their heads in shame after 'losing' a game is not a feature I like for my children. Each time this happens they turn to me and say "Why am I sad?". They have enjoyed playing the game and can't understand the reaction of their characters. Aren't we trying to teach our children to always do their best and have fun? Don't forget the old saying "It's not whether you win or lose it's how you play the game". In this case Wii seems set on teaching the kids if you don't do great at the game you should be miserable.

2) In Wii Fit the weight and Body Mass Index analysis is something I think should be optional for children. I resent that Wii Fit has taught my children to worry (or wonder) about their weight. My 5 year old daughter has never thought twice about her weight before, but now asks "Am I a healthy weight, mom?" Our society has such an obsession with looks -- especially where females are concerned. I certainly did not want the idea of 'measuring up' to be planted in my daughter's mind at such a young age. The Wii Fit recently told our 3 year old (who must have had a growth spurt in the past three months) that he was at risk for being overweight! Of course I haven't been updating his height on the Wii and since children grow so quickly at this age the analysis is not going to be accurate. I wish the Wii Fit did not analyze the weight and BMI of children and just encouraged them to have fun being active.

In short -- Wii is great for getting the family up off the couch (although still not outside lol...). If you can overlook the underlying obsessions with weight and winning, it's fun for the whole family.