Also,(and this will be hard to admit to this forum!), we have a Wii gaming system that has been fun for the whole family, but he has become OBSESSED with a game he was given at Christmas time, Super Mario Bros. We limit the time to 30 minutes a day and he is allowed to play more on Saturday mornings. But I'm telling you he is obsessed. When he's not playing it, he is playing make believe games where he is in Mario World. His teacher tells me he has made up a Mario game the kids play at recess, and he talks about it all the time.
LOL! My DS6 was like this last year when he was in preschool and had his afternoons free. His particular obsessions were Wii Lego Indiana Jones and Wii Lego Star Wars. But, honestly, I don't think it was all bad. Playing these games allowed him to concentrate for long periods of time, was good for small muscle control and hand-eye coordination, and helped him to develop his strategy skills. I remember one day, we were riding on the chair lift when we went skiing, and he starts talking about two alternate strategies he was thinking he could use to get past a particular part of one of the games. Obsessed, clearly! But, strategizing as well. So, we let him indulge sometimes and eventually he (temporarily) moved on to other things in life -- once even going three whole months with no desire to play the Wii at all. Now, he enjoys it, but only plays once a week or so.
Okay, so my answer has nothing to do with your original question!
