Wii'd out Woman

My husband bought me a Wii for my birthday. Well let me clarify that he didn't think I could wait for my birthday, so I received it 'unwrapped' three days early because he didn't think I could wait. LOL.

It was a week before we were to leave on our vacation, so we let our son play it a little more than we should. After all, we were leaving in about a week and had lots of things to do in preparation for our trip. So a little more time on it here and there was the lazy way out for us...for me. Ah, the slippery slope.

Then, when we got back about a week and a half ago. It was, "I wanna play the Wii"...."I wanna play the Wii". I didn't go overboard on it, but he again played it more than normal. It was about an hour and a half a day...not all at once...but in its entirety. And it was always after lunch...as morning is too early for any media.

I feel I'm a baaaad mom for letting it get that far.

So this week...I'm Wii'd out! School starts in a few days, and I'm tired of him whining when he can't play it. I slowly started weaning him off about a week ago. Little bit by little bit. I'm seriously thinking cold turkey would have been better.

Today, finally we set some serious boundaries for him. My husband turned the microwave timer on...one half-hour time limit for the Wii. And I made a list of chores, that I call Wii chores.

We used to keep a chart for his behavior issues and praises, that helped him earn money or activities. That no longer holds interest for him anymore. So I adapted it today to be Wii centered.

He has a list of eight or so things he must get done during the day before playing his half-hour.

So far today has been awesome! He's cleaned up his toys, sorted his laundry, made his bed, cleaned his room, sorted my laundry, put up folded laundry, brushed his teeth, and listened to instruction very well.