More on the Wii

If there aren't too many preteens/teenagers in the specialty clinic, I wheel in the Wii console and set it up. At least three times over the course of the afternoon, there will be a fight over playing rights; only two kids can play at a time. Most of the time, the child (usually a 13-year-old boy) who is hogging the Wii has a Wii at home. The younger kids and the ones who don't have Wiis often end up watching, in the background. It's a sad sight, because many of the younger kids' parents say, "it's okay, we'll just watch," rather than asking if their kid can have a turn.

This is when I get up from one of the child-size chairs at the art table to negotiate turns. Efforts to achieve peace, or at least recognition of another kid's desire to play, are more exhausting than convincing a posessive toddler to give up a set of crayons. When two kids *finally* agree on a game they both sort of like, it takes a while to set the game up. By then, one of the kids may be called by his nurse, or his specialist, and often insists on playing for "just a minute" in a tone used by petulant five-year olds who don't wanna go to bed at 7:30.

From time to time, I've had the chance to teach younger kids how to play some of the simpler games, such as Wii Sports, and to play multiplayer games with kids who have allergy tests (who have to keep their arms moving) but the main Wii-related duties are drawing peace deals and showing the nurses how to switch the console and TV on. Hopefully, the day will come when the thirteen year old boys have better sharing skills than toddlers. At least in the clinic.