There are plenty of games appropriate for younger ones on all the games consols. From what I've seen of the nintendo wii, it is a good one to get because apart from the usual games, you have the sporting ones like tennis, golf, ten pin bowling, etc - this means the child is getting exercise while playing. They have just brought out an exercise thing to add to it, too.

With my kids (they have PS2) I've always limited their time playing & will have days when they do not play it at all. Like, if they've been playing it a far bit, I'll say have a couple of days off it. I tell them to find other things to do. I also find the PS2 a good way to reward or punish. My son loves PS2 more than anything else so if he is ill behaved at school or home he is not allowed on it. And vice versa - if he is good, gets awards at school, does things he should at home, etc, he is allowed on it.

Hi, we have a ps3 at home but personally i would have preferred a nintendo Wii...

with any other games console, your child is usually sitting on a chair or couch with eyes glued to the TV, at least with the Wii, you are mostly on your feet moving around, it sounds like the better way to go as its fun & exercise for the entire family and not just the child.

Hi, I bought my boys their first games consoles at the age of 6.I bought them a nintendo ds and they got a gameboy the folowing Xmas.Now they are approaching 10 and have Playstation 1 and 2,and PC games.The Playstation 2 gets used alot by one of my boys and the other still prefers his DS. You can get age suitable games for all consoles and they syart at 3+.The consoles are sometimes a godsend but I do limit the time and regularity of them being on them.

I have a Wii and the Wii Fit Balance board. My son and I try to use it every day. He is 7 and we both love it. He also has a couple to car racing games for it.

well as a game junky, i would look out for a SNES "super nintendo", you can find them cheap as.

it still has lots of button, but not enough to confuse him.

Super Mario  is aways good

Chris

If you're worried about him sitting still for too long then I would go for the Wii. But as you said he still loves playing outside, then it wouldn't hurt to get one of the others. There are some great games that can be mindless fun which isn't a bad thing, plus some are even educational for a bit of balance.

Amanda xxx

We have both a ps1 and an xbox. The games we have on them vary, but for the kids you can get a heap of young games. We have things like Spyro the Dragon, Racing Games, Crash Bandicoot, Nemo, Shark Tale, Spiderman, Harry Potter, Hot Wheels Racing and a lot more besides. These all provide good basic fine motor skills, judgement, hand eye coordination, reasoning skills and thinking skills. Some of them also have a mathematics element, sorting, matching etc. So they can be playing and learning at the same time.

As long as you balance the game play on the console, with time away doing physical activity you will be OK.

We also have a few games like Halo and Rainbow Six that the youngest likes to play with his father. I am absolutely hopeless at most of them!! Even tho they have a lot of killing in them, the 6 yr old is also learning team work, cooperation and strategy.

i have no idea what a rsl is, but on our PC we have a great game that comes in ages Kindy up called jump start. its about $30.

you can get all in one games from target/big w and k-mart that are about $10-$2 worls ect too. they have Dora and 0 and u can get them from toy world ect. they have Dora and the likes.

Also you can get games for the nintendo wii for the kids that are academic. and the DS too.

it all comes down to how much you are willing to spend. we are getting a new pc soon so the kids are having hubbys pc with all their games on it.

also there are great games online if you are willing to supervise or get the net nanny on it.

If you are considering a games console then I would recommend the Nintendo Wii.  Reason being is that the console requires movement on the players part. 

For example, Nintendo has just brought out the Wii Fit which promotes activity and really gets you moving.  They also have a dance game which requires you to use the mat provided to do the dance moves.  It comes with a sport game that has bowling, baseball, tennis, golf and boxing now these all require you to get up off your b..tt and move.  There are heaps of games available and you're right that you would have control of what he plays

My daughter loves it but although I use the Fit daily for 30 mins, I only allow her to play it for 1 hour on the weekend.

I also have a Playstation 2 which I will be selling because we no longer use it, the Wii is much more fun.

Good luck with it and have fun deciding.