"It's a me, a Mario"

About 6 months ago, we started letting Kaden play preschool games on the Wii. A lot of them were learning games so it wasn't a big deal...and usually he would get bored with it and move on to something else. As time went on he started to figure out how to switch the games and "try" something else. Then one day, he discovered Super Mario Brothers.

Now, when I was pregnant with Kaden, to pass the time, I would play games on our Wii...I had nothing else to do, so why not. I remember distinctively thinking how Kaden would be about 6 or 7 before he would be into video games and how AWESOME that would be...HA!...

...MY TWO YEAR OLD CHILD is OBSESSED with Mario and Luigi! It's not cute anymore...it's not even entertaining to watch this little human being beat levels one after the other anymore...it's an awful addiction that has become the MONSTER of our days!

To be fair with him, I limit him an hour a day on the Wii...he has the choice to play in the morning or later in the day or even break it up throughout the day. Since it's the first thing on his mind when he wakes up, it's usually first thing in the morning. But the rest of the day, is NOTHING but arguing over "why" he can't play Mario and Luigi. We took him to the circus and, ehhh, about 1/2 way through the show he was ready to go home and play his game...ugh.

He's starting to get really sneaky about it too...for instance, he knows how to mute the TV so I can't hear him playing (little does he know that when the living room is silent, I know something is up) or he will come in and say, "Wanna play with me?" and when you answer "yes" he says "Oh goody! You be Luigi I will be Mario"...then gets upset when you say no video games...let's play something else...

I know the easiest way to get rid of this addiction is to just hide the Wii...but, our Netflix is tied into it. At night my husband and I's alone time or quiet time consists of a movie or one episode of our favorite shows on there...it's something we both look forward to at the end of the day.

I'm hoping it passes. I don't want the kid walking around playing video games all the time. I HATE that it's the only thing on his mind...even when we try to distract him from it. Ugh..what do you do?