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We got a Wii for christmas and our two 7 year old girls and the whole family is really enjoying it. However, one of the girls still hasn't learned to laugh at her own mistakes and tumbles and storms off in a fuss when she turns into a big snowball on the ski lift game. I haven't made it off the ski lift yet and think it is funny to see myself tumbling into that giant snowball.
I also fall down alot on the races, run into walls and all the other fun things wii has us doing.
We don't make fun of this child but we all are in good spirits and having fun which includes laughing at ourselves and each other over the wii graphics.
Is she just too sensitive or immature to know how to laugh at herself?
This was supposed to be fun not a big dramatic time of tears. This girl refuses to try new games and says things like "I don't know how to play tennis". But nobody needs to know how to play tennis to play it on wii.
Any recommendations on how to make wii work for a child with not alot of self confidence?
She sounds like a little perfectionist....it is truly difficult for some children to do things they think they are not already good at. They see the failure not the fun. I understand this a little too well..........Does she see the rest of you laugh at yourselves? I would truly just not make a big deal about it. If she huffs off then just say "I'm sorry you feel that way, we'll miss your presence in all the fun we're having. Feel free to rejoin us when you are ready." Continue your game with loud raucous laughter. Then don't call attention to her rejoining you. Just say "we're glad to have you back" and then continue the fun. My guess is she'll get better at laughing at herself. It just does not come naturally to some kids.
We go a Wii for Christmas too - and are having tons of fun laughing at ourselves!
Every child is different. My daughter is 7 and laughs sometimes at herself and other times she has a fit. Just keep re-enforcing it is okay to laugh at mistakes, she'll get there in her own time!
If anyone here has ever participated in a sports league of some type there's always someone who takes it so, so seriously and gets furious when they miss/don't do well. My spouse played on a bowling league with someone who after a particularly bad night, stopped at the lake while driving home and flung the bag and ball in the water.
You see it watching a baseball game. One guy will strike out with the bases loaded and have a "gosh darn" look on his face and another will slam the bat and helmet down and let fly a whole bunch of *^&#*&$.
I was one of those kids who got absolutely enraged when I couldn't do something in a game. I was so furious I remember my mother saying "I'm going to take that game away...."
I've gotten a bit better as I got older but not too much. I remember trying out Guitar Hero for the first time and wanting to literally snap the guitar in half. LOL, how silly that sounds to say but the frustration just flies up to the surface when you're trying to do something and can't. There were many times I've recognized that I was getting too frustrated and just turned the game off.
It's very easy for me to sit here and discuss how frustrating it is and laugh and say how silly it is, but if I was put in front of the game and was failing or unable to pass a tricky part, in an instant, without trying to conjure it up at all, I'd just be instantly frustrated to the max. I so wish I could just laugh it off but it seems I am just not wired that way.
I have a nephew who is the same way but with a twist. Not only does he get humiliated if he doesn't score/make the ski jump or whatever, he will not participate in a game with others that he's never played before due to fear of looking stupid. His brother, on the other hand, would be dying laughing at becoming a human snowball in that game.
Aw, all kids are different, and as others have posted it really has more to do w/ personality than maturity. I agree with maciesmom re: how to handle it.
My 9 year old is also way harder on himself than anyone else is when it comes to learning a new skill. In calmer times we point this out to him, gently. He is beginning to recognize it in himself. Doesn't make it any easier to cope with in the moment, though.
My 6 year old, now - he marches to his own drummer. Specific to the Wii, he misses the ski jump intentionally b/c he thinks the snowball is funny. And the yoga? - he likes to draw pictures with the dot that is supposed to stay in the middle of your tummy while you practice balance. He could care less if his Mii gets all upset.
We got a Wii for christmas and our two 7 year old girls and the whole family is really enjoying it. However, one of the girls still hasn't learned to laugh at her own mistakes and tumbles and storms off in a fuss when she turns into a big snowball on the ski lift game. I haven't made it off the ski lift yet and think it is funny to see myself tumbling into that giant snowball.
I also fall down alot on the races, run into walls and all the other fun things wii has us doing.
We don't make fun of this child but we all are in good spirits and having fun which includes laughing at ourselves and each other over the wii graphics.
Is she just too sensitive or immature to know how to laugh at herself?
This was supposed to be fun not a big dramatic time of tears. This girl refuses to try new games and says things like "I don't know how to play tennis". But nobody needs to know how to play tennis to play it on wii.
Any recommendations on how to make wii work for a child with not alot of self confidence?
My oldest is like this (probably because I am very competitive when it comes to games)so I have "lost" on purpose so she can see how I handle it. She is close in age with her sibling so they are very competitive but how each handles it is different. We are still working on it but it has gotten better.
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.....Does she see the rest of you laugh at yourselves? I would truly just not make a big deal about it. If she huffs off then just say "I'm sorry you feel that way, we'll miss your presence in all the fun we're having. Feel free to rejoin us when you are ready." Continue your game with loud raucous laughter. Then don't call attention to her rejoining you. Just say "we're glad to have you back" and then continue the fun. My guess is she'll get better at laughing at herself. It just does not come naturally to some kids.
