Do like my parents when I was small:

Buy the coolest newest toys but never let your kids use them.

My parents picked up our first Nintendo when my siblings and I were about that age (I think I was 6, though, and my little bro was 4, not 5). It was the big set with the orange zapper, and they made it absolutely clear when they purchased it that it was for them, not us. At that time, we did have some unique controllers — they picked up one of those turbo controllers for it that they wound up keeping in dad's sock drawer so we couldn't use it without asking, and we got a NES Advantage after a while. We did get to play it when we had been good and when we did our chores/i did whatever Kindergarten homework i brought home, but whenever they bought a new game, it was theirs and we had to wait to play it until they were done. I think those ground rules helped to nail into the ground that us kids didn't own the Nintendo, mom and dad did, and any sibling rivalry BS over it wouldn't really get us anywhere because they'd take it away at the drop of a hat..

Of course, for this to work you'd have to be into the Wii U, I guess. You could try buying one for yourself and seeing how it goes :3

It depends on how much money you want to spend. If you feel like spending a lot because you love your children (lol, money doesn't equal love...) then I recommend the Wii U with it's ability to play Wii games...but you'd have to get enough Wii Remotes and Nunchucks for them to play all the Wii games they would inevitably get.

Or you could get the Wii (which now comes with two games, I think...) and spend the rest of your money on Wii Remotes and Nunchucks.

I think it's worth considering that there will be fewer new games, based on the latest kids movies, on the Wii. This won't be a problem with the Wii U.

If they are young, go for the Wii. It's cheaper and easier to find this Christmas. Plus with some sweet deals, you can get one for what seems like nothing

This~ Great games are available for cheap, too, what with the Nintendo Selects.

The Wii is so cheap compared to the Wii U that, if your kids are only interested in dancing games and Skylanders, it seems like the no-brainer buy to me. Even if they get bored of those, you can always buy Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is pretty much guaranteed to entertain them for years.

This Wii bundle:

Good parenting = Getting a better console for your children

Off that point, yes, get a Wii U.

I know @rayword45 was being sarcastic and I hope @TheDreamingHawk was too.
Good parenting does not = getting a better console for your children. Good parenting is about being responsible and caring.

That's my PSA for today.

+1 on hoping DreamingHawk wasn't serious. 'Course depending on his age, maybe it's an important insight into how children's minds work in regards to their parents? Or maybe not.

I'd say, if it is within your means and your kids have some interest in games already, get the WiiU. I just would hate to see you buy the Wii for them, then within a year they'll be saying the need a WiiU because some game is coming out for it, and not for Wii, and all the other kids have it, blah blah blah. That sort of thing. Few things can make a child feel lonelier than being the (perceived) only kid in the school not following a specific craze.

But that said, a Wii is still a wonderful console and great for gaming on a budget since it's at the end of it's cycle.

If money isn't an issue at all, I'd get a Wii U. Your 7 year old will appreciate it over the next few years, like wobee says above me, having old or outdated stuff is annoying for kids that age. However, if I was in your situation I'd probably just buy a Wii, because $300 compared to $100 is pretty significant to me, and there's plenty of good games available for the Wii. You can always upgrade to a Wii U in a couple of years when the price drops.

Thank you all so much. The one insight that really made me smh was the whole new movies/games issue - I was thinking of the abundance of games already available and current limited Wii U selection, but those Disney movies would be a major factor eventually! Luckily my kids are patient, so we can easily sit out any holiday rush and they are getting new games for their Leappads, so that will buy me some time. Plus, i did forget to see if my husband would play games (he used to before kids!), so the wider range of abilities may be desired. I do appreciate everything and I look forward to letting my kids enjoy the world a gaming (very limited, though - I am told often I am strict by even other parents and my kids do keep busy with sports). I am just excited my kids want this instead of more Army men and Littlest Pet Shops! Santa is bringing Legos (another new world I am finally ready for - now that they pick up better) & more Leappad stuff and Mom & Dad are getting the video games - a compromise since Mom wrote to Santa and requested NO Furbies!

I honestly think the Wii would be the smartest choice for a first console. At that age they won't care how pretty the games are or anything and if they lose interest or or something happens to it its not as big of a loss. Everything is so cheap for the Wii and its much easier to learn for both your kids and you if you decide to give it a try(or they make you play it with them).

I don't know what that blog said but at the end of the day you know your family better than anyone and only you can say what does or doesn't work for you. Some parents have to buy two of everything and some kids are really rough or careless with their things. Either way you can't go wrong so long as you teach your kids that games are a privilege not a right and can be taken away. Also don't let them pull the "5 more minutes" trick, trust me.

I guess it depends on how much you're willing to spend. If you're on a budget, get a Wii, coz everything is gonna get quite cheap soon, but If you are willing to spend more money, It's probably a good idea to get a Wii U, because It's simply "better", although there is NOTHING wrong with a Wii!

i will make a few suggestions for you to consider.
which ever console you decide to buy, get to know how the console and it`s settings work. current consoles have parental controls so you can limit the access of certain parts of the console that you don`t want your kids to have access too.
i`m not suggesting your kids would do this, but i have heard reports where kids have used their parents credit cards to buy games through the wii shop, and the parents then tried to get refunds from nintendo.
you can also restrict the age rated games too.
also, make a list of games you think that you children would like, and read reviews about them. there`s nothing worse than buying games that don`t get used because your kids don`t like them for what ever reason.
the wii shop sells games as digital downloads from older consoles, some of these games you`ll need a classic controller to play them. plus the wiiware section has some good games too. just be 100% sure you`re kids will play them because you can`t return the games you buy.
there are threads to request suggestions through out the forums on the site, so if you`re still unsure on certain games, you can always ask around.

in the mii channel on the wii, you are able to allow other peoples mii`s to come into the wii plaza. i suggest that you don`t turn that setting on because it`ll soon fill up with thousands of random peoples mii`s, this genrally happens if you play alot of games online. and it`s a pain in the neck to have to delete them all one by one.
there are a couple of good sites to help your kids to make mii`s look like famous people, cartoon charecters, or even other things. try http://www.gamercreated.com or http://www.miicharacters.com the later gives detailed instructions on how to make these mii`s.
the wii has a photo channel that you can view digital photo`s stored on an sd card. you can also post the photo`s onto the wii`s message board, but be warned, you can`t move the photo`s back to the sd card, so make sure you have duplicate copies if you`re going to share photo`s.
you can also use sd cards to store downloaded games and game saves. you can use game saves on other peoples wii`s but not the games you download.
the wii can also use a USB keyboard if you have one spare. you can use it on the wii messanger or the wii`s internet channel if you download it.
lastly, buy one of those rechargeable battery packs for your wii controllers, your kids will go through normal batteries quickly if the wii gets alot of use, and it`ll get annoying and expensivr having to continuously be buying batteries.

Hello Mrs Brown welcome to Nintendo Life I will start by saying that alot of our users don't seem to have any trust with kids handling expensive devices. Back in my day as a 3 year old MadAussie the Atari 2600 was my most prized possession my daughter turned 2 just over 3 months ago and I passed down the holy original 3DS to her when I got the XL (she calls it 'my favourite game' awwww!) and treats it exactly the same as how I remember I treated the Atari (tear in my eye) anyway my advice would be to get a WiiU because it will grow with your bundles of joy and get better every year... Mr & Mrs Brown might end up enjoying what it has to offer too

It depends. If money isn't an issue, then I would say go for the Wii U; it's current, can play every Wii game, and will (probably) last longer. However, online connectivity is also something you may want to consider. As the Wii U will have what appears to be a fully-integrated community and will force every console owner to connect their console to the internet from day one, you may decide that it would be best to avoid interaction over the internet and instead buy the Wii, as the Wii's online capabilities are very limited.

I'd get them the Wii, because it's cheaper and they're still young and could break/fight over that pricey Wii U GamePad. Kids that age will find a way to have fun with anything and don't need the latest console. Most of the Wii U games seem pretty hard core to me, so they'll probably be happier with the Wii library of games anyway. The cost of getting an official Wiimote, nunchuk, and a game is close to what you pay to get a Wii sytem that includes all those things, so the Wii console is effectively costing you very little. In a few years when the Wii U is cheaper, and the kids are more mature and bored of the Wii, then you can upgrade to the Wii U and they'll have something new to be excited about.

I'd go Wii and you can get many great games under the Nintendo selects label for $20.00