From your description it sounds like you are alone with your son for a significant portion of the day -- which must be a very difficult mix for an active toddler and a bed-resting mom!

Sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk with your daughter. Let her know that it's her choice whether or not she wants to play soccer, and that you'll love and support her whether or not she plays.

To quote Kevin Arnold from The Wonder Years, "Who you are in fifth grade is who everybody else in fifth grade says you are." That's a harsh reality of middle childhood, and you are so right when you point out that friendship is critically important to an 8-year-old.

Sadly--and scarily--your friend's family isn't the only one in this predicament; this mess of an economy has most everyone combing through their bank statements, re-evaluating what's financially feasible and what non-essential items need to get cut. And when it comes down to it, the ability to put food on the table and keep the lights on will trump tennis lessons every time. But kids aren't necessarily going to understand this; all they know is that the friend they looked forward to playing with at practice on Tuesday afternoons isn't coming anymore. And at the end of the day, this is really all you need to address with your child. There's really no need to hold a family summit to explain his friend's family's sketchy money situation. Pouring through the details--many of which I'll have to assume you're not privy to--will only scare and confound your son, and lead to more questions or, worse, confusion that could easily make its way back to the friend and his family. Rather than make an already sticky situation stickier, you'd be best served keeping your explanation about why your son's friend will no longer be coming to tennis lessons as simple as can be: Johnny's mom and dad decided to cut back on tennis lessons so that they can use the money they pay for the lessons on other things.

I think the Wii is a good game system. My kids have it at home. I don’t think you’ll get much muscular strength or aerobic activity from it, but it is physical activity. It’s like mowing the lawn for an adult. It won’t get you in shape, but it’s better than sitting around watching TV. For kids, it’s a good alternative to watching TV or playing video games or Monopoly or CandyLand. Even board games have more social interaction than many video games. My son often plays the Wii by himself.

The problem may be with the game, not your child. After all, we teach kids to share—except when you play a game like this. Then you’re supposed to push kids out of the way so you can be first.