To get my DD (aged 6) a nintendo DS for her birthday.

[SunshineisSorry]

Im in two minds. I don't actually think she will sit for hours on it, she occasionally looks at cbeebies website etc, on the lap top but is bored after about half hour. Her older sister has one going begging and i could buy it from her so i wont be forking out on a new one or anything. Do you think she will get much from it? Are there any good games for that age range? If im honest, DD is quite young for her age so the more challenging games might be boring for her. To be honest, im running out of ideas for presents and this seems like an easy cop out option.

[usualsuspect]

Sounds ok to me

but I'm not one of the no screens for children brigade

[perfumedlife]

Mil bought one for my ds when he turned four and he loves it. There are loads of non challenging, fun games she will love too. The Art academy game is great for kids who like drawing.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

DS had one at 6 - novelty to begin with and now used very intermittently but very handy for journeys.

I think 6 is fine.

[troisgarcons]

In moderation they are a good. Very useful tool on long car journeys/in the Gps surgery/waiting for appointments etc.

[SunshineisSorry]

dont they make the kids feel sick in the car?

[mummyplonk]

Hiya, ds1 and 2 (6 & 5) both have one and they are great for car journeys etc. I found with both of them it really helped with fine motor skills for writing as well, games like the Crayola colouring ones are good for younger players, there was a "Go Diago Go" game which was quite simple to play at the beginning.

[asdx2]

Dd got hers at six and she loves hers whereas her best friend got one at eight and has barely looked at it so I think it depends on the child tbh. Dd is quite bookish so spends hours reading, writing and drawing and the ds seems to fit well with this. Her best friend though is far more lively and hardly ever sits quiet and plays so it doesn't appeal to her at all. Maybe she could borrow her sister's for a while to see if she'd play with it first.

[vogonmothership]

top gift for excellent slatternly parenting
'If you're good you can have an extra half hour on your ds'
'If you're naughty, no ds for 2 days'

oh and not forgetting
I can't be arsed to interract with you 'as a special treat, how about you sit down quietly with your ds for 30 mins?


works like a charm, I love it!!

[SunshineisSorry]

asdx2, her sister doesn't live at home (she's 21) so i will probably just buy the DS from her anyway so its not like a massive spend. I will prob just buy her a couple of more child friendly games and keep the other games for when she is older play them myself!

[SunshineisSorry]

vogon - souds perfect!!

[mummyplonk]

Vogon snap!

[edam]

vogonmothership, not that I'd dream of doing anything like that at all.

Also great as a disciplinary tool - ds and all his friends really sit up and take notice if you tell them they will lose time on their DS if they don't do what they are told.

And a friend of mine was told by her optometrist that the DS is a Good Thing for children with squints - apparently it helps their eyes to work together.

[WanderingSheep]

We've got one for DD1 for her birthday. She'll be four! She used to play on my old one that broke so she can now have her own.

[GrownUpNow]

My exDP bought DS one for his fifth birthday. I don't allow it in my house because his behaviour surrounding it was terrible. He'd have screaming tantrums about coming off it even with time warnings, the first thing he spoke about every morning and upon pick up from school was his DS. He would spend hours on it if I just left him and played with nothing else. I tried limiting it, and we had the aforementioned tantrums, I tried removing it for bad behaviour, and he'd just sulk. So I banned it here altogether, and he's better for it.

Just another view. If you think your DD is mature enough to have one though, go ahead. I had no choice in it. I still think it's quite young at six, but you know your child best.

[tallulahxhunny]

my 2 daughters have them, i love it, as vogon says its a great bargaining tool and for time to yourself.

[vogonmothership]

edam - squint is why we got ds his (age 3 ) he uses it when patching
it's still a godsend though, journeys, appointments, discipline!!

[SomekindofSpanish]

DS2 just got one for his 6th. However, he has a brother of 9 so he has seen them and occassionally played on it.

Fine in moderation. He is allowed on it for 20 mins a day and only owns one game at present .

Must admit, with DS1 I held off a little longer and even now, he can take or leave the DSi.

[manicbmc]

You can get some quite good maths related games. Plus she might enjoy the ones to do with keeping a puppy.

Just make sure she doesn't spend all day on it and the games she has are relatively age appropriate.

[edam]

Ah, that's interesting, vogon, nice to have a top tip confirmed.

[SunshineisSorry]

grownupnow - i am more worried that she isn't mature enough to get anything out of it, i honestly dont think she will be glued to it like that. Had we been talking about her older sister though, if they were around when she were five i think she would have been exactly as you describe your DS. DD2 has quite a short attention span for sitting and doing stuff though.

[MCos]

My DDs got DS at 4 and 6, 3 years ago. One of the best things we've bought them. They have got hours of fun from their DSs. And will back-up what is said above, they are absolutely great for bargaining with!

[JamieAgain]

I was a bit anti buying one for DS2 as he tends to be a bit obsessive. But it is a good bargaining tool and the game he likes best is quite educational - Scribblenauts. He uses it on long (not short) car journeys, but isn't allowed it in his room in the morning or bedtime, or at cafes etc

[JamieAgain]

BTW - he saved up and bought it for himself in the end - bargain on Ebay

[edam]

ds did go through a phase of hiding his DS in the bedroom and trying to get away with playing it after lights out. He now knows if he takes the mick, he loses the DS for a certain number of days.