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Original poster

Five year old wanting nintendo DS.. We don't

51 replies

Chilledout11 · 10/03/2019 21:17

He said he wants one for upcoming birthday and friends have. If not Santy will get one.
How do we deal with this? Obviously birthday we have got the presents. I am not anti technology but not just yet.

He says Santy will get it? Nothing else he wants

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 10/03/2019 22:12

Nintendo DS is very 5yo appropriate, it doesn't go online and there are plenty of children's games. The screen isn't big enough to make the violent, nasty games work on there so there isn't a market for them. They really are aimed at young children.

But yes just say Santa knows the rules of the house, something like that?

bookmum08 · 10/03/2019 22:13

You could get a cheap Nintento DS and half a dozen games for about £40 from some where like CEX. A lot of the DS games are aimed at the younger age group. My daughter had hers at 5 and had Peppa Pig, Smurfs, Pretend Cooking games, Looking after kittens - things like that. You can only get Nintento DS games secondhand now as they are no longer made (3DS games are but you can't use them in an original style Nintento DS). Some are very very cheap in CEX - £1 sometimes! Either he will love it and develop a interest in Gaming (which is fine if you are sensible about it) or his interest will turn to something else.

JingsMahBucket · 10/03/2019 22:16

Okay, gotcha. Point taken @Chilledout11. In that case some of the suggestions around telling him that Santa doesn’t deliver that kind of stuff to your house may be good. Tell him that Santa respects the rules of each family. :)

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5 year olds Behaviour & development
Original poster
Chilledout11 · 10/03/2019 22:21

Dh is very much no screens (farmer) so I think we need to work on explaining the rules of the family and how santa respects that. Long way off so hopefully. Maybe the ds and Peppa pig type games for weekend and holidays might work ? Checked cex great value. Also my nieces and nephews have the switch devices and similar age so it's hard.

OP posts:
tinatsarina · 10/03/2019 22:44

My son's 4 and plays the ds he has Mario and batman Lego and that's it. He's very good at it and it hasn't done anything wrong to him.
If you do want him to have it yet don't get him it. Just tell him he can get one for his next birthday

tinatsarina · 10/03/2019 22:46

Just read your update OP. Can you suggest to your husband about introducing an hour a week at the weekends?

gamerchick · 10/03/2019 22:52

I mean it's fine to not want to get him one but dont use the excuse that they're not age appropriate. It's the one machine that is definitely age appropriate. Tell him the truth that you don't want him to have one because of your own reasons.

DoomOnTheBroom · 10/03/2019 23:38

And still you persist with the Santy

Santy is a Northern name for Santa, no need to get shirty over it.

OP, the DS is great for this age group with lots of age-appropriate games including educational games but if you and DH are against it then you're against it.

The way we do Santy in our house is to tell the DC that we (DH and I) buy the presents and we send them to Santa. Santa keeps them safe until Christmas Eve when he delivers them back to everyone. It seemed the easiest way to get around the issue of explaining why some children get more/less than others and why Santa can't bring unrealistic gifts like unicorns or flying cars - he can only bring back what the mam's and dad's send him.

SrSteveOskowski · 11/03/2019 00:08

Stop having a go at the OP. Santa or Father Christmas or whatever you call him yourself is often called Santy or Santy Claus in Ireland.
I'm guessing OP might be Irish.

Thesnobbymiddleclassone · 11/03/2019 00:28

If you don't want him to have one, then just don't buy one.

Halo84 · 11/03/2019 00:39

My children are grown, but the youngest had a DS at five. There are loads of age appropriate games.

Original poster
Chilledout11 · 11/03/2019 07:38

Thanks all. We will figure it out. Good to hear lots of games are educational.

OP posts:
DelurkingAJ · 11/03/2019 07:55

I also suspect that lots of tablets (Kindle Fires are very popular round here) will appear over the next year. DS1 is 6 and there were loads in his class last Christmas. Again, lots of age appropriate stuff and you can just turn off the Wi-fi (we do and nobody’s died).

killpop · 11/03/2019 07:58

Are you sure he doesn't know what an iPad is? I'd be very surprised if he doesn't have access to one at school

EdtheBear · 11/03/2019 08:05

As others have said your choice.

Buf if you do decide to get one have a good look at games coming out. In my opinion Nintendo seem to be phasing it out in favour of the Switch which doubles as fixed and hand held console.

MrsAmaretto · 11/03/2019 08:52

What’s the nastiness about Santy about? It’s Santy here in Shetland. Once again the fact that there are regional variations is beyond the understanding of some Mumsnetters.

Anyway, to answer your question just tell him it’s not going to be his birthday present and if he mentions Christmas tell him it’s a long time away. Use the time to have a look at his friend’s devices and what games are available.

Soubriquet · 11/03/2019 08:55

There are plenty of age appropriate games for the ds.

My two have asked for one each (4 and almost 6) but we can’t afford it at the moment.

We do however have a Nintendo switch that they play.

We have a strict rule of, no being on it all day though.

They are allowed to go on it maybe an hour every other day. Usually only on the weekend

MadameJosephine · 11/03/2019 14:10

I always tell my 6yo that different mammies and daddies have different rules. For example, just because there’s a girl in her class with pierced ears doesn’t mean I will allow her to have hers done. If I say Santy (north east we say santy too) is not allowed to bring one then that’s the end of it, what other parents allow is irrelevant

10IAR · 11/03/2019 14:11

And still you persist with the Santy

Better that than raging snobbery. He's Santy in our house too.

SpoonBlender · 11/03/2019 14:32

Not directly to do with a Nintendo DS, but: DH being anti-screen is going to stand your kid in terrible stead pretty soon, certainly by the time he's ten. A large amount - even most - kid socialising is message-based these days. He'll be unintentionally ostracized unless you - and DH! - put in the effort to get him out to social/club/sport events.

For the record, I'm very much in favour of a DS, particularly for a rural kid because it's entertainment that he can control (within your play-time limits) unlike all those other events where he can't get to them himself.

PurpleCrazyHorse · 11/03/2019 16:00

DD has had a Nintendo DS for a couple of years (probably since she was 6yo). We got an old original one from a family member and when she was 8yo we bought her a new 2DS XL. Some of the games are fun and suitable for children.

The main problem with it is the lack of parental controls. I actually prefer DD's Kindle Fire tablet because I can set up what she can do, for how long and when it turns on/off. I have no such controls with the DS. Before deciding what tech (and when) do consider parental controls. It's much easier that the settings turn it off automatically (or I can do it via my laptop/phone), than me nagging for the device.

If your DS doesn't know what an iPad is, he soon will do (or at least a tablet) as most schools have them in the classroom now. It's much better to discuss responsible tech use now in an age appropriate way, than ban it. I want my DD to make good decisions at friend's houses, when she has access to tech/games etc that we don't allow.

Pinkbells · 11/03/2019 16:02

What about an ipad instead with educational games on it, so that he can have fun on it but learn at the same time? Ours love their ipads and they have the added benefit of being able to use them for Netflix on flights etc as well.

ItStartedWithAKiss241 · 11/03/2019 16:08

I think you should get him one! Or maybe a Nintendo switch?! You can chose the games so could get him Mario, Kirby, etc that are age appropriate. Why don’t you want to get him one? Is it because you will struggle with the cost? You say you aren’t againtst technology so it’s not that. If you don’t have a good reason why not I would consider it! It’s just the same as us asking for a very expensive dolls pram or go cart when we were kids. X

Original poster
Chilledout11 · 11/03/2019 21:58

Thanks for responses. It's not the cost. It's just that I still feel he is a bit too young at the moment and I have a younger child so would rather hold back.
As it happens I had a big chat with him and he said he is happy to wait until he is bigger and loads of other things he would rather have (bike and Lego etc) so will go with that

OP posts:
Jellyonawonkyplate · 11/03/2019 22:20

Santy is on his holibobs and can't be arsed till at least November.

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