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Original poster

Ipod touch for 9 year old birthday

54 replies

moid · 25/07/2010 17:06

DS1 wants a Nintendo DS for his birthday but we don't want to get him one because of the cost of the games on top.

We are thinking of an IPOD touch instead as all the games are just a couple of pounds. He loves DH's Iphone.

It is expensive but his uncle is going to contribute.

Any thoughts?

OP posts:
clouddragon · 26/07/2010 20:35

bit too expensive for an 9 year old in our house,

laweaselmys · 26/07/2010 20:37

I would say no because afaik you can't filter the Internet on touches very well. Older is up to you, but no way pre-teens should have unsupervised unfiltered access to the Internet IMO.

laweaselmys · 26/07/2010 20:39

Also beware the rule of diminishing returns. If you get him this this year what will you get him next? If he gets all the expensive stuff early on there won't be anything special enough as a s a teenager.

autodidact · 26/07/2010 20:51

Agree it's too young. Nintendo ds way better for this age. More robust and he can share/swap games with friends, ask for games for birthdays etc. The console will be cheaper than an ipod touch so you'd make up a bit on price there.

nagoo · 26/07/2010 20:57

I think it much better for the cool gadgety things to belong to the parents.

Otherwise you end up with a kid with his head wedged into a game that will not be persuaded to do anything else. You can't stop them playing it unless you take their possession away.

If it belongs to you or your Dh then he can play as a treat, and when you can control how much he plays.

I also think that it is too expensive for a 9 year old, and will lead to high expectations in future.

Watch Super Sweet Sixteen as a cautionary tale.

nagoo · 26/07/2010 20:58

meant to put a on there, but you get my gist

varicoseveined · 26/07/2010 20:59

I'd get the Nintendo DS. Games needn't be expensive, many shops stock second hand or "pre-owned" games far cheaper than the RRP.

autodidact · 26/07/2010 21:05

So agree with you there, laws. I've just bought my 11 y.o. boys mobile phones costing £12.48, having religiously said no way no way no way to all requests for phones till now. They are delighted with them, even in the face of their friends waving far far swankier phones around. I know they'll want to upgrade in due course but v glad I made them wait and got them basic models so that they'll be excited about more expensive gadgets later on.

DollyTwat · 26/07/2010 22:33

I bought DS1 an ipod touch for Christmas and he dropped it after just 2 days and cracked the screen, so 60 quid later I got it fixed and now it doesn't go out of the house. If you're going to get one, get a good case for it as they are like a bar of soap, especially if they've been playing on it for a while.

He also has a DS which he plays a lot more. We have an R4 card and have loads of games we downloaded.

DollyTwat · 26/07/2010 22:33

He's 8 btw

Tortoise · 26/07/2010 22:39

My DS1 wanted an Ipod touch for his 13th Birthday. I said No. Got him a nano instead.

The touch connects to the internet and from the info i looked up, there are no parental controls stopping them looking at inappropriate content.

I would get a DS. Games can be cheap 2nd hand or are good gifts/incentive to save pocket money.

muggglewump · 26/07/2010 22:39

My DD is 9 next month and I wouldn't get her one.
She drops her cheap MP3 enough as it is.

She's had a DS since she was 7, and I bought that second hand on here, with an R4 card which means the games are free, and you can get new ones as often as you like.

lemonysweet · 26/07/2010 22:48

yeah, watch super sweet 16.

no way would i buy my child something that expensive. i MIGHT get my DD's something like that for a special birthday, 16 or 18, but i want to treat them with stuff they can remember for birthdays, rather than gadgets they will stick their nose in all the time.

and i agree about games being a good incentive to save money and more importantly, learn the value of money!
i got DD a nintendo DS and she saved for games [before we discovered the free games via the R4 card]

all my DD's have Phillips mp3 players of varying size and style, they all have great sound quality and good price. noone needs and iphone or an itouch. definately not a kid.

i hate apple and everything it stands for though [overpriced addictive brain frying poncey label crap]

kodokan · 27/07/2010 00:09

My kids have their own iPod Touches, as do we both. They got them for Christmas, aged then just under 6 and 10.

They are FABULOUS. They use them for audiobooks, watching films or TV (BBC iPlayer works on them), playing games, reading. My 10 yr old also uses his to help with his schoolwork - he goes to a French-speaking school, so uses apps to help with translation and verb endings for his homework, apps to practise times tables, etc.

He reads on his all the time, as do I - they are great little portable e-readers - and has a preference for puzzle solving strategy games with elements of history and science.

The games for it are brilliant, ranging from free to just a couple of pounds for things that would be £20 on a DS. I don't download games that require shaking as part of the game play to limit dropping, nor do I get him first-person sniper-type ones, as these seem a bit 'nasty' to me.

We haven't had any problems with inappropriate internet use as kids here (Switzerland) seem a lot less streetwise, or maybe it's just mine. The only videos they watch endlessly on YouTube are 'Arthur' and 'Horrid Henry'.

It IS a big gift and I understand about the spiralling expectations, but it was made very clear that it was a one-off last Christmas based on their dad having a US work trip at the end of the year and it being much cheaper to buy them there. On the other hand, they don't have DSs, mobiles, TVs in their rooms or the latest gaming systems, things owned by many kids in their classes at school, so they do understand that they don't/won't have everything.

A case is essential - my kids have sort of silicon jellyish feeling ones, which feel quite shock absorbent - as are rules are where they can be left when not being used (ie, not on the floor). They haven't so much as scratched them yet, though.

TheNextMrsDepp · 27/07/2010 00:21

Get a DS. Buy a Preowned one from Game - they are a lot cheaper and usually pristine.

Preowned games can be bought for £5 and up.

seeker · 27/07/2010 00:23

5 am the most old fashioned, strict parent I knwo - but both mine have Touchs. I am very strict about screen time and time on the Touch counts as screen time. If you are sure you can limit tie time h spends on it, then yes, it's brilliant.

Fartytowels · 27/07/2010 00:32

I can't vouch for Apple but DS has used my DSlite since he was 3 to play games. He has thrown it on the floor, dropped it in the sea, tried to fold it the wrong way and then finally as a 6 yo now treats it with respect.

He adores it, the games are good value if you get preused from Game or Amazon etc.

DS' are great.

kodokan · 27/07/2010 00:39

I'm not at all strict about screen time, but only because mine self-regulate (watch telly for half an hour or so, then get bored and fidgety and go and leap about on the neighbour's trampoline).

And screen time on a Touch is a grey area - a lot of games are at least semi-educational (me and my son spent a couple of hours playing Doodle God the other day, a strategy puzzle game about combining elements to make new ones to work through evolution from swamp to satellites). And if he's reading on it, then is it 'screen time'? What about listening to audiobooks? Why is Solitaire or Scrabble on the Touch rationed, but a real pack of cards or a physical board game would be fine? Genuinely interested in thoughts, not just picking a fight!

Mooos · 27/07/2010 03:02

Give him a football ffs. What's the world coming to with little boys glued to computers.

DollyTwat · 27/07/2010 08:54

Kodokan I'm not strict either, not sure whether that's because they have always had access to a computer or whatever. They don't see it as a special treat so don't pester for it, and don't overdo it.

DS1 will sometimes spend a lot of time on a particular game on his DS, but once he's done the difficult level he probably won't touch it for a few weeks.

I would agree that 8 was too young to have something so delicate as an ipod touch, but in my defence I didn't know they were that fragile til it broke. I put £5 a month on his itunes account and found he'd downloaded some books on it and was happily reading in bed with it.

DS1 saved his brithday and Christmas money and bought a Dell laptop with it, I did put some money towards it. But he loves his laptop, can touch type and has very good computer skills.

I think these skills are essential today.

But he also plays lots of football, we do lots of outdoor activities too, it's all about balance.

going · 27/07/2010 09:10

My girls 6 and 9 share one. They keep it on a dock in their bedroom when not in use. DD2 seems to use it mainly for watching cake decorating videos on youtube.

Helokitty · 27/07/2010 12:47

How about getting a second hand one? We've bought a second hand one for £50 for Christmas for Dd1.

I think this solves lots of the problems - it is not a dichotomy you can buy a 2nd hand touch and still have money to spend on more traditional toys. Dd will also be getting a new skipping rope amongst other things. Also, it removes the cost. I'm spending less on Dd1s touch than I am spending on Dd2s pretend kitchen.

AlaskaNebraska · 27/07/2010 12:48

woulndt think twice about it
is onlyy lik getting a ds

Wilts · 27/07/2010 12:51

Ds2(7) has one and has managed not to drop it or damage it yet. He is also has a Ds. At the moment he prefers the ipod touch as it offers more than the Ds.

TheFallenMadonna · 27/07/2010 12:53

DS got a bike for his 9th birthday. He would break an ipod touch by the end of the day.

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