to buy an Ipod for my 5 year old?

[FanellaFudge]

One of the little 'shuffle' ones. Was thinking of putting audio books onto it for him to listen to in the car/before bed.

Is he too young?

I haven't a clue when it comes to things like this... I don't have an MP3 so maybe not the best person to judge this decision!

Go for it fanella. If you buy it form the apple store direct you can get it inscribed with his name/ a msg too. Should deter sticky fingered kids from pilfering it too !!

DS has those JVC headphones. He's 3. They're noise limiting, which is great.

I have some of his stories and songs on my ipod and he listens when we're travelling or have long waits for anything.

In the car and at home I dock it though and he listens that way. I wouldn't trust him with his own ipod, but I'd definitely consider it by age 5 or 6, especially a shuffle.

my 5yo dd has a second hand ipod nano, which she uses with those JVC headphones for long car journeys. She mostly listens to music but my 7yo ds loves the audiobooks on his. They both previously had the v cheap shuffle lookalikes, but they both wanted to be able to find certain songs, which you can't do with the shuffles.

I don't think he's too young, and if he is interested in listening to music and audiobooks, then it's a great addition for long journeys.

I would be reluctant, a 5yo will not understand it's fragile electronics and will handle it roughly. They will end up begging to use it in some situation you didn't envision, like a long wait at the doctor's, and that use will naturally extend to more and more situations. As long as you're prepared for them to end up dropping it in the bath or bashing it broken on something.

You can get much cheaper Mp3 players than ipods. My Dc have cheapo ones and they listen to music and stories - have had since 2 and 4, and 3 years later still fine. We have the JVC earphones which are great.

TBH the only time we use them is on aeroplanes - in the car we listen to cds so they aren't used that often. i found that before they can read well they can't operate onces with screens so shuffle type fine. the ones we have have 2 buttons one to skip to next track (or to listen to same track again) and one to adjust volume.

My 6 year old ds has an ipod mini bought for £20 on ebay. It does look a bit like a brick compared with the newer style small ipods, but he is more than happy with it, and enjoys reading the track names on the screen!

My kids had shuffles (the old style ones from ebay) for long train journeys etc, they looked after them well even at 4 years old. DD now has a cast off Nano from her Dad and looks after that beautifully at 7.

Personally I chose to get ipods rather than cheaper ones because IME the shuffles are indestructible, and I already have all their music and stories in iTunes.

Someone in London did nick DS1's from his buggy (SN buggy) which I thought was pretty low - keep them out of sight!

My lot all have them and they are great.

I also agree that if you are going to get one, get iPod as they are alot more robust than the cheaper ones and you can get covers etc for them. My youngest 3 (aged 5,6 & 9) have shuffles but the 9 year old will be getting a nano this year. Eldest 2 have nanos and DH and I have videos (older version as the screen is bigger).

NacMacFeegle (Love the name, a TP fan here too!) that is so low! To steal from a child and a disabled child at that is appalling. There really are some scumbags around arent there? My son was targetted for his mobile when he was still at school because he has CP and couldnt chase after them, bastards

My 4 year old DD has a 1st generation ipod nano which we bought second hand for less than £50 off Ebay. It has a silicone cover so it doesn't get scratched and external ear phones. We chose this over the shuffle because she can then see the picture of the album that she wants to listen to, so it makes selecting the song easier for her. She can also play simple games which you can buy off the app store. She knows how to look after it, treats it with respect and has had no problems with breaking it. She never leaves it on the floor, or throws it or anything like that. I found simply teaching her how to treat the ipod with respect was good enough for her, and she has always done so with no problems. She is pretty much a responsible little girl.

That said, she doesn't generally take it out of the house, unless with me and uses it mostly when in the car etc.

Its a great little object and she loves it.