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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To spend so much on ds for his birthday

171 replies

yippeekaiyay · 10/10/2011 12:44

Ds (age 5) has never really been one to play with toys. He likes to be on his bike/scooter/trampoline/playing at shooting basketball hoops etc.

When indoors (rare) he likes to play on his wii, dsi, paint/draw/colour in and watch films (I have got him in to all the films I loved as a child - neverending story/labrynth/drop dead fred etc)

Asked him what he wants for his birthday and he replied he wanted an xbox 360 with kinect. Its really expensive, so I am considering getting the xbox for birthay in november and kinect and games can come off santa

My mum thinks think is completely ott and ridiculous. That it is far too much to spend on a 5 year old and I should buy him somethingh for £20-£30

AIBU to want to buy him what he actually wants?

OP posts:
chicletteeth · 10/10/2011 14:41

I don't love computers either, but they have their place.

GalaxyWeaver · 10/10/2011 14:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ChuffMuffin · 10/10/2011 14:42

OP www.cex.co.uk do great deals on secondhand xboxes. The older 250gig models (white) aren't a bad price, but I think you have to buy a wireless network adapter for them which is about 30 quid. Think stuff you buy from them is also guaranteed for 6 months or something, don't quote me on that though. Also if you buy a white xbox you'll need a special adapter for the kinect.

Kinects are quite faddy but again, they are cheap if you get them second hand.

do not buy a console from ebay. People get their consoles banned (different from account bans) and that means they can't go online, and are useless, so they stick them on ebay for unwitting people to buy. :(

Original poster
yippeekaiyay · 10/10/2011 14:55

too all the amateur child psychologists on this thread:

My son does not lack attention from either me or his dad.

My son is not aggressive

My son is not indoctrinated by tv ads (he rarely watches television)

My son is not a spoilt brat

My son can share

I am not in competition with his father

I DO spend plenty of time 'playing' with my son. We choose sports in this family, or reading.

OP posts:
notso · 10/10/2011 14:55

chicletteeth I wasn't having a go about the knitting thing honest, you made me laugh! I suppose weird was harsh, so sorry for that.
It does seem wasteful to me, I would rather spend one lot of money on one laptop for my older DC to share and the other money on a day out or something else they would like, than buy them both a laptop that I know DS1 will have had his go on before DD even gets home from school, and on the weekends more often than not they play together.

notso · 10/10/2011 14:58

yippeekaiyay why start a thread asking AIBU if you are going to take offence when people give their opinion? Surely you are going to get him the Xbox anyway no matter what strangers on the internet say.

Original poster
yippeekaiyay · 10/10/2011 15:00

seeker I want my son to spend more time doing things with us in the house at the weekends. I know we will all enjoy playing together on the xbox with kinect.

He plays out as much as he possibly can at present, whats wrong with me wanting to get him indoors and spend an hour or 2 my precious weekend with him. If it means playing xbox because thats what he wants then so be it

OP posts:
Original poster
yippeekaiyay · 10/10/2011 15:01

I am not offended notso, i just find the amateur psychology on here rather annoying.

How can anybody possibly know that my son is seeking attention from his father and I.

OP posts:
Tryharder · 10/10/2011 15:10

YANBU to buy the XBox if you can afford it. It's your money [shrugs]. We have an XBox Kinect and we are not particularly a gaming family. My kids don't go on it that much but I use it quite often to do the sports.fitness stuff. There are some lovely family games you can get and it's fun.

We do the Sports stuff as a family and it's brilliant - no different to a family playing Twister 20 years ago!! Not "sad" at all. I personally dislike the idea of grown men or teenagers spending hours on end on fighting games online etc but gadgets like Xboxes and Wiis are the boardgames of this generation.

seeker · 10/10/2011 15:12

I guarantee that once you start offering he xbox as an inducement to stay indoors, he will gradually spend more and more time on it, and before you know it he'll want o be on it all the time. They a very seductive.

Buy some board games. Or some family games for the Wii you've got already.

seeker · 10/10/2011 15:16

I guarantee that once you start offering he xbox as an inducement to stay indoors, he will gradually spend more and more time on it, and before you know it he'll want o be on it all the time. They a very seductive.

Buy some board games. Or some family games for the Wii you've got already.

pictish · 10/10/2011 15:21

Go on then - piss £300 down the toilet to indulge a five year old. It's your kid and your money.

Don't know why you bothered asking here - you are clearly champing at the bit to reel out reasons as to why it's NOT an over indulgent, materialistic complete waste of money. You know best. Off you trot to the shops now.

ShirleyKnot · 10/10/2011 15:24

Oh and when you get it OP, get that Kinnectimals game. He will love that.

That zumba one is quite good and the sports one is excellent

bonkers20 · 10/10/2011 15:25

Of course YANBU to get him what he wants if you can afford it.

However, at 4YO maybe you didn't even need to ask him what he wanted, you could have given him some wonderful surprises for his special day.
At that age they have wonderful imaginations and they shouldn't really want really specific items unlike when they're 12 or so.

I'm with your Mum really. Surely he'd be just as happy with a few toys and you could put any extra money in his savings. He'll thank you for that when he wants a car or new computer (though of course I'm not suggesting when he gets to 17 you tell him that you didn't spend much on him when he was 5!).

Original poster
yippeekaiyay · 10/10/2011 15:28

hahaha pictish, you clearly didn't read all my replies. I want to TRADE the wii in and also I have mentioned the possibility of it becoming a shared xmas present between ds and dsd's.

Oh and ChuffMuffin, thanks for the link, some very reasonable pricews on that site :)

OP posts:
Original poster
yippeekaiyay · 10/10/2011 15:28

he is 5. He will be 6 on his birthday

OP posts:
oksonowwhat · 10/10/2011 15:32

Without wanting to sound like i'm preaching.....i would be abit careful here. Looking back in hindsight now that my lot are teenagers, they have such a long time ahead of them to be stuck in a room on a laptop or xbox.

I was so lucky with my son. I remember him moaning that he wouldn't go round to play with his friends at weekends cos all they did was sit in their rooms on computers/games etc., Luckily it bored him stupid. Don't get me wrong he did it sometimes but actually liked nothing more than being out on his bike.

So i think i would hold back if i were you. You won't agree i'm sure. But honestly enjoy them whilst they are young and doing activities that you can join in with and that are healthy.

You'll have that long haired zombie looking teenager soon enough!!!

oksonowwhat · 10/10/2011 15:42

So i killed the thread yeah?

bonkers20 · 10/10/2011 15:46

Yeah you did. I was fondly reminiscing about my darling 5 year old and you brought me back to earth with the reality that is my 12 year old. Boo to you!

I actually had a mother specifically choose me to keep an eye on her 12 yo BECAUSE we don't have any consoles and as they'd be on their own for part of the day she didn't want them zombying out on it all day.

oksonowwhat · 10/10/2011 15:50

Bonkers, such is lifeSmile

I have also been reminiscing about Mr Frosty and Fashionwheel! Never got Mr Frosty but heard it was crap.

fluffy123 · 10/10/2011 16:50

I don't think you are being unreasonable to spend that amount of money on your son. It is your son and your money. However I do think most xbox games are aimed at children a bit older than your son. I would just buy more games for the wii or wii fit if don't have it.

mylittleponypinkypie · 10/10/2011 19:02

Is there no way just a bike and a few smaller presents would be enough?
He doesn't play on the wii anyway...
I would personally not buy an xbox, see if he's bothered around christmas time. :)

skybluepearl · 10/10/2011 19:08

I wouldn't spend 300+ on it. Seen too many boys spend too many hours on it - such a waste. Sadly don't know of any boys who have time limits on usage. Not healthy mentally or physically.

Limejelly · 10/10/2011 19:23

I had a Mr Frosty and a Fashion Wheel! Ooo does this mean I was a spoilt child Blush

Mr Frosty was pants though. By the time you had finished turning the handle to grind the ice it had all melted Angry

FabbyChic · 10/10/2011 19:24

I dont think it is too much at all, it will last him for years. All he will need for christmas and birthdays are games.

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