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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think Xmas gifts for kids have just got ridiculous?

126 replies

PoppyPrincess · 15/12/2012 07:51

I asked DSD what Father Christmas was bringing her yesterday, she replied ''a blackberry tablet, it's like an iPad''
She's bloody 7 years old! She's already got a blackberry phone, an iPod touch, a laptop and a leap pad tablet. She never even uses the laptop or the leap pad tablet that she got last year.
Seriously what can she do on this tablet thing that she can't do on her laptop or iPod touch?
Neither my DP or her mum are well off so it's not like they've got the money to indulge the kids with expensive and unnecessary gifts.
When I was 7 I was playing with dolls! The only electrical stuff I was interested in was a cassette player (yes I'm showing my age here!)
I also feel a bit shit for DP as he's got bikes for them and a couple of other toys and I think he's worried that they're going to compare them to their fancy gifts from their mum.
I know it's up to their mum what she decides to buy them but I do worry that she's just spoiling them, possibly to be the more popular parent (but that's a separate issue).
I just think that this culture we have where kids get spoilt and given any gadget they fancy is just getting daft, how are they ever going to appreciate the value of money when they are given whatever they want and not made to save for it?
When I was a kid I knew there was a budget for Xmas and birthday presents, if what I wanted was over that budget then it would have to be a joint present or I'd get money and have to save for it.
Yes I know that not all parents give these expensive gadgets willy nilly and I'm sure there are lots of parents who do make their kids save but it just seems to me that the culture seems to be going more towards giving our children expensive and unnecessary gifts and basically spoiling them.

OP posts:
PeachTown · 15/12/2012 09:23

I dread DS putting an iPad or equivalent on his Christmas list in a few years (he's only a baby) so I understand what you're saying.

I looked at the Blackberry version a couple of months ago and they were £120 or free with a contract phone as others have said. It might explain how DSD is able to have one this year.

Adviceinscotland · 15/12/2012 09:23

She has only asked for the tablet, does not mean she will get it.

We have spent a lot on
Xmas but some off it is things the dc need that would have been bought anyway and some off the big stuff is a total surprise to them just because i want to spoil them this year (crappy year all round!)

I'm always surprised at how little people on here spend on their dc Xmas but for all
I know they may get far more throughout the year

whomovedmychocolate · 15/12/2012 09:25

My children are the opposite end of the spectrum. The wrote to Santa requesting 'bath bombs and craft stuff'.

Ironically we are in a position where we could buy them something big right now but they just don't want it.

Personally I think it's good for kids to learn to wait for stuff and also to know how they can only have one expensive thing versus a few cheaper things though. There's nothing wrong with saying 'no, that's not possible' to kids either. It's important they don't always get their way otherwise they turn into right little tinpot Hitlers.

InNeedOfBrandyButter · 15/12/2012 09:36

My Dc have a tv in their bedroom, it used to have their wii connected, I wish they would bugger off and play with it instead of watching cbbc in my living room. although I love young drac

My dc have a lot of tec in the house, wii, iPod, 3ds, ps3, computer and a tablet around somewhere. It doesn't mean it's the only stuff they play with! This year all dd really wants is some roller blades for Christmas and I'm sure it will make her as happy as previous tec filled years even though they cost less the £20!

Jingleallthejay · 15/12/2012 09:39

Stuff and things do no spoil children it is the attitude to their stuff and things that spoil them imo ,

maillotjaune · 15/12/2012 09:46

Well I am constantly surprised about the gadgets other people buy their children (mobile phone at 7 - why?) but it doesn't really bother me. Their choice.

As to the suggestion that 99% of pre-schoolers will have TV in their room? No one I know. Hardly any of my 8 and 9 yo sons' friends have either.

We have a tablet which they can use, and I agree that it's important children have access to these things as part of their education. They are going to be expected to be tech savvy in a way that just didn't apply when I left a school that had 3 computers in it.

AllDirections · 15/12/2012 09:48

They will enjoy their bikes far more than any other screen gadgets that they might get for Christmas OP. Your DSD has way too much gadget stuff at her age.

My DDs get their own laptop when they start secondary school and tvs in their rooms when they're teenagers. My 5 year old has asked for a laptop for Christmas, she's only got 6 years to wait Wink

tiggytape · 15/12/2012 09:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Jingleallthejay · 15/12/2012 09:51

even in a few years times have changed my youngest is 14 (nearly 15 as she keeps telling me) and she was asking for toys andother play with stuff for christmas at 7
not gadgets she wouldn't have asked for a mobile for christmas far less a laptop ,some children are way older than their years imo, I am always baffled if it is the child who is like that or the parent who thinks they should have all those gadgets ?

Jingleallthejay · 15/12/2012 09:53

Oh mine had a tv but it never got a reception so used for VIDEOS when they were younger and never had them on during the week at bedtime I really didnt wanna watch some of their films tbh so off they popped to their room,

Hulababy · 15/12/2012 09:53

DD is 10y and has a fair few tech things. I love techy stuff and gadgets, it rubs off. Some of it is expensive, some less so.

DD does not have a TV in her room and will not have one for a long time to come. We may get one for the playroom as she gets older for her and friends. She can use my old laptop for TV/DVDs with friends occasionally now.

She has her own computer but it was free via DH's work. She uses it for school work mainly as she does a lot of her homework on the computer - power point, word, excel, etc.

She has an iPod Touch which she uses for music. She has a dock, an am, etc to go with it. She does singing lessons and uses it for that too, as well as she loves music. She has some games on it too which she uses when out and about. It;'s an older one though and is very full so it's being upgraded for an iPad mini at Christmas - but she doesn't know and wouldn't ask for as she knows they are expensive.

She also has access to a family Playstation 3, and an older DS she got years ago, and she can use my iPad sometimes. She has a techy type camera.

But she also plays for hours with Sylvanian Families and other games. She will do craft stuff, read, she still likes imaginary role play type games. She loves science stuff and does experiments. She makes up dance routines with her friends, and likes to play outside, climbing trees, scooting and on her bike.

And despite it all she still isn't "spoilt", a phrase I dislike greatly anyway. She never expects anything, she is always greatful for things she has/gets, she looks after her possessions, she shares everything she has with family and friends, she knows and understands the importance of saving up for something special (she did this for a Kindle this year)...

Possessions dont make a child "spoilt." It is down to parenting and expectations imo.

Hulababy · 15/12/2012 09:54

DD will get a mobile for her 11th birthday in April. It is in preparation for her going to secondary school in the summer. As she has a later birthday it makes sense to get it as her birthday present.

Jingleallthejay · 15/12/2012 09:55

Possessions dont make a child "spoilt." It is down to parenting and expectations imo.

This

mummytokdj · 15/12/2012 09:56

My 2 DD's 7 and 9 have never really been into toys the have always prefered gadgets, both are getting blabkberry play book ( wish i got the for under £100) and last year they both got expensive laptop. They have bkackberrys and a tv and sky in there roon from around 2 years old. I think its down to the individual child. They use tablets etc at school for the lessons alot. I would rather them in on the computers than out playing now a days

Jingleallthejay · 15/12/2012 09:56

mine got a mobile christmas Primary 7 dd1 was 11 and dd2 was 10 so heading to high school in the august

Sirzy · 15/12/2012 09:59

would rather them in on the computers than out playing now a days

What a sad attitude.

Jingleallthejay · 15/12/2012 09:59

What a sad attitude.

isn't it just Sad

goldenlula · 15/12/2012 10:07

Ds' are 4 and 7. They have no tv in their room, we have a wii that has been used maybe twice this year (dh bought it 3 years ago for himself, it has been used rarely). Ds1 saved up his birthday money and pocket money to buy his own 3ds just after his 6th birthday last year as we felt if he wanted one he should buy it himself. We have got them a ps3 for Christmas this year as a joint present. We have a family iPad and laptop that they can use. We have told ds1 he can have a mobile when he starts secondary school.

mummytokdj · 15/12/2012 10:09

Not really our area has recently has several attempted child abductions including a relatives child so no i would rather my children were safe and sound in my house.

D0oinMeCleanin · 15/12/2012 10:10

How many variations of the same thread do we have to have before Christmas?

As I posted on the last thread, between them my children (9 and 5) own or have access to almost every gadget and console that is out. As I type dd1 is upstairs on her new Kindle Fire (which she contributed towards) and dd2 is on my Samsung Note, she has just asked if dd1 can purchase a phonics app for her to play on my phone.

They also have a small flatscreen, Virgin Media and a PS2 in their room.

They would be out playing already but we have a train to catch soon, so they have to stay in.

I don't limit their time on gadgets. I don't need to. They self manage just fine. I am sure if I limited them they'd make sure they eeked out every second of their 'screen time' but because they know their gadgets are accessible to them as and when they normally don't bother that much with them. Dd1 uses her Kindle regularly to read bedtime stories to dd2 and use the aforementioned phonics app to play teachers.

Dd2 has only just shown an interest in gadgets in the last few months. She likes sending messages to her cousins on Moshi Monsters and likes spelling and reading apps on my phone. Her teachers have noted how much her reading and writing has improved.

I'd guess they spend about an hour after dinner before bath time using gadgets because it's too dark to go back out to play. In the summer gadgets are usually ignored completely in favour of playing out until as late as I will allow them to.

Technology, like or not, is an essential part of daily life these days. Holding your kids back from it because it's not how things were in your day will not do them any favours in the long run.

Sirzy · 15/12/2012 10:11

You could always do something really strange and go out with them?

Your post makes it clear why your children prefer these things because from a young age YOU have pushed them on them.

LadyBeagleBaublesandBells · 15/12/2012 10:13

I bet they'll love the bikes Op.
A brilliant gift.

mummytokdj · 15/12/2012 10:14

Lol yeh sure ill take my 10 month out to play to!!

my kids are taken to the park, soft play, and a massive garden full of stuff so eh no i have not pushed it on them i also have not held anything back from them,

i find you judgemental attitude rather sad !!

lljkk · 15/12/2012 10:20

Good point, why don't we have threads bemoaning all those little kids who clamour for puppies & ponies?

It must be really nice if you have DC who sensibly self-limit console games. DS (now 13) has proven time and time again that he is incapable.

Oh well, I suggest we all go back to 1877 standards, pretend to be Laura Ingalls grateful that her corn-cob doll was being upgraded to a proper rag doll with eyes and all. One toy is enough, surely?

Moominsarescary · 15/12/2012 10:24

Ds1 has asked for a blackberry tablet this year, he's nearly 18 and his laptop is around 5 years old and not working so well anymore.

Ds2 had a laptop for Christmas when he was 7, I don't really see the point in a child having both though