To think Xmas gifts for kids have just got ridiculous?

[PoppyPrincess]

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.

I agree with you. Although technology is important i also brlieve that in the kind of society we live in, it is even more important to give our children proper values.
Since they were born, our children only 1 present from Santa to share between them. Last year was a little shop. This year however as we are going abroad in my family we think the trip is the present. So they will get a book each, a CD each (nutcracker and swan lake) and glitter tattoos to share. Plus in our family + extented family ALL presents come from Santa. Christmas is about being together and being grateful in our opinion.

You mean you didn't even give them a tangerine, Usual?
I'm appauled and discusted.

Kids can and do self limit gaming time if they have a good reason. Ds bought skyward sword for the wii begore his GCSE s last summer but didn't buy the add on for the controller so he couldn't play it when he should have been revising. His strategy not mine.

We don't have tv in bedrooms - well the 16yr od and 19yr old ( when home) have on line catch up but that's it.

I am proud of my DD for just being her tbh.

But I don't see how that is liked to whether she likes gadgets or not. DD likes what she likes. Like me, she likes gadgets - I always have too and had a computer at home from being pretty younger, before they were really the norm. DD is able to self regulate, I've never needed time restrictions.

But as far as I am aware - every child I know who has gadgets are still capable of enjoying and doing lots of other stuff, like playing imaginary games, playing outside, socialising with family and friends, reading books, role play, cooking and baking, arty stuff, etc. IME they are not exclusive.

A tangerine?

Do you think I'm made of bloody money?

you are on fire tonight

mine have every gadget from an ipad down to a ds and even sky multi room in their bedrooms. They also have bikes. I didn;t know they were mutually exclusive or i would never have bought the bikes.

my children do have their own tv (5 and 4 and currently sharing a room) but it is not used for anything other than watching videos yes videos as they are virtually indestructible compared to dvds and we dont actually have live tv in our house, only 4od and iplayer etc. i have a laptop which they are only allowed to access with extremely close supervision and they have that sesame street game for dhs xbox kinect. apart from that the only electrical type thing they own is an old leapster i bought from oxfam last xmas and their dads megadrive from when he was little. The amount the ops sd has is ridiculous!

We have lots of gadgets in our house because dh is a techie and a gamer, but they are mostly his, although they are all available for anyone to play (18 gaming devices and over hundred odd games so lots of choice!). This year we are getting ds (13) a netbook, mostly for school work as he is dyslexic. dd (12) got an new ipod touch for her birthday/Christmas gift. They've had generous gadgety gifts in the past but one at a time and only when we thought they'd really use them.

They do have friends who appear to 'have it all' and I think it's a bit daft, just because the play value of having a laptop + a tablet + a smart phone etc just isn't that great for a younger child so things won't really get used. Feels like gifts almost for the sake of it.

Often these gadgets are given to buy a quiet life for the parents. Kids who are on the sofa exercising their thumbs with the latest game are less likely to pester them for a trip to the park.

OP - totally agree, ridic for a 7 year old - bike great present.

FWIW my son is almost 7 and desperate for a nexus 7 (I have one which he uses!) - he sold his leapster & games on ebay and will ask for the extra he needs for his birthday from family eg GPS. He doesn't have a laptop or an ipod or a phone or anything else electrical (apart from a plug in CD mp3 player in his room - I guess like modern equiv to tape player).

Also I could afford to buy him a tablet - but instead we bought him a desk and swivel chair for Christmas for his room which he will love (as he has been asking!).

OP - it's ridiculous. Ours are 18 (on Xmas day) and 14.5.

DS got a B'Berry for his 15th birthday; it was upgraded recently to a Samsung Galaxy. They have a Wii, an XBox and have had ipods, etc, over the years. Both have modest lap tops. DD got a B'Berry for her 13th birthday and a lap top for her 14th. Neither have TVs in their rooms and I would not allow it. Our biggest TV is a 26". DS got his first mobile phone for his 12th birthday.

This year DS is getting a car - elderly banger (he is expecting headphones and I can't wait - my excitement is palpable; it's on a friend's drive 1.5 miles away and we will go and get it after midnight mass on Xmas eve) and dd is getting a 3 DS.

Onebad

That's the smugest lot of nonsense I've read in quite a while tbh.

It's not surprising your 8 year old hasn't asked for gadget - when they are already available A bit like doing a rain dance when it's already raining! Not sure what makes you feel 'proud' about that.

they'll play with them for 5 mins then wander off and make up a game of their own creation. I'm proud because they use imagination and can stay amused without gawping at a computer screen

So your children 'use' them and other peoples children 'gawp' at them. Right.

Do you seriously think that if it belongs to the child and not just the family that they are on them 24/7 and your children are the only ones who do other things?! Really?

We do a lot as a family and as both oh and I work full time family time is spent together chatting, playing games, doing the house and garden Together, going to the park, seeing friends etc. during the week there is no time once we are all home and eaten dinner to play with gadgets. It's just a waste of money in this house to have them for sole use of any one person
... and what? You think other families where a child owns their own tablet/laptop they don't do those things? Really?

Dc fits in fine with their peers thanks for asking Great. Fab to know :) DC already have access to gadgets so don't need to ask for them, so really not as different as you are trying to make out

I don't mind kids having gadgets in general and our DDs are growing up seeing me and DH on our iPhones, itouch, laptops everyday. Dd1 is 4 and we have some stuff on the itouch for her I do like to save it for when it is need travelling a lot or something that involves a lot of waiting. We also do some stuff together on the laptops but not much.

It did annoy me last year when PIL got her an innotab when she was just 3 she loves screens and telly and to me it was too much too young and another thing for me to monitor. It did make me think why the rush at this rate they will buy her an iPad by age 5.

I am happy for her to have gadgets such as a DSi at 6 and then maybe a Itouch at 8 or 9.

I do live overseas though and amongst her friends I notice they are a bit more sheltered from growing up so quick here than their peers in the UK.

Can't be arsed to read whole thread. Has anyone claimed to have grown up in a hole in the road yet? And gotten a SMS k round the head for Christmas and been grateful for it?

Because they ask, does not mean they should receive...

Children are crossing in to the adult world too early these days, which I find very sad.

They have no real need for these gadgets.

Kids are becoming more spoilt, and valuing things less.

My Dd can look forward to none of the above gadgets.

*smack

When I was looking for a certain type of educational toy for DTD, half of them had iphone/ipad play buttons!

I figured if you can't beat em, join em. I have a smartphone that isn't an iphone

My kids are too young to even say the word 'gadget,' unfortunately guess what was all over DH's Christmas list?

We have dds aged 9,6,4 and 19 months and they don't have TV in their bedrooms. We have set a budget of around £35 each. They have got plenty from us when it wasn't Christmas this year, and as we are Christians we prefer the focus to be on the religious meaning of Christmas rather than the materialistic side of things. We tend to indulge more on birthdays.

Though dd aged 19 months is getting a pretend iPhone !

My children are faulty They are 7.0 (SN) 5.4 & 3.7. They just haven't got the idea of asking for expensive gadgets.

It's not just me then moodymai? All the educational toys look like Apple gadgets!

Technology is a massive part of their childhood now, it has its upsides and downsides i agree but ultimately they will be using all forms of technology through primary and high school and later in life now. Just the way it is, i still think they will love their bikes and toys. And no matter how many gadgets are in the house the dc are happy to come and bake with me,or play with lego or go to the park so we cant be going far wrong. try not to worry, this whole competitive present buying really bugs me. My Sc have written lists here and at their mums house, maybe the amount spent will vary hugely, maybe theyll get two of something, maybe theyll get something that the other parent doesnt like but they will enjoy the day for other reasons as well as presents and as long as they are happy and remember christmases it doesnt bother me whether me, their mum or their great aunt ginny has bought it.