To not buy my 9 year old any techno stuff this Christmas?

[ICameOnTheJitney]

She's got my sister's old Samsung phone which she can play games on...she has access to the internet via my laptop when she needs it...I don't let her play lots of games on my laptop as I use if for work.

I just can't afford to get her an ipad or tablet or whatever...she's expressed SOME interest but isn't begging but I get the feeling she knows that they're not cheap and that we can't really afford it....she'd be thrilled if she got one.

Is it unreasonable of me to just buy her games, toys I know she'll enjoy and a new scooter?

Will she be the only 9 year old with no new tablet??? SHould I get her some kind of cheapo tablet? I am clueless!

Oh yeah, and I dont have an iphone or an ipad, so if I can't have one...!

YANBU it doesn't sound like your dd wants a tablet more like your sister is trying to justify her own spending.

If she did want one though you don't have to spend £100's, the cheaper end of the market is getting better everyday. The Samsung galaxy tab2 is only £99 in Asda just now, I want for me if only Santa still bought adult presents

Whatsthatnoise that was my first thought too, with the justifying thing

My DS1 who is nearly 9 has an Ipad mini which he had for birthday/christmas last year.

He loves it and has got all sorts of fantastic apps on there including Maths and Literacy ones as well as Fifa etc.

I would much rather he had something like that a 3DS which his friends have because Im sure it can't be good for their eyes. He isn't on it all the time...but I suspect he will be more in the winter than the summer. He plays football for a team,still loves playing with Playmobil etc and spends a lot of time on his bike/scooter. Everything in moderation I think is the key.

Apparently Car Phone Warehouse have got some Tablets for £49 which I thought was very reasonable.

I also have a nearly 3 year old who is not allowed near any tablet/phone or computer...and won't be for a long time yet!

laughing a bit at "more tech savvy" !
They have smart boards and laptop thingys at school. Every museum is interactive and touch screen displays. So navigating mac based or windows based interfaces is never going to be a problem for any child these days.
Interestingly though, most young people don't seem to get how computers actually work, maybe because they are so user friendly now they never need to interact with the nitty gritty of IT. (Just my opinion)

Umm, I don't know why it would even cross your mind that it would be unreasonable not to buy your DD a tablet. One of my DS's didn't have a mobile until he was 17 and then it was because we almost forced him to have it. He just wasn't interested. (To be fair he wouldn't be without it now )

I don't think you can go wrong buying your DD something you can easily afford and something that she wants. She has access to a laptop if she needs it for school so there is no reason she needs a tablet.

I love how these threads always turn into 'oh well, tablets are sooooo educational, but games consoles are incredibly evil and turn children into bedroom-dwelling trolls'.

As I said upthread, no tablets here (other than my Kindle Fire) but have a Wii and a Nintendo DS, a 3DS and a 3DS XL. Strangely enough, you can get educational games on these too, as well as the hand-eye co-ordination they can help develop.

And as for the 'computer games are bad for your eyes', well, screen time is screen time. It's down to how you manage it.

But I wish people would stop being so sanctimonious about getting tablets, as if all their kids ever do is maths and writing. It's balls. That's like saying all my DS does is play COD and GTA, when obviously he plays neither.

I want to go and live with Altinkum!

Hello OP, my dd doesn't have a tablet and she is 9. It sounds as though she has similar to your dd but she did get a 3ds last year.
What does it matter if she is the only 9 year old without a tablet? Teach her that stuff doesn't matter and she'll not be bothered by peer pressure

We have a family ipad and DS/DH share an X box (which has been rather ignored since the arrival of MineCraft in DS life...) I'm with you OP - DS is 8 and he hasn't asked for a tablet, so it's clearly not a priority for him. I'd rather wait and get him one when he wants one so it's seen as something worthwhile for him. We're not short of tech in the house so to add more I'd want it to be meaningful.

That said, he is very pouty that Santa might be bringing him a new bike because 'he already has one'. Doesn't seem to bother him that he's now twice the size of the bike so I suppose I'm contradicting myself there buying him something he doesn't really want, but I think he needs!

I'm not buying my 9 year old any techno stuff either. He's got a ds (which he plays so rarely its lost) and am iPod (nano so no games) Plus as a family we have a computer and ps2.

He's getting Lego and playmobil, both as joint presents with ds2 (7)