To not buy dd1 the "ONLY thing in the world" she wants for xmas/birthday?

[D0oinMeCleanin]

She will even "sell me her Kindle Fire, 3DS, ipod nano, ipig and her soul" if I buy her one. She tried to sell me her Xbox, until I pointed out that it was not hers to sell and already belonged to me She won't sell me her bike, she loves it too much.

She wants an ipad air. I do not want to buy her one. Not because we cannot afford one, it would be a big chunk of our christmas budget and she'd have to not do any big birthday celebrations, but we could afford one just.

The reason I do not want to buy her one is that a) I begrudge paying Apple's prices which I believe are massively inflated simply because it is an Apple product and people blindly believe they are best (although admittedly upon looking further into it ipad air is very impressive, but then so is the new Google Nexus) and b) Going on what she is wanting to use it for, there are more suitable, cheaper tablets out there for her, that do the job just as well but without Apple's price tag.

She is wanting it primarily for taking photos and videos, watching movies on the go and playing minecraft. The Galaxy Tab 2 is just as suitable for her. It's processor is slower, but as she is not as massive gamer, she'll hardly notice this and it's camera is not as good, but she is not a photographer, she wants it simply to take photos of her dogs to edit in photo editor/whatever it is she uses, a 3MP camera will do the job adequately. When it comes to watching movies, the ipad air has a much better display, however once you get past 1080p, the difference is hardly noticeable, imo, the Tab 2 has a bigger screen (something which she would notice) and plays a higher number of file types, meaning less pestering me to convert files for her and the Tab 2 has expandable memory, which she will need.

She also wants Skype/Facetime etc. to keep in touch with her Aunt. Both devices have HD web cams.

And the biggest bonus is that the Tab 2 is significantly cheaper. I do not believe the Air is £200+ better than the Tab 2. Plus 2 weeks after she gets it, she'll be moaning she's run out of space on it and asking me where her memory card is so she can swap it for a bigger one, just like she did with her ipod and kindle fire.

I've spoken to her about this and she is adamant that it is ONLY the ipad air she wants, although she is unable to tell me why beyond "It's the best because it's ipad and all my friends have one and Mr. X (her new teacher) has one because it's the best and if he says it's the best, it must be the best, btw we also need to buy a Mac because they are better than Windows PCs"

If she can't have the ipad Air, she'd rather have the cash to save towards the ipad, than the Tab 2.

She's a bit of a sheep and easily sold to.

We didnt have sky tv when i was 10!
I have a shit load of apple now though

"Please god may I never reach the point in life where I covet a designer candle."

I love candles-never heard of Jo Malone.

A candle is a candle to me.

And a tablet's a tablet tbh.

If it does what I want, as cheap as possible, it's the thing for me!

SKY TELLY get you.

My mum and dad used to put on puppet shows.

Puppets? Luxury. We had to make do with a shitty stick and an old shoe for entertainment.

This thread is upsetting me. Children have I pads and I don't.

Totally sucks.

Well i was sp bored i used to eat woodlice.
So fuck you all

Seriously, sky tv used to seem ultra posh to me.

I wasn't allowed sky telly. I wanted to watch American wrestling and had to make do with big cunting daddy.

Reality - A tiny mortgage, saving throughout the year and as said in the last thread where my financial status, despite me not asking for financial advice, was questioned DH's promotion didn't hurt.

And yes, she plays. She has more paints than the local DIY store and she's fit and active.

we also need to buy a Mac because they are better than Windows PCs

Oh dear, someone's teacher is a macolyte.
They're computers, all useful and irritating in the same measure.
I will say that Mac laptops have THE worst moisture-proofing of any laptop I've pulled apart (and there have been quite a few - I work in IT support). It's almost as if they design them to fail easily...

I'm still waiting for the large wooden rocking horse I spent my whole childhood wanting...

WOW!

I don't think have ever seen such a huge list of gadgetry in reference to a 10 YEAR OLD!

I agree with whoever said she sounds spoilt.

there seems to be a huge amount of time/emphasis/value placed on 'the next best thing' for this little girl.

I agree also with whoever said that she will before long decide she has made a mistake in getting the ipad air and will simply need to have the latest version of whatever it is that is flavour of the month in January

Unless money is absolutely no object, i think it is beyond words that a 10 year old child thinks she can't live without a circa £500 item that has only been on sale for 5 fucking days.

The fact that the parent argues only on the grounds that it is an Apple item is incomprehensible to me.

The drama, the drama..............

The teacher sounds like an absolute arse who is trying way too hard to be 'down wit da kidz'. Why he is encouraging all this gadgetry in class? You can guarantee that there will be children in that class who have none of this stuff at home - way to make them feel inadequate, Sir.

Unless I've misread your posts OP, your daughter has been making expensive mistakes but not necessarily at her cost. Until she has to shoulder the financial burden of her choices, she will keep on asking for things which aren't necessarily suitable for her because there haven't really been any detrimental consequences (and having to "make do" with something ill chosen or outdated isn't really detrimental).

It also sounds like all the main gadgets she's wanted have come to her relatively easily and she's by no means alone on that front, we have that problem too.

If you're already willing to pay for one type of tablet, my inclination would be to give her the cash equivalent and let her save up for the tablet of her choice. Going through the process of earning what she really wants should focus her mind on whether that is really what she wants and if she has the patience to go for it. It could be a very good learning exercise for her -let her be financially responsible for her choice. Paying a premium for Apple might become less appealing when she figures out how long it will take to save up for one versus getting something to use straight away at Xmas.

I find my children are more discerning about parting with their money once they've earned and saved it themselves.

I'd also have a discreet word with her teacher, he isn't helping any of the kids if he's only pushing Apple and should be aware of the influence he has and not be careless with it.

Apple's mark up is 179% iirc.

Ds1 is 12 and thinks if I am getting an iphone he should get one too . He wrote me 24 reasons why he should get one again. He is flipping child and is not getting one. I don't care what other children have.

Omg 10!

DD is 10. She wanted an iPod for her recent birthday - I gave her £50 towards it but told her she could only have if if she sold the 3ds she got for her 8th birthday... So she had to use birthday money from my parents pil and grandma as well as money from me and proceeds so basically it was her only birthday present apart from small stuff from friends.

Still can't believe that a 10 year old has a kindle fire and a Ds and an iPod and you are considering iPad air?

Why not suggest she sells all her old devices on eBay and you'll give her something towards it.

My dd is so happy now about iPod that she knows that Xmas will be small present - might buy her Bluetooth speaker or something similar.

I have to say I would also be less than impressed with math lessons consisting of only minecraft!

What does being 10 have to do with it? My Ds wanted various consoles from around 9, seems perfectly reasonable and you see lots of posts referring to kids 10 and younger playing on them. Consoles are bloody expensive too and then need games and gadgets.

Also your budget finances are irrelevant as you have stated you can afford it, your bank account is your business, why are people judging?

Personally my dd would not get it, she is 10 too but just not into her gadgets enough to look after it, although I got her a cheap tablet that under performs hugely compared to my iPad mini and she gets fed up with it and borrows mine instead. Part of me wishes I'd just gone for the extra expense and got her something of better quality. However your daughter sounds like a gadgety type who would cherish and use to the max. If photos are her thing then a lesser camera is a big step down. If this was my dd I would consider two options, the lesser tablet after taking her to play with them in store and a warning the pad was a step too far or the pad but as joint present with a contribution from herself. I would give the choice after she has had the chance of actually trying them out rather than just reading reviews.

My dd wants money for a shopping spree/comfy pjs etc. Poor thing has hit puberty earlier than her friends who are still into dolls etc, very difficult age if you're a little ahead of the pack developmentally. It seems an age that's so hard to judge on a thread as the 10 year old girls I know all vary so much in maturity/hobbies etc. I guess this is just the start as teenage years appear ;)

Cheese has my third option chores & earning to get up to the next level. I've never employed this for traditional gifts bet certainly if they want something above and beyond pocket money.

I don't agree that if you have more money coming in means spending more on DC Xmas and birthday presents. Just because my dh earns a good salary does not mean that I want my dc to be spoilt brats! I said on this thread my dd got an iPod for her birthday but she had a sell her 3ds and use money from grandparents as well as us. She knows Xmas will be small presents - due to iPod - I am thinking Bluetooth speaker and some books. Dh has iPad 2 and dd does use it quite a lot.

And when did things get so cold that a child who's only 9 is having open discussions about her Christmas present (no Father Christmas then?) and what she can sell in order to get her hands on it?

I agree with this. I also think that if she's just being led by ads in tv/other people you should just say no until you think she understands the value of what she is asking for. I don't think it's about whether you can afford it or not - loads of people get their kids expensive stuff - but that it's part of your job to help her understand about cost, value for money, budgeting etc.

Blimey at 10? and she's already got form for flogging birthday gifts to buy one tablet which a year down the line she's not happy with? That's not ideal is it?

Mind you I was cats bum mouthed when my niece "saved her birthday and Xmas money" to get a retina display ipad. My kids don't get that much in a year and they are significantly older (she was 13) . THe key was actually her parents gave her most of the ££ and she wasn't fooled and noone else was- she bats her eye lids and gets what she wants.

I pads are the devils work thats for sure. Bloody bloody ipads.

She's 10, you need your head looking at if you are considering buying a 10 year old an iPad air, sorry, but life isn't about getting whatever you want. She's a little girl and I would categorically say absolutely not.