....to think 8/9 yr olds should not have their own iPads or Smart Phones?

[Poopoopeedoo]

My son just informed me that a good number of kids in his class of 8-9 yr olds are being given iPads for their birthdays and one already has an iPhone of his own.
Is this the norm now? I feel like perhaps I am just an old-fashioned stick in da mud but SERIOUSLY?? At 9 yrs old??
I just want to know if I should continue to dig heals in or if I am, in fact, the only UNREASONABLE parent here! He has access to DH´s ipad and our iphones intermittently btw, but I never imagined getting him his own till he was ...oh I don´t know...16!!
What say you, wise Mnetters??

Dd definitely has less than the other children in her class. We've have discussions about priorities and what dh and I spend our money on.

That said, she got a Nook for her Christmas (aged 8). She can't go on the Internet unless dh logs in. She has to stay in the lounge with us if she's on the net.

I reckon we'll allow her a phone sometime in the year before secondary school.

I would love for it not to be the norm that children are tech laden. I am hoping that we are able to negotiate responsible use.

No problems with them surfing the web - you just restrict it. Parental controls exist. No Facebook till they are older, approved email list, approve FaceTime list.

No purchases - in app or otherwise. Internet goes off at 7 o'clock, whitelist the sites you are happy with, password protect app store.

I was looking in their rooms earlier to car boot their toys and the money that has been spent on playmobil , Lego , sylvanian families and other plastic tat is silly.

Mmm, interesting about limiting access....may have to steer DH away from the beloved apple in future, Flick

My boys are like moths to the flame with ANY sort of screen, so if it´s there they will be glued until I pry it from their sticky little fingers!

Poop, you think girls are less likely to search for sexual content or be endangered online than boys?
You are beyond deluded, most boys will be just blowing each other's buildings up on minecraft. The girls? Erm no! They seem far more interested in romantic matters than boys way more.

Anyway, you just need good parental controls.

Yes, Choco often you buy "educational" toys promising to turn your wee beloveds into the next Stephen Hawking only to find them rotting in the bottom of the forgotten box. However I still want to TRY and get them to play with "real" things in 3D while they are preteens....but perhaps it´s a pointless fight! Sigh

Yes its normal for children to have some form of tablet. Both of my dds have ipad minis, and I know a lot of their friends have some sort of tablet as well.

They are only allowed to use them if they are downstairs, they cant go in to bedrooms. Dd2s Internet restrictions are set so high I cant even get on to mumsnet without putting in the access code.

I think that access to technology is important, its a big part of life now.

iPhone or smart phone (or even a phone) - no.

I bought my dd a iPad for her 8th birthday. I use a mac for work and am used to the apple system so I was more comfortable with iPad. I also had a tax rebate! She has used it everyday ever since. She has no email address so no access to social media or anything. It's all registered to me.
She watched cbbc programmes on iplayer, watches Stampy on YouTube and plays Minecraft. To be honest, I think it's a great.

My ds is turning 7 soon, and as he's constantly trying to steal moments here and there to use dd's iPad (she has built him his own 'world' in her Minecraft game)...we thought we may get him one.

Yes, I think it's too young in a way - however they don't have access to a home PC (mine's in my office). However everything in online - looking up things on YouTube is so normal to them that it's just like watching a video or something when we were kids.

It's just the way life is now.

Point taken, Lizzylou I realise girls are hugely in danger of getting stalked by pervs....and have "romantic" interests....but I don´t think they would get hooked on repeated searches for more and more lewd and outlandish porn images that a lot of boys do (speaking from what I´ve heard via some shocking tales from friends with older boys and what arrives in their inboxes sent to them by their angel-faced 12 yr old friends! eek)

I just wanted to add that most things that are wanted materially in our house is still very much Lego, cuddly dogs and books.

Looking like the majority is in favour here! I´m definitely getting old

Ours had phones/laptops around 11 if that's of any help.

I think you have two hopes of getting anywhere near to 16 without caving in.

My almost 9 year old got a hudl for Christmas - it's been great. For listening to music, researching homework, watching films, making little home videos, taking photos. Most kids in her class have some form of tablets, not so much with the mobile phones yet.

DS (7) has an Ipad and DD uses mine - she is 5.

So what? Where can I get my 'Bad Parent' sandwich board and bell?

My DS who is 6 had an iPad mini for Xmas. He doesnt use the internet , uses it on car /train journeys and plays games on it . Also does maths and letter formation on it and reads stories. It varies how much he uses it .... If I left it with him he would probably use it every day but I prefer him to spend time outside etc .

Oh we have controls set way high and monitor usage, they are on tablets way less than they swim, draw, play lego, run around outside, play football.
I won't be getting them a phone until they "need" them though. Ie when they are out and about more by themselves and may need a lift etc.

This is all very helpful- good to get a range of opinions and ideas. Since he´s the youngest in the class, I have time to decide yet!

I agree with you OP and am slightly bemused by the "it's brilliant, he's been on it every single day since we bought it" argument!

That's precisely why I WON'T be buying these for my boys for many years to come - there are so many other things they could be spending time doing!

I don't buy all this crap about disadvantaging them either - they spend about an hour a week on dh's iPad and have no problem navigating themselves around it.

Whether the majority is in favour or not is irrelevant, if you don;t want them then they don;t get one until they can buy their own.

DS doesn;t do anything different with his ipad than he does with my computer or the TV. WE have an app which limits his screen time, though to be fair he's very sporty and a bit of down tim ein front of a screen isn;t anything terribly bad.

DS alternates between football, rugby, tennis, minecraft, youtube and lego. IN fact he sometimes combines them and videos his lego stadiums to put on youtube.

I doubt you are any more horrified by ipads than my grandmother was when my mum bought me a portable tv for my room when I was 13.

Around our way phones (not necessarily smart phones) seem to come in when they start walking to school on their own in year 5.

I think it is just moving with the times.

When my DS1 was 8/9 we bought him a PS2 which had just come out then. DS2 got a GameBoy Advance. When I look back over the years to the amount of money we spent first on GameBOys, then the Advance, then Nintendo DS and all the games that went with them, I wish tablets had been about then!

In our house we have 3 iPads and an iPad mini. My iPad has gone into be fixed and DS1(19) jumped out if bed the wrong side the other night, to be sick, and stood on his. We are lost. Hopefully they will be back soon.

both mine have samsung tablets and laptops (age 7 ad 10). DD (10) has a phone that she never charges and an ipod she uses for music and games. I have an ipad that I only got last year.

DD (age 5) has my old iPad. I upgraded to one with mobile data as needed it for my work. She has games and her crap films, her equally crap music and she watches her favourite programmes on Netflix and iPlayer etc. I stick it on flight mode a lot of the time though, now that she's sussed out how to use YouTube.

From Year 1 at her school they all have use of an iPad each, so she'd have one regardless in 4 months anyway.

Despite my kids having had access to these things from that age and a computer before, they still played out, joined sports clubs, did all their homework and read lots of books.

It doesn't have to be either/or, it can be as well as.