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Original poster

To ask what gadgets your 7year olds (or under) have?

77 replies

HaggisandHairClips · 06/12/2016 20:43

DS is 7 and has asked for an iPhone for Christmas Confused

He won't be getting one - he has no need.

We have a family iPad which he uses mainly for games.

He doesn't really have any other gadgets . He's never asked before .

My brother thinks I'm mean and should get him one Hmm

What do your 7 year olds own?

OP posts:
mygorgeousmilo · 06/12/2016 21:27

No gadgets here. TV in the living room, that's up to us to put on, usually watched as a family. All of my son's classmates have iPads etc.

FairyPenguin · 06/12/2016 21:30

LeapPad (plug in games, not online)
CD player/radio

Access to: family iPad, family laptop, family TV.

SpeckledyBanana · 06/12/2016 21:31

Wii U in the living room. An old Kindle Fire, which we all share. But the DC are getting Kindles for Kids for Christmas, with the free books list.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 06/12/2016 21:33

Dd6 has use of TV in living room (TV/Netflix/Amazon/iPlayer/YouTube)
And a much used Kindle Fire for Kids

bumblebeetuna · 06/12/2016 21:35

Has access to family play station, wii, wii u and ipad/iPhones, small devices are used for watching Netflix/sky and other devices are family games or minecraft, games are at weekends, watching stuff for after school, she doesn't need her own device though. A kindle would be adequate or an iPod but not an iPhone....who would she phone??

MegBusset · 06/12/2016 21:37

DC are 7 and 9. They have access to family iPad, laptop, Xbox 360. An old iPod Nano to play tunes on. And we sometimes use my iPhone for Pokemon Go :)

No gadgets of their own as such. 9yo will get a basic phone when he starts walking to school alone, next year probably.

itshappenedagain · 06/12/2016 21:38

Dd (6) has an iPad,iPod touch,DVD player (portable) she is only allowed 30 minutes of any screen time per day except for the weekend when they can save up and have more when everything is done

ItsRainingDeer · 06/12/2016 21:39

Family iPad/tv.
Remote controlled truck.

missyB1 · 06/12/2016 21:40

Access to family iPad at weekends, that's it.

giggleshizz · 06/12/2016 21:44

DD 4 has small tablet (not iPad) that is mainly used when travelling on plane. That's it! She can watch family TV and occasionally my phone under supervision

OSETmum · 06/12/2016 21:47

DS (7) has an iPhone 5SE, iPad mini, laptop, tv, Xbox 360 (although he never uses it). He's getting a Nintendo DS for Christmas.

To be fair though we do a LOT of travelling and DS has lots of friends who live about 2 hours away (who also have phones) so they what's app each other.

NancyJoan · 06/12/2016 21:52

A wii. That's it. We have 1 tv, 1 desktop Mac, with a time limit of 1 hour per DC. There are some games on my phone DS likes to play. If he had his own, or an iPad, he'd never be off them, would be a constant battle ground. So we just avoid.

FeliciaJollygoodfellow · 06/12/2016 21:57

We have a family tablet, a family Xbox but nothing owned by each of them.

When the seven year olds turn 8 in January they'll be getting their own tablets though.

SansaClegane · 06/12/2016 21:58

Nothing. And long may it stay that way. Personally I hate seeing young children glued to the screen from such an early age.
Of course DH and I have iPads / phones which the DCs are allowed to use on long journeys etc, but I wouldn't dream of giving them their own, and unlimited screen time.

lessthanBeau · 06/12/2016 22:41

Guess I'm the only one then, which I find hard to believe in RL as all her friends seem to have at least their own tablet, dd8 has tablet, TV ,ps3 go pro camera(she loves filming and photography) an old laptop which she says is too slow for her needs, my old gen1 kindle(which I don't count as tech as it's just lots of books and a thesaurus) has access to dhs ps4, dhs mega pc and an old Samsung phone (not on network, so not sure what she uses it for) dh is in IT though so I think that makes a difference in what is deemed acceptable, to him it's all imagination and creativity, to me it's just screens. Dd reads, creates movies and animations, draws and codes on all this stuff, she's learning so much from these things, that can't be a bad thing. Also because dh is a professional in this area everything she does is overseen and logged, not sure how well that will go down when she's older!
I see this as dds passion, no different than a child obsessed with any other hobby, she's not sedentary and is active away from the tech,so I don't worry about that aspect of it. Shes just a geeky nerd like her dad.Smile

SansaClegane · 06/12/2016 22:52

lessthan my DH runs his own IT company, he's even more anti gadgets for kids than me Wink Yes, they can access computers, supervised, but they haven't got their own. I do think it takes away from imaginative free play.

QueenOfTheHighCs · 06/12/2016 22:56

Just a Leap pad for occasional weekend use and 15 mins of tv a night. Absolutely no need for anything else (and no time for it either! )

Passthecake30 · 06/12/2016 22:59

7&8 yr old have an iPad mini each (obsessively used sometimes and then forgotten about othertimes) and a kiddizoom (used rarely). 8yr old has an Xbox but barely used.

mumofthemonsters808 · 06/12/2016 23:05

Ds has a NIntendo Ds, Wiiu, use of an iPad and laptop, but he also spends time riding his bike, playing family board games and playing out with his friends.

SexLubeAndAFishSlice · 06/12/2016 23:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

allowlsthinkalot · 07/12/2016 08:27

A very cheap mp3 player

Family ipad.

That's it.

lessthanBeau · 07/12/2016 11:37

sansa the people who make these gadgets have usually been immersed in them from a young age, so I kind of see it as her"thing" much like the obsessions other children have, she's a born gamer/techie it appeals to something in her nature, she doesn't use the tech the way kids in general use it iykwim, kind of like lots of children like horses but for some its a lifestyle, just because it's a different thing doesn't make it wrong. I held off with tech as long as possible to no avail, and then there is my bil also a gadget man like dh, his dd had ipad from 18 months, but now at nearly 8 barely uses it, babies and dolls are her "thing"
I see some of the stuff dd does with her tech and I'm agog! I can already see this will be where her future lies. Dh was the same from the same age, his dad took him 300 miles to buy his first bespoke pc way back in the 80s.
I do wonder what the next generation of children will be like, all their parents will have been hugely exposed to it, it will be interesting to see how attitude s change or not as the case may be.

Artandco · 07/12/2016 11:48

Less - my Dh works in IT also. That's what makes him say they really don't need gadgets and so much tech so early as they have time to be using daily as adults

Jellybean83 · 07/12/2016 11:55

DS (7) has his own iPad mini, he's only allowed to use it when I'm in earshot though due to his love of YouTube. He has a Wii U in his room and he got an Xbox one for his last birthday. All online access with the two games consuls is password protected, he's only allowed online if DP is in the room Playing with him.

chipsandgin · 07/12/2016 12:00

A very old Wii machine and my old iPod (repackaged and given to him for his 7th birthday).

I can't ever imagine a reason why a 7 year old would need a phone, that is ridiculous, imagine the totally pointless cost of the contract for a start & where is he going to go, into town on his own and give you a bell when he wants picking up!? Phones are for keeping in contact when you are out and about, or in the case of teenagers for social media etc - surely no 7 year old is ever going to be out and about on their own? Very odd that your brother would think it appropriate, presumably he doesn't have kids?