Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Christmas... sorry it's so early...aibu to get my 4 yr old a gaming console for Christmas? 😬

111 replies

Sushi123 · 05/08/2019 23:41

That's pretty much it really...was thinking of Nintendo switch, or preferably something cheaper if anyone has any suggestions...I know pretty much zero about gaming etc

OP posts:
PotteringAlong · 05/08/2019 23:42

Yes, YABU. They are 4. 4.

CalmdownJanet · 05/08/2019 23:44

Total waste surely, they are 4! Nope, not a hope in this house

TovaGoldCoin · 05/08/2019 23:45

Please don't. There's plenty of time for that.... Get them something that won't have them. Glued to the screen for hours. Bikes, scooters, play house, lego, constructio. Kits, small world toys....

Marvinmarvinson · 05/08/2019 23:46

Nah, I wouldn't at his age. There's plenty of time for all that. Get him some toys while he's still young enough to appreciate and enjoy them.

stayathomer · 05/08/2019 23:46

Please don't!! We are slaves to Xbox here, if I could go back and do one thing in life I would never ever have gotten one. It messes with their minds and personalities ( people who think I'm overdramatic Will never understand!) Let them be 4, get something they can properly play with, make or do

Gooigi · 05/08/2019 23:48

They just announced a new cheaper version of the Switch that's handhold only. Or you can probably get a second hand Wii or DS or something cheap as chips, since a four year old won't exactly be bothered about playing the latest games.

Chouetted · 05/08/2019 23:49

Not necessarilly, but at 4, I think I'd suggest a wii.

You can still have some family fun on Mario Party, model responsible gaming, and it won't cost the earth

Wildorchidz · 05/08/2019 23:50

Yes. Yabu. Please don’t pollute your child’s early years with a games console.

Starlight456 · 05/08/2019 23:50

Why do you want one for a four year old ?

So many actual toys you can buy

RubbingHimSourly · 05/08/2019 23:51

Absolutely no way. Kids don't need these things at four.

At a push I'd consider something like a vtech plug and play but in all honesty kids at that age should be playing. There's plenty of time to be wasting away like a zombie in the teen years. Don't introduce it now.

wonderingsoul · 05/08/2019 23:51

Nope. Not because I think their bad. There not.

But he's 4, theres plenty if time for consoles and so very little time for them to play with toys

Chouetted · 05/08/2019 23:52

By the way, at 4, if you buy your kid a games console, you should be playing with them, or alongside them. It's not a babysitting device.

You'll have to become a gamer, whether you want to or not. It's the responsible thing to do.

Falafel19 · 05/08/2019 23:53

I have a 4.5 year old, I absolutely would not be getting him a console for Christmas, no way in hell. A waste, and just asking for him to sit still being lazy, far too young.

Mummyshark2019 · 05/08/2019 23:54

Good lord no! I hate games consoles. Such a way to pollute young brains. Mine is 7 and I still won't get him one. He has access to a tablet with a few games but that is it. So hard getting kids to be kids and play and pick up a book.

OldGreyBoots · 05/08/2019 23:54

YAB so U. At 4, it would be entirely wasted on them, and I can't imagine getting your child started on video games so early would be doing them much good. And I say this as an avid gamer!

WatcherintheRye · 05/08/2019 23:57

As pp's have said - from bitter experience of how addictive gaming can become, please put off getting any games consoles for as long as you possibly can.

StillMedusa · 06/08/2019 00:01

Just no. Honestly. No.
4 year olds still have imaginations and curiosity about the world. He/She will undoubtedly be glued to a console in their teen years but no 4 year old should have one.
None of my 4 had a console of any kind before they were 10..and then only a wii with daft games. As a result... I managed 4 teens who have never been addicted to games. Only my youngest who is autistic, plays anything regularly..and they are Harry Potter Lego and Spiro...nothing unpleasant!
4 year olds need lego, scooters, a bike, their first skates . Not gaming kit.

gamerchick · 06/08/2019 00:06

I actually wouldn't get a 4 yr old a switch, they're more fragile than you think. There's a new version coming out that might suit but I haven't looked into it. Wiis are cheap enough now, if you can get a balance board and Wii fit games they can be a lot of fun.

You'll never get a sensible reply from those who sniff at games consoles though (but tablets are ok) Grin if you want to get one then get one, they aren't the devil incarnate.

TheJoxter · 06/08/2019 00:10

YABVU. Even my 7 year old isn’t allowed a games console yet, probably not til he’s at least 10 (if ever).

Chouetted · 06/08/2019 00:11

I met a couple young kids once who were really into Wii Fit Grin

They enjoyed pretending to meditate, and virtual jogging on the balance board.

It's not exactly my cup of tea, I'm much too lazy, but I can't see why any of that polluted their childhood or stunted their imagination.

ScotsinOz · 06/08/2019 06:03

No, I would not buy a four year old a games console. My parents have a Wii and they use the Wii fit, so sometimes my two will jump on my parents Wii fit and play the sports games or challenge each other in the running, but not a lot and definitely not every visit. My children prefer to play outside games or imagination games (cafe, shops, America’s Got Talent etc). I also have a Wii (bought a couple of years before my children arrived), but I’ve never set it up since we had the children as I didn’t want them to get addicted.

My husband has an Xbox and a PS4 in his office, but they are rarely used (and the children have never been on either console as you don’t touch what’s in Mum or Dad’s offices), though I wouldn’t mind busting out Guitar Hero and letting the children play that (mainly because I’m awesome at it 😁).

I would suggest something active - trampoline, totem tennis pole, basketball ring etc. The best $12 I spent on the children was a totem tennis set (the pole with the ball on a string, which you hit and it spins around, comes with two bats). 5 years on and they still love it (as do I).

Yogurtcoveredricecake · 06/08/2019 06:31

That would be ridiculous. Get them some Lego or a bike.

MzHz · 06/08/2019 06:33

Good god no! Even at 8 it’s a mistake! Thats all they want to do! He’ll wake up wanting to go on it, then you worry about wtf they are playing- most of the games are above their age group

Kick that can as far as you can down the road!

AlwaysCheddar · 06/08/2019 06:40

No way!!! Get toys!

user1480880826 · 06/08/2019 06:41

YABVU