Really struggling with tech for 7 year old

[Gonesocoldsosuddenly]

Dd doesn’t have any tech-no tablet, phone etc. We’ve managed to get away without it until now, but now two of her friends have phones 🙄 and she wants to ask santa for a phone, I’ve told her that he won’t bring one as 7 is too young..way too young
We allow Dd to play games on our phones occasionally, under our supervision, but she’s asking more and more.
Do I have to give in and get her a safe tablet with just a few games on? Is that better than using our phones to play games?
I’d rather she didn’t have any, but it’s getting harder and harder to say no.

What tech do you have for your child (if any) and what age are they? What would I be best doing? What rules do you have/how often can they use them?

My DC played Minecraft from about 7-8. But we limit it to a few hours per week.

As you've discovered, tech is a one way street- very hard to go back once you've allowed something. So resist as long as you can. 7 is crazy young- my kids got phones at 11 and I regret that and wish we had waited longer.

Not even a basic games console

Why please?

But should i stop letting her play on our phones?

I would go for a gaming console rather than let them use a phone. Our eldest is 7. All of his cousins around a similar age have their own phones and have accounts on social media platforms like tiktok and Snapchat. There have been endless problems for them in that department. They also seem to have lost their childhood and can't be anywhere without their phone. My son has asked, and we simply say no. He sometimes uses our phones to take pictures when we are out for the day. But he does love his switch. We've bought games like pokemon, just dance, Mario and so on. We also have a strict boundary on YouTube.

It is hard to balance screen time, but having access to something to play games on was a think when I was a child and loved nintendogs🤣
My son has this coding game on his switch now, too, and it's been marvellous for his creativity and ability to read and follow instructions.

No. Say no. Tell her Santa doesn’t bring phones and if Santa is bring her friend a phone then it’s the parents pretending. When our DS was that age and desperate for a puppy his friend got a puppy ‘from Santa’.
we told him the parents did it, and he stilled believed!

As a parent of teens DO NOT give your child a phone or an iPad or access to the internet until they are 12/13 at least!
Parent. It’s not a phone it’s the whole internet with everything that is in their hands. Are you prepared for your child to see pornography yet? If the answer is no, she doesn’t need a phone.

Our teens still don’t have social media at 13 & 15 and trust me in this, are much happier for it. T

So no tablet, gaming device even? Should I stop the occasional games on our phones?

Get a Switch. And make sure it’s not online so she can play but not access YouTube, the internet etc

Yes, because you're driving the desire.

Just say no, if she asks why say you've read screen time isn't healthy for kids.

8 yr old has
Ipad - watches TV on there mainly iplayer- newsround and blue Peter. Also plays games under supervision
Switch 1/2 - mariocart and minecraft

No YouTube and nothing that allows connectivity with other people.

More and more kids in their class have phones, play roblox etc. Each to their own

I think it’s preferable for her to play on your phones and hold the line on her own tech. If it’s gifted and it’s hers then there is the sense of ownership. Much better to occasionally access yours and to have your control/permission around it

Yes, I would. When does she play games on your phone? In a cafe or restaurant? Take games, colouring, let her get bored, talk to her, involve her.
Travelling? Play games, get her a magazine, let her look around at her surroundings.

Because if you give them a phone for games they will learn that phones can also be used for games so when they ask for a phone it is harder for you to say no.

In my opinion games should be played on proper games consoles (tablets, switch, playstation etc) then it teaches kids to ask for those sort of things instead of a phone, as in our house phones are really boring for text and phone calls only

I think 7 is a fine age to introduce tech in the form of a switch or similar with safe offline games. My 7yo DD plays pokemon on my partner’s switch, or will sometimes play Minecraft or puzzle type games on the Xbox. She does have a tablet which was a gift from someone else, I find the games you get on tablets sometimes a bit brainrot-esque which we don’t allow but you can also get great educational games. She plays a maths game on the tablet and now she’s excelling in maths at school. She also loves playing outside, sports, crafts, reading etc, so I don’t see a problem allowing a small amount of tech into her life.

Do you have to purchase the games? They don’t come with it? They’re so expensive 😔
There’s no way she’s having a phone until she’s 16 maybe!

I personally despise games on phones/tablets. They are full of adverts. I much prefer my kids playing games on switch/xbox. I can then properly choose and research the game.

It’s not a phone, there’s no way she’s getting a phone or internet access

I saw a 2/3year old in the supermarket in a phone being pushed around in the trolley. When does that kid get to experience the world, ‘help’ with shopping, learn how things work?
I saw another one - young enough to be in a buggy- being pushed along the sea front with an iPad on a holder in front of it, watching cartoons. At the beach! I mean come on.
what the fuck are we doing to our children?
ruining their eyesight and attention spans for starters…
And please don’t tell me they probably had SEN etc because we all know that if every child we saw on screens in public had SEN that would be 2 thirds of kids right now…

No, never when out, just sometimes after dinner when relaxing at home, usually after a busy day being out, in nature, playing with friends etc

It’s shouldn’t be hard to say no to a 7 year old. It’s just a no. It’s not happening and it’s not up for discussion.
Our kids quite like that we’re the parents that say no because it takes the pressure off them and they get to blame us for things they do t really want to be a part of anyway.

Why? You’re just creating the want for it for no reason. She’ll go off and do something else.

Stop letting her play games on your phones, just take it out of the equation. Kids will keep wanting more and more. You just have to say no and stick to it. I say this as a mum of a phone free nearly 13 year old DD. Trust me, holding off tech is the right choice.

Hold out. Say no. Say the games have stopped working on your phone.

We are no phones until secondary school - if we can last longer we will.

Our 8 year old has access to a switch and an iPad. They are both locked down and have screen time limits. They can only access Disney or Netflixs during the week then they have access to kids YouTube and the switch on weekends as a reward system.