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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be shocked and think 5 is far too young to own your own DS!

77 replies

laweaselmys · 14/08/2008 15:26

Maybe I'm just being old fashioned. But they cost so much money, and that's before you even get the games etc!

Purely from the money PoV, I was so surprised at how many of the 5 and 6 year old kids I was looking after had today had them.

From a being old-fashioned PoV it seemed so boring that they'd gone away to a different place and they were still playing computer games. I know teenagers do this all the time, but it seemed so unimaginative for five year olds to have to stick to the computer game rules all the time.

On the other hand I met some really sweet kids! I forgot how much energy little kids can have.

OP posts:
prettybird · 14/08/2008 16:14

Ds got his age 6.5. He mostly uses if for travelling - which was why we got it.

Most of the time he prefers to play football for real, rather than play it on the ds (or on the XBox) so I am not worried that he is turning into a square eyes.

palaver · 14/08/2008 16:19

In answer to the OP, 5 is a perfectly reasonable age IMHO

becklespeckle · 14/08/2008 16:21

My 5 year old has one. I thought he was too young but when his 8yo brother got one for Christmas he really wanted one, DH overulled me and so he got one for his birthday.

After the initial play-it-all-the-time it is now played regularly but not too much. Hasn't curbed his imagination either, today they have played at being dogs, Jenga, architects (with the Jenga blocks), played in the garden and are now making stickers. DSs are fab for car journeys, waiting rooms and other places where DCs will generally go bananas!

RubyRioja · 14/08/2008 16:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

misdee · 14/08/2008 16:26

YABU

dd1 has had one since she is 5. dd2 has had one since the xmas after her 4th birthday. dd3 wants one, she will get one when she is 4 or 5, depends on money situation at the time. she also uses pictochat bit on it to draw pictures, and plays on the nintendogs as well.

dd2 is far more into it than the others, so we do put her and the rest of them on tgime limits to play it. she would play it all day. but then she would be on the pc or wii all day as its something she really enjoys doing. she reminds me of teenage boys and their toys lol. the other two dd's take them or leave them.

tghe ds' have been invaluable with the amount of time dd's spend in hospityals and waiting for appointments for others.

Gingerbear · 14/08/2008 16:27

DS is a livesaver at the airport. On the plane, DD and a little boy in the row in front of us used pictochat for over 2 hours, much to the relief of his mum and me!

She played with it non-stop at Christmas, but as the novelty has worn off, she uses it now and again. I am glad, as I am eye-ing up a new game for me to play.

CountessDracula · 14/08/2008 16:29

YANBU
I will resist these things for as long as I can

I much prefer hearing dd teaching her animals at school or going on a spacerocket to the moon than sitting like a zombie playing a DS

muggglewump · 14/08/2008 16:30

If I can afford it, DD will be getting one for Christmas age 7.4. I've said no since her 6th birthday.
I did want to wait until she was a bit older but really financial reasons have played a bigger part in her not having one yet

oldnewmummy · 14/08/2008 16:30

Just to show old and out of date I am, I thought your son was going to "own" a son. Was very confused

Peachy · 14/08/2008 16:32

ds2 had a game boy at 5 now has a quarter share in the family Wii (I didnt want a share, boring things and my eyesight isn't up to it these days sadly)

f you monitor it and remove it if needed, they're OK imo.

lyrasilver · 14/08/2008 16:33

My ds1 got his first gameboy at around 5 and has progressed up to the ds over the years , ds2 played with his brothers castoffs until he got his own ds and the lo will sit with the ds on his knee playing, so I guess it wont be long until he does actually play it! However all 3 of them play out doors as much as possible and spend more time playing as a family on the wii than they do on the ds. As long as the games are suitable for the age of the child I dont have a problem with it.

muggglewump · 14/08/2008 16:36

Oh DD has a leapster though. She doesn't play on it that much mainly because I limit the batteries
I'm a proper mean old cow of a Mum!

UnquietDad · 14/08/2008 16:41

All these different sorts of DS on here could get very confusing.

Ashantai · 14/08/2008 16:45

5 is probably a bit too old now , my son used to muck about with the buttons on my daughters ds just to hear the diffent sounds.

But now at 5 he is an established thumb twidler and the front room echoes with "YESSSSS" or "NOOOO, I WAS PRESSING IT!!! ITS NOT FAIR!!", which at that point i suggest he puts it down now and play with something else (before he throws it across the room)

Love2bake · 14/08/2008 17:07

My son got a DS for his 4th Bday, because he had been playing his older brothers since he was 3.

I don't see anything wrong with it. He does not play it in excess and he does all the other stuff kids do.

They are great for trips in the car and restaurants.

AtheneNoctua · 14/08/2008 17:09

I think I'm with the OP. And I am very surprised that in a thread of 65 messages I am only the second person to say so. DD is 5. She see the nice pink ones and JL and says "I wish I had one of those" and I say "Forget it". She has a leapster, but it is restricted more to educational games.

The thing I don't like about Nintendo is that while they do have some games that I would consider appropriate for a 5 year old, they also have lots of games I would not. And, you can't really stop those inappropriate one's from sneaking into the collection unnoticed because one of her friend will have an older brother/frien/whmever who has it.

I think 5 is too young. When her friends are all punching into a DS on the bus, I'll let her have one. But until then, she can make do with dance, tennis, and good old fashioned books. Actually, she does have access to a computer. I am quite happy for her to use that.

Peachy · 14/08/2008 17:17

'. And, you can't really stop those inappropriate one's from sneaking into the collection unnoticed because one of her friend will have an older brother/frien/whmever who has it. '

Yes you can

We only allow ds's to play games we chose, they dont take the ds out without us. Why wpuld they? you cant expect a childnthat age to look after it properly

games we buy are checked out carefully, first by DH on review sites etc, then I veto 90% of his choices because I am The Games Police

AtheneNoctua · 14/08/2008 17:24

I don't think I can really fullfill the role of games poolice while I'm at work. And what if DD is over at friends house? I just don't think I have this level of control in reality.

Certainly won't hurt her to wat a couple of years.

And I said before, when most of her friends have one, I'll give in. Until then, I might send her round to play with CD's daughter who also won't have a DS. Seems we might be the only ones.

Peachy · 14/08/2008 17:30

it's totally your choice what you do Athena, I seriously doubt I ahve much more time than you (SAHM but carer for 2 disabled kids and 2 others, so fairly busy) but we all choose the way of raising our kids we prefer, as longa s you put thought into it's likely to be the right decision for each of us I honestly believe. My ds2 probably spends an awful lot more time alone than yours (can't ahev friends round due to the sn issues) so its great for him.

AtheneNoctua · 14/08/2008 17:36

"My ds2 probably spends an awful lot more time alone than yours (can't ahev friends round due to the sn issues) so its great for him. "

Oh, I'm sorry. That's really sad.

Chandra · 14/08/2008 17:42

..I don't even know what a DS is... I rest my case.

AtheneNoctua · 14/08/2008 17:45

Nintendo DS Lite

prettybird · 14/08/2008 18:02

Actually ds only rarely plays with friends - he/they don't take it out that often (we don't let him as it is a valauable piece of kit). He really deos just use it when we are travelling - and occasionally when we are out for ameal, to get out out if/when he gets bored.

We do vet the games and he doesn't have any friends with older brothers, so the risk of exposure to unsuitable games is limited - espcailly as we are always there if he has the ds with him.

He's actually shown great imagination on his ds - designing a special strip for his onw made-up team. He has also learnt the flags of the countries around the world via his FIFA 07 game.

And before anyone comments - he has also designed (and made) real home and away strips for "his" team (called Best MV - who play Recsical in league and championship games ???? ) I might not have been happy about him drawing on "plain" Tshirts - but he has shown great imagination. Did I say he was football mad!

Peachy · 14/08/2008 19:16

it is athena, but I promise we ensure he goes out to activities often- we did try to get him on a ss scheme but there was no place

bergentulip · 14/08/2008 19:23

I'm old fashioned too. Also thought the OP was talking about a 5yr old owning another child....(!)

Also oldfashioned because I do not want any tvs/ video games / computers in my boys' rooms until they are well into their teens. I know children need computers for school work more and more- but this does not mean that it has to be linked up to the internet. All interent usage can be in the living room where the family computer is.
!!

5yrs is FAR too young to have your own one of these things imo.