Is my DS the only 6 year old in the UK

[nappyaddict]

Without access to a laptop, PC, ipad, tablet, itouch, ipod, nintendo DS, wii, xbox, leapster, leappad or playstation?

Because it seems that way! Am I depriving him?

OP, my mum works at our local library and its all very well saying that you reserve books but you can only do that if the books are in county stock, which most non fictions arent anymore. In our county the vast majority are fiction. My mums library stock is now less than 1/10th of what it was 10 years ago, the space has been given over to PCs.

You will find that internet access is assumed when it comes to homework as they get older, so starting him now on educational based stuff will help him.

The 11year is going to have to start using the Internet if they are starting secondary school, otherwise they will be at a huge disadvantage.

what exotic said my ds1 is at high school and ALL his maths homework for example is online, and lots of his homework involves research he needs the internet for.

my little ones dont use the pc ie the 4 and 19mths old, the 7yr old goes on occasionaly, but the 10yr old (just going into yr 6) needs it for homework tho not loads. the 12yr old needs it a lot.

have to say not using at say 3-6yrs of age didnt impact our elder ones, they were def 8plus hwen they started using it, if not older and they are now both great, ds1 inparticular is getting level 7's for ict at school and is top of his year and helps teach other students, he didnt use the pc until he was 9yrs old, so it hasnt disadvantaged him in any way.

its a learning too like any other that is useful when younger, essential at high school age tho! and has to be in moderation with everything else.

thinking about it all childrne at my kids primary have a log in from reception upwards, they dont have to use it for the first few years but it is encouraged and i would say y5/6 they start to need to use it for homework, particularly maths.

(all the schools i know provide access if children dont have a pc at home, ds1 often chooses to stay and use the school library and pcs after school to do his homework, i can then log on and check it myself!)

exotic is right, and not just educationally but socially too. That doesnt mean getting them on FB but surfing the right sites to find about the latest teen crush/best footballer (depending on gender) etc.

You might well find that within a couple of weeks of starting senior school your 11 year old will be wanting to know why they cant go on the internet.

Why are people so proud of denying their children access to one of the wonders of the 21st century? I suppose it's a bit like people who thought trains went so fast they were dangerous to travel on, or that cars should have a man with a red flag walking on front of them.

Because they spend time as a family, so they dont need TV or internet!

Until DD throws a mega fit because she is only girl in her class who doesnt know who Justin Bollockbrain is!

It is perfectly possible to do both!

Yep, that's what I mean. They spend time as an family. Unlike the rest of us, who seal our children into their internet helmets every mooring and feed them on protein pills.

The family is all important while the DC is young but as they get older friends become increasingly important - it seems unfair to deny them a chance to fit in.

Will she get to do it if she throws the mega fit?

It can actually contribute to alienation of teens from the family and less tendency to confide in parents or trust them when you create too wide a division between your children and their peers, no matter what area that division crops up in.

Well after math's post, I hope so exotic

I would agree maths.

Children will never self regulate if the parent does it for them. They need to be taught to be responsible users.

i think they key word there is OVERUSE and i think everyone on this thread has mentioned making sure they dont have too much screen time nad its a case of a getting the balance, yes overuse can be dangerous as exotic says they need to be taught to be responsible users.

"There is a conflict between multitasking and sustained attention. These things cannot and should not be developed at the same time. Sustained attention must be the building block.

This seems to be one of the main planks of his argument -- but what if a child is able to give sustained attention to whatever screen she is looking at? I took care of a child who would not sit through a short picture book and after five minutes of Barney got up and moved on. She wouldn't or couldn't do much more than 5 to 10 minutes of anything at age 3 when I knew her. School was hard for her when she first went.

It is up to teachers to hop sternly on plagiarism when they come across it, and it is actually much easier to find it using google than it used to be when teachers had to sort through reference books. The blame for children getting away with plagiarism lies firmly with teachers who are (1) not clued up enough to recognise a writing style that is different from what the child normally presents and (2) not putting the fear of god crossways in their students about lifting others' work.

And the poor grammar and studying skills teachers again. There has never been any shortage of distracting things where teens and study are concerned. Back in my day it was tv and even radio (am oldddddd) and going out with friends. My mother went to boarding school and had a completely regimented teenage experience back in the day when there was actually nothing but the radio, which students weren't allowed to listen to. The only way to ensure no distractions is to close people up in a convent (although my youngest aunt gave the lie to that statement no walls could keep her in ).

I doubt if the standards of students entering top universities are any poorer for those students now being admitted than they were in the years before the majority were exposed to the PC and personal electronics.

Complaints about feckless and illiterate young people are nothing new, with all sorts of distractions blamed.

CharlotteWasBoth How old was your eldest DC when she started using the PC? Is she going into year 7 September?

My ds is nearly 7 and has none of those things. He does have access to my very broken laptop, but uses it quite rarely (they do have some school stuff on there, reading etc).

I don't really know why you are asking, just do want you want and I am sure it will be fine.
Mine had Nintendo DS's when they were young and just loved them. I did restrict time when they were young. They are now older teens, all read a lot for pleasure, play board games and play sport. They have had hours and hours of fun on their DS's and on the other game systems we bought when they were older. There is a huge difference between a DC hibernating alone in his bedroom transfixed to the computer trying to kill zombies and a group of siblings laughing together playing Mariocart or whatever.

CharlotteWasBoth Had she already turned 11 when she started using it or was it before she had her birthday?

When do you think you would get her something like a games console/mp3 player/mobile phone?

Does she have a digital camera?