Am I depriving my son? Games console related!

[BrianMolkoismyPlacebo]

My ds is 7. He has a tablet which is he watches netflix and youtube on.
He plays a handful of games on it, lego star wars & minecraft mainly.

He love his tablet and hasn't asked for anything else.

He was ata friends house yesterday, he has a ps3 & a ps4. They spent most of their time playing minecraft and lego dimensions on it. My ds struggled as he's never played one before. His friend was a wizz!
It turns out that atleast 6 of ds friends have a ps or xbox of some sort, and obviosuly when they go round to eachother's houses this is what they mainly play on.

Is a games console a normal typical toy for a 7yr old? Should I be thinking of buying him one for christmas? Or is it a slippery slope?

[jennymac]

I don't think so. My ds (8) has a tablet and his addiction to it is the reason why we have said that he won't be getting an xbox until he is at least 11. He isn't allowed his tablet at all during the week but would be up early on a Sat morning to use it and gets cross when we tell him that he has to put it away for a while and do something else. I just think if he had an xbox it would cause countless rows at the weekend while we try to drag him away from it to do something else. Plus, I suppose it's a personal thing but I hate consoles and seeing kids spend hours on them drives me crazy!

[TheWildRumpyPumpus]

Most children we know have access to a family console, I only know a couple who have them in their bedrooms (I wouldn't do this for my children as they'd end up sat independently in their own rooms rather than playing together).

You can get plenty of child friendly games and set time limits on when they can play.

[autumnintheair]

Loving the post saying "ours is deprived we dont have anything EXCEPT the old family console"

we have Lap tops, last year DD 8 got a samsung tablet - dd 3 got a kindle fire we have NO consoles at all - not even old family ones!

Nothing. This year we have decided to get up dated and get an xbox one. Not for any peer pressure just because we want one, have never ever had anything like this. Dh is looking forward to it - as am I
We are looking at xbox one bundle with kinnect and mix of games I am hoping we can all play.
The thing is - Tech is the now and future, its worth in my opinion going with it and letting them become savvy on it.

[IminaPickle]

It's normal, but not compulsory! Hold off for as long as you can.

[WeAllHaveWings]

ds(12) got Xbox 360 at 9, which seemed right, but most of his friends didn't have one either and when they went to each others houses they still played out.

He only got his console in his bedroom last year and we haven't seen him since

[Shemozzle]

I definitely don't think everyone has them at only 7. I wouldn't go down that road until they were asking consistently. My 9 year old dd has a kindle Fire which she got last year and she is completely obsessed with Minecraft but she only plays it on a console and other games when she is at relatives usually on weekends. She hasn't thought to ask for her own console but there is no way I'd say yes, it would mean a TV in her room too.

[NotWeavingButDarning]

My DS is almost 9 - he just has a tablet (my old one). He plays a couple of games on it and watches CBBC.

He doesn't really ask about consoles, but we don't have a TV, so he couldn't use one anyway. Even if we did have a telly he knows I hate consoles and wouldn't get him one. He doesn't seem at all bothered.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Ds has one at that age but it was a family one downstairs until he was 12 and then had it in his room.

[Emberfirefly]

I think it's normal at that age particularly if they have older siblings that have one already - my eldest ds didn't get an Xbox until he was 10, up until then he had a Nintendo ds. My 6 year old is a whizz at the Xbox as he has been playing games like FIFA and Disney infinity and the Lego games for about the last 18 months. There are plenty of kids in his class that don't have one yet.

[DeleteOrDecay]

Our dc are a bit young but we do own a PS4, its currently mine and dp's but as the dc get older and show an interest in it or any future consoles we may own it will become a 'family' console in the living room and will belong to all of us and they will have their own age appropriate games to play on it. Me and dp are gamers anyway so that set up will work for us.

[Pancakeflipper]

Problem I find with the Xbox etc is the lack of games for children under 12 and stuff to play together on it.

Now our old knackered wii has given us many years of fun with Mario Kart

[TheFallenMadonna]

DS bought his own second hand PS3 aged 14. I think he was mildly unusual, but by no means a social pariah.

[WhatWouldTheDoctorDo]

We have a family wii u. DS plays Lego dimensions and skylanders on it. He usually plays on it an hour or so at weekends really. He loves both games though.

[unicornsarenotjustforchristmas]

Yeah my 7yr old has one. TBH, if I was still a single parent he wouldn't. But dh bought them for 'the family' and we now have a ps2,PS3,PS4 and a wiiU. They drive me nuts but the kids love them!
They are only allowed them on Friday after school (and Saturday and Sunday afternoons if we aren't doing anything)

[BrianMolkoismyPlacebo]

Thanks everyone.
When I said deprived I meant of an everyday item for his age. Like a bike. Not deprived in life.

My dh is dead set against them, he still struggles with the fact that ds has a tablet despite him only using it on weekends and holidays. Dh would rather it only be used for long car journeys.

I'm not too bothered about games consoles. But I would definately put a restriction on use.

Ds hasn't really asked for one. It just occurred to me that maybe he should.

I'm going to hold off until he mithers.

[Turnbacktime101]

My DS (6.45 as he keeps reminding me) has no access to console and we strictly limit iPad time. He's not played minecraft etc yet

I think it's one of those all or nothing things, once they start playing that's it - you're into limiting time spent on them (certainly will be with my son)

I love the idea of maths sheets to earn games time. Defiantly going to use that one

[ChilliMum]

We have 1 but it's a shared one and lives in the living room. No tvs etc upstairs so the kids have to ask.
I have no idea which one it is but it's a godsend on rainy days. We have 1 with a sensor and sports / dance game and it's great for burning energy when they can't play out. We have no games that require using the hand held controller.

[linandleo]

My son is 8 and doesn't have one. He has a kindle fire and access to our tablets/laptops if he needs them. His has tight controls on his kindle so browsing the internet isn't easy and there are things (DanTsoddingDM) he wants to watch on youtube from time to time.

We recently agreed with him that 10 was a suitable age for a games console. I know many of his friends have one and that's fine but it's not how we do things. :) He'd like one but doesn't seem to feel terribly hard done by.

[allegretto]

My kids are 12 and 6 and we don't have any games consoles in the house as I hate them! I don't think they're that deprived.

[dudleymcdudley]

Yes I think it probably is about that age lots of kids get into gaming.

Most of my dss friends have some sort of console, a few don't, it doesn't seem an issue, the ones who don't play pc/tablet games and hone their console skills at friend's houses.

We do have an Xbox 360 and PS4 because my 2 older dss used their savings plus xmas/birthday presents to get them.

We were really worried that it was a slippery slope but so far (my dss are 7 and 10) they mostly play minecraft and FIFA and it's all very innocent and constructive and involves a lot of teamwork and bonding so has actually been a positive thing.

[Kerberos]

It's up to you to decide. We have family games consoles which belong to DP and I. The children have free rein most of the time and will usually make sensible choices.

If you do decide to buy one it's worth putting in the lounge where everyone can play - plus it's easier to monitor usage. There are lots of games available for younger players and you can set up their own accounts which have access controls over what they do.

My view would be to ask his friends what they all play so he can play with them.

[AmberEars]

My DC are 7, 9 and 11. We have a family laptop and a family iPad but no games consoles. My DC definitely aren't the only ones in their classes without one.

It's up to you, OP.

[Artandco]

My son is nearly 7. He has no tablet. We also have no tv at home so no games console either. He doesn't seem deprived to me.

[Chattymummyhere]

My son got an Xbox 360 for his 7th birthday but it has to stay in the Livingroom. We are looking to upgrade to a one on his birthday next year. The children also have a shared iPad and pc. I think most children have these things now although not deprived it will be harder for him when at friends if he doesn't know how to play them and when they are all talking about their games/apps.

There is a girl in my sons year who has no tv at home at all in their house, every time she goes to a friends house all she asks for is to watch tv, the children without consoles tend to do the same to get their fix so to speak.