DD1 has asked for a laptop for Christmas!

[2sugars]

She's only 9. Before I waste time going over the rights and wrongs of it in my head, is it possible to have more than wireless connection in a house? What else do you think I would need to bear in mind? Would you let her? I haven't looked at how expensive some of the more basic ones are yet, but what do you think the minimum requirements should be.

She did say (ha ha ha) 'just that Mummy, nothing else'. Or am I making a rod for my own back and should I start saving now to take her and six of her friends on a skiiing trip next year???

currys or comet do a kids laptop, its about £350 i think

But would you go there? Not comet, but you know what I mean.

sorry its pc world

Give a 9-year-old a laptop? I wouldn't. Was that what you were asking posters to comment on?

i dont know my dd is 4 and ds only 2, but if they were 9 probably, dd can use mine for playing games but i'm always here watching, i dont really know about the parental control but will probably have to look into at some point

Yes, you can have more than one wireless connection in a house. We can have 4 on our router.

My DH got me a reconditioned one from ebay last year which is great and I think it cost considerably less than it would have done in the shops. It came with a guarantee and I use it daily and it has been pretty good so far.

Yes, NKF, just trying to get my head round it. I'm uncomfortable with it, but I don't know why. And financially it may be out of the question anyway.

Well, I'm sure some parents would and some wouldn't. How unhelpful is that? Sorry.

Technically, there is no problem with adding it onto your wireless router.

As for whether you get one or not, it may be an issue of would you like another computer in the house? As children get older, they need to use the computer more and more for school. Have you got to the stage where you are fighting for computer time?

There are a lot of advantages of having a laptop rather than a PC - they can be put away when you are not using it, and used around the house.

You would need to set the rules as to where and when your DD were to use it, where it is stored when not in use etc.

Putting aside the financial bit as some people wouldn't flinch at that for one child, whereas other people probably spend less than that on all the presents they buy, for everyone, I wouldn't be comfortable buying a laptop for a child. I'm reasonably happy with my DCs using the PC/Internet (DS1 is 9) but only because it's in the living room and supervised. I can't see why a 9YO would need their own PC anyway tbh, what does she want to do with it?

We're just looking around for DD, she's 12 and just started secondary school, so as Scienceteacher, she needs the pc more and tbh, its interferring with my MN time! There's lots of deals online, if you look. I found a discount site, which had some really good deals for less than £200. All guaranteed and money back etc.

Personally, I would probably say, save that until she really needs it. She is still quite little. DD has been asking for about 3 years and she's even started a laptop fund!

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Maybe not get it as a present for your dd. Get one as an additional pc for the family which your dd could use if necessary.