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Parenting

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Original poster

Is my DS the only 6 yr old without a ...

186 replies

pipo · 30/01/2011 12:36

DS?
He has asked for one for his 6th birhtday next month. he assures me that EVERYONE in his class has got one. is anyone else's dc as deprived as mine? i'm not even sure why i'm not keen for him to have one - it just seems a grown-up sort of toy when i want him to play with lego, go to the park and be bored enough to make up his own little games still. has anyone else successfully got away with not getting one?

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busyboysmum · 30/01/2011 21:57

My boys (6 & 8) got them a couple of years ago but we have always limited their use to weekends and long journeys where they are invaluable.

After the initial excitement, they have only really been used in the car - mine are obsessed with lego and castles and battles at the moment so I wouldn't worry too much.

hellymelly · 30/01/2011 21:58

My dd is six (only just) and she doesn't have one.In fact she's never even seen one.

HarrietSchulenberg · 30/01/2011 22:07

Ds1 is 10 and was given a second hand one just before Christmas. He played with it constantly for about a month then hasn't touched it since. He's too busy getting his fix from Club Penguin.
Other dses (8 and 3) aren't interested.

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Acinonyx · 30/01/2011 22:16

hellymelly - same here. Dd is going on 6 and doesn't know what a DS is. I haven't seen any of her friends with one either .

lovemysleep · 30/01/2011 22:23

DD is 5 - doesn't have one, but uses her dads, and has some games to use on his.

They are a godsend for car journeys, and dare I say it, buy us some relaxing time when eating out

DottyDot · 30/01/2011 22:28

Ds's (9 and 6) haven't got them but they're in the minority amongst their friends. Every now and then we get grumbles about it, but as we can't afford them, it's just tough!

Gubbins · 30/01/2011 23:11

Mine(4 & 6) dont have DSs, nor have asked for them. A few of my elder daughter's friends have got them but she doesn't see to be at all interested. I don't think she'd even consider asking for one, it's all about craft stuff for her.

We have no Wii or any other consoles either, but the four year old likes playing CBeebies games on the PC. Both of them have proved absolutely useless at Wii games when we've tried them at friends houses, but they're both pretty good at (real life) tennis so I have no real issues with their hand-eye coordination. I think lack of wii skills demonstrates nothing other than the fact that you haven't played with a wii much.

My main problem with the DS is the price. We're not skint, but the only present I could consider spending that much money on until they're teenagers would be a bike, and I certainly would be disapointed if they didn't get a hell of a lot more use out of a bike than a console.

Clary · 30/01/2011 23:34

All my 3 have one, DS1 on his 10th birthday (not bothered before), DD at 7.5, DS2 on 7th birthday as he was "only one in class" not to have one (suspect this may have been true, at least among his close pals - most got one about 6-7yo).

Yes, agree it's an expensive toy, they were the only gift from us and also came from Gran and Grandma. For this reason (ad also reading of games etc) not my choice for a 3-4yo.

But y'know, it is just another toy. This weekend DS2 has played footie for two hours (training and match), walked about 10 miles in total (to and from a footie match he watched with DH, and with SiL's dog), cycled to training, done hgis maths homework and AFAIK not played with the DS at all. We've not "lost him to technology" just yet

steppemum · 30/01/2011 23:52

my ds is 8 and constantly begs for one. We just don't think it is really necessary. He has games on the family computer, and a time limit on that and it is a battle to keep to the time limit. I am putting it off as long as possible as I know he will either play it constantly or it will be a constant battle ground.

Clary · 30/01/2011 23:57

as far as the essential skill of reading goes btw, my best reader is DD, she reads anything and everything, and she got the DS first...

DS1 meanwhile who wasn't bothered till he was 10 is a pretty poor reader, not keen and not great. All of which is entirely unrelated to DS-usage or not IMHO. DD could and did read before she was 7, DS1 had already failed to get the bug by the age of 10...

isitmidnightalready · 31/01/2011 00:30

DD's had to save up for one and bought it together aged 8 & 10. They play with it intensively for a while and then it goews away for months. Braintrainer's Germbuster for long hours did serious damage to my eyes, but then I am an obsessive can't be beaten type. They seem to be more relaxed about it. Do consider it to be useful and keeps them away from the internet and the horrors that lurk within.

ben5 · 31/01/2011 00:57

ds1 is 7 and he hsn't got one, although quite alot of his friends have one. he isn't that fussed as he has things they don't and he was given the choice for his 7th birthday of ds or surfing lessons. he choose surfing lessons.

dotty2 · 31/01/2011 09:44

DD1 (5.8) got one for Christmas. She was desperate for one, and had asked for one last year as well. I bought it partly because her friends had them, but more for the joy of giving her something she really, really wanted. I wasn't going to get her one and had been laying on the 'Santa doesn't bring you everything you want' line really thick. So thick that, when people asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she would look all downcast and miserable and refuse to answer. I cracked.

She has hardly played with it, and mostly likes the camera feature. Fortunately money was not too tight this year, so I am on the whole quite pleased with this result, oddly enough. It cost about the same as last year's dolls house, which she has also hardly played with.

But as to DS - good or bad? They're just a media platform, surely. It's like saying TV or the written word, or computers are good or bad. It all depends on how you use them.

preghead · 31/01/2011 09:57

Am fairly neutral on all this and am going down the controlled usage route with my just 6y old, he would be on it all day otherwise, but I have to say I have noticed his reading coming on a lot since he got it as he wants to read stufnin the games and really tries ( also road signs, menus etc ) may have happened anyway but it certainly hasn't harmed his schoolwork as yet ( he's just 6 y1 level 6 ORT ). I do think they would struggle a bit when younger if weren't starting to read a bit. Saying that, my 31/2 y old loves playing the Thomas and pepper games which are designed for younger kids in the car when we've dropped the older one at school, that's the only time tho.

DooinMeCleanin · 31/01/2011 10:03

dd1 got one when she was 4. She was a very tecchy responsible four and all her friends were older than her (5/6) they all had one and she would feel very left out at family parties when they were all swapping games and vs each other on Mario Karts via ds wi-fi.

She still has one, but has friends her own age now (7/8) and they all have one.

All of her older friends now have i-pads. She is feeling very left out at family parties again. I am drawing the line at i-pads, much to her dismay. They do nothing that my smart phone doesn't do and she is free to borrow that if she feels she needs to join in.

OwlsEverywhere · 31/01/2011 10:48

DD (6) saved up for hers; but I was very generous with the rates of pay (for a whole range of practical and academic tasks). It took about 2 years to save for, and she plays with it, but certainly not obsessively. Amongst those we know there's approx 50:50 split between those that have DSs and those who don't.

MCos · 31/01/2011 11:31

My DDs got them at 6 & 4, about 2 years ago.
They come in especially useful for car journys, holiday flights, waits at doctors/dentist/hospital, and any place where you want them to while away some time where they might otherwise get bored.
Sometimes my older DD, now 8.5 will get into a game, and want to play it more than I feel healthy. But both girls also go for long periods of not playing it at all.
I'll put it this way, if one of the DSs were to get broken I would certainly replace it.

If you get one, make sure you get suitable games. Some games are quite difficult in the beginning for a 6 yr old, especially if you don't have older sibling to show what to do. Preferably start with at least one game that your DS has already played on a friends DS.

bumblingbovine · 31/01/2011 11:58

I got DS (6 years old) a leapster explorer instead which is very similar but for a younger age group (4-9 year olds)

I know full well that when a child (esecially boys) get to 8/9 years old you seriously run out of things to get them. It is a very difficult age to buy for so a DS or it's equivalent will be useful then.

In the meantime the leapster explorer is getting loads of use and the games that come with it are the sort you get on the DS but they have quite a few "educational" mini games in them.

Ds did play with the explorer every day over Christmas (it was his Christmas present) but now he is on it much less though he still likes to play it when he can. It is useful for journeys too.

bumblingbovine · 31/01/2011 12:00

Oh yes and the lapster games are much easier for a 6 year old to play. So ds (who has no older sibling) needs almost no help to play them.

Ragwort · 31/01/2011 12:03

My DS (10) doesn't have one, or a Wii or anything apart from a second hand Play station 2 (which I believe is the old fashioned sort?) - he paid for it himself by saving up Christmas money - my DH and I are totally uninterested in those sorts of gadgets and I think to some extent that rubs off on our DS - he enjoys playing with them when he goes to other people's houses but accepts that it is just something we don't have at home.

Pleiades45 · 31/01/2011 12:09

My DS (5) doesn't have one but wants one. I have told him that he has to be in double figures before I will consider a DS or Wii.

I feel there are more valuable things a child can be doing other than playing on a computer game. Life skills that will stay with them and benefit them always, such as socialising and playing with his younger brothers. Being outside and having an appreciation for the things he sees when he's out and about.

melrose · 31/01/2011 12:10

No, my 6 yr old Ds think he is a deprived child due to lack of DS/ Wii/ amything elctronic in this house. I think 6 is way too young. I know people say they are good for entertaining kids in restaurants etc but what is wrong with a colouring book!! With DS aged 6 and 3 and another on the way I think I could have a lot of battles ahead though!

mrsruffallo · 31/01/2011 12:21

dd (7) has one, and her brother(5) plays on it sometimes. I would have loved one as a child, I remember playing Donkey Kong and loving it!

They only have computertime/DS/television at weekends and both love books and reading too.

StrawberryMess · 31/01/2011 14:28

IMO these are electronic brain-rot machines. Educational my arse. What about books for passing the time? These things just turn youngsters' brains to cheese.

mrsruffallo · 31/01/2011 14:37

Oh come on. They can read books too. I don't think that a DS is educational at all,but it can be fun. My dc go months without playing it, then play it in short bursts.
It's okay to have fun which isn't educational sometimes!

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