Quick poll please how old was dc when 1st got laptop?

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Title says it all, under immense pressure from my 11 yr old dd for one

dd was 6 and ds was 3!!! They are used under supervision in the living room

Stepdaughter 1 = 12, from her mum
Stepdaughter 2 = 11, from her mum
DS = never, not on your nelly, ever in a million years. a/ that's one heck of an expensive present and b/ the only reason kids want laptops is to take them to their bedrooms and go on Facebook when they should be doing homework.
Sorry, but as you can tell i feel quite strongly about this. If DS wants to use a laptop, there's a perfectly good one that belongs to the family and lives in the lounge.

ok confused now x

Just realised my post sounds very unconstructive - sorry! Like i said, i have strong views but that's because one of my stepdaughters is very into technology to the exclusion of people, conversations and plain old fresh air!

To be a bit more helpful, perhaps you can get her one but put in place some simple rules, much the same as you might do with TV perhaps, to prevent her becoming anti-social or Facebooking/ Twittering when you don't want her to. If you think it's too expensive, can she contribute birthday/ Christmas money/ pocket money towards it?

Was like this for me and my friends- Parents got ours for us when we went to university, so around 18. my brother got his in year 10, though it was only a little netbook so he could do coursework on it when staying with different parents and taking to school.

before then there was the home computer to use if we needed it, wasn't really a problem.

We have 2 laptops at home so I don't see the need for either dc (8 and 10 yrs) to have their own as they are able to use ours, but only downstairs.
I guess it might be something for when they are late teens otherwise.

Ds got one for his 4th birthday from his grandma.

We might consider getting one for DS when he goes to secondary school - he is 10 now and certainly does not have one - can use the family computer under supervision.

I'd love a laptap myself - and I'm over 50 but couldn't justify the expense.

DSD is 8 and i have set her up a profile on my lap top. We wont be buying her own one until she gets to high school.

She uses the laptop in the living room and i have activated the google parental controls (not the windows ones as they are awful to use and drag down the laptops performance for all users of the machine).

She does homework on it through the school web portal and with permission will go onto moshi monsters and club penguin as well.

We've always had computers and lap tops knocking about, DD has used them since the age of about four.
She doesn't have her own one yet, but would love an iPad. So would DH who is an IT teacher.

She isn't yet 10 I should have added.

DD is 11, goes to Secondary School in September. She doesn't have one, or a mobile phone. If the school says she needs one, then we'll probably get one then, otherwise she can either use the family desktop, or borrow my old laptop.

Different things work for different families of course, but personally I wouldn't get one until maybe A Levels. It'd be different if, say, DH or I worked in IT and needed the computer all the time. But it's hardly ever on so I much prefer the idea of a 'family computer' perhaps with different profiles on it.

DD1 got one at 11 (she is 12 now) she mostly saved the money for it herself and we just completed it. She uses it for school projects.

You would have asked me this question a few years back I would have said "she will never get one!" then I realised that there is 5 of us actually using the family computer for whatever reason and if she had to do all her school projects on it I would not be able to MN all day do my accounts anymore.

She is not on FB and the only people she sometimes go on Skipe with are family members or friends of hers I have known for years so no worries on that side of things.

16, ready for A levels.
She had access to a laptop or a PC when she needed it, just not ownership.
DS will get one this Summer, ready for A levels.

Laptops were bought by DC1 and DC2 at 18, to take to university. Bought with their own money.

Prior to that they each had desktop PCs in their bedrooms. We bought those.

DC3 and DC4 are still at home and have a desktop PC each.

Just wondering if people see it different to have a desktop each versus a laptop each and why?

if the kids didnt have theirs then they would want on mine and how would i mumsnet????? The desktop computer is upstairs so if they used that they would be away from the rest of the family. Our laptops are used in the living room.

Regarding Gorionine's question, I don't think there is much difference between laptop and desktop. These days laptops are cheaper than they were. They have the advantage over desktops of being portable and personal, but the disadvantage of being prone to break down in a less repairable kind of way. (With a desktop, various malfunctioning parts can be replaced).

I was answering the OP's question that referred specifically to laptops. The OP may well have been asking about DCs having their very own computers of any kind, in which case my distinction between desktops and laptops is meaningless.

Eldest 16
next one 15
next one 14
(i try and avoid stuff like this as long as possible!)

Thanks Slightlyreluctantexpat, it makes sense to actually answer the OP!

DSS2 bought himself a laptop with his birthday/Christmas money the year he was 11.

DSS1 bought himself a laptop with his Bar Mitzvah money ie when he was 13.

We have two desktops and I have my own (personal, not to be touched under pain of death) laptop. The DCs don't need laptops atm. Perhaps when they're doing GCSEs or A'Levels we'll reconsider, but it's a lot of money to pay for something that isn't a necessity.

DC are 13, 10 and 7 FWIW.

I refuse to buy mine one. We have a pc downstairs in view of everyone and that's the way I want it to stay.

dc aged 11,9 and 6 have a shared desktop, they only have this because DP and I use our home computers for work and so we don't want them on our machine for confidentiality reasons.

We don't plan to get them laptops for a long time, maybe never, they might get at 16 or so if they really want.