Should I buy my daughter a Nintendo DS or a dolls house for christmas?

[Padda]

She's coming up to seven and personally I feel that generally it?s a good idea to buy a dolls house, rather than send kids off into a virtual world where they do not develop social skills, and not ?talking? to other human beings.

There are some great quality dolls houses around that will develop and grow with her and they're under about £250 so it would be her main gift from us apart from stocking fillers. Lots of role play, discussion etc.

But there's lots of peer pressure on the Nintendo.

Help!!

DD is 5 and recently started a Sylvanians collection. She uses it alongside her dollshouse.

I agree about the teaset - its fabulous with dollies and teddies for role play - DD's we bought her age 2 is still used every week.

Her 8 yo brother has a DSi - nagged for one for ages before he got one last Christmas. DD wants one too, but I feel that as we made DS wait until he was 7, we should have the same rule for her too, although she does use his occasionally.

The most used present by them both though, in the fairly expensive stakes, are their Micro scooters. Best Buy Ever.

I'd say a Sylvanian house would get more use than a traditional dolls house at that age. DD has just turned 9 and top of her birthday wish-list was the Sylvanian windmill. She already has a small Sylvanian house, so the furniture can be shared between the two, and lots of different families of creatures. Lots of her friends also collect Sylvanians, so they all like playing with them when they come round. I think a 'classic' dolls house might be less popular, unless your DD has expressed an interest.

But having said that, DD also got a DSi when she was about 7 and that has had a lot of use, particularly on long car/train/plane journeys or when out and about, rather than at home.

Why don't you just ask her? It would be a shame to get an expensive doll's house if she doesn't actually want one. My DD1 is a similar age, has a doll's house (the same one as Ltallhallowseve) and has never played with it much, not even when she was younger. Maybe they appeal to mums a lot more than they do to children.
One thing I have to say about a ds - it's definitely not antisocial, quite the opposite in fact. If you have a child playing on a ds somewhere outside, there'll be at least another 3-4 kids standing around, looking and chatting. It's like a magnet. My eldest ( a boy) made a few new friends that way. It seems to be a typical boys' way of socialising. Will have to get one for DD1 and send her out into the world to see if it's the same with girls.

My OH got our DD a DS when she was 5 as her sister had one and she was asking for one as a result. She isn't addicted to it but it has been a godsend on long journeys or when waiting in doctors/dentists waiting rooms. Mind you, she would rather read now.

Another vote for asking her what she wants, at this age they usually have strong opinions!

I would buy an Ipod rather than a DS for this age group, they are much more versatile and the apps are cheaper.

A grown up collectors type dolls house is also great, providing she wants one. Lundby do a lovely one with lights called the Stockholm. i would kill for it.

How about a Sylvanians house? My 10 year old still plays with hers.

But I agree that you should ask her what she would like. Isn't that the point of christmas? You ask FC for what you want and (hopefully) he brings it.

i bought both for dd last xmas [hblush] her dolls house has dinosaurs living in it along with the little wooden people and her ds has had the same game in it for around 3 months [hhmm] i think what im trying to say is even if you buy both - dont expect either to become a firm fave!

DSi has a lot more on it than just games. Mine use the camera and chat much more than play games. They also have some kind of cartoon drawing programme on them which I think was downloaded. I think DSi's can be VERY social.

I'm another vote for asking your DD. After all, it is HER present, so surely what SHE wants should be most important?

My DD has both. She is almost 8. I would say that she is starting to outgrow the dolls house now. She still plays it with her younger sister and does spend a fair bit of time 'tidying it up' but she would never admit that to her friends.

I would also say that a lot of people seem to think of a DS as causing a dichotomy as wasted time / proper play. I would strongly disagree with this and do believe that DS time is not necessarily wasted time. For starters, our DSs actually live in the car - so they rarely play with them in the house. They're mostly used when in the car on long journeys or whilst sat in a waiting room waiting for siblings to do their hobbies. Also, my DCs favourite games happen to be quite educational too. They love games like junior (and adult) brain trainer, she has a maths and a times table one to help her learn her times tables and so on...

But I'd still buy what your DD wants, terrible waste of money otherwise.

ooh this has been a big issue in our house as DD (6yrs) friends all have ds and me and DH are totally against them - i'm an IT teacher so i'm not an IT phobe but the arguments for them are also my argument against.

When i have asked other mothers about their use they say they are a godsend in restaurants and in the car etc but for me thats a backward step - kids imo should be spending that time having conversation. They SHOULD be able to sit for 1/2 hour in a restaurant in a polite manner - thats not excessive.

DD has a fantastic imagination - spends hours with her dolls playing with dd2 and i'm trying to keep it going as long as possible with barbie, pollypocket, moxie - you name it! You can see a real difference in imagination and creative play between her and her 2 mates who have DS (they are obsessed though!).

I suppose i'm not really into 'obvious' educational toys like DS's, vtec consoles etc - you can teach kids through traditional games like bingo, books, lego etc

"When i have asked other mothers about their use they say they are a godsend in restaurants and in the car etc but for me thats a backward step - kids imo should be spending that time having conversation. They SHOULD be able to sit for 1/2 hour in a restaurant in a polite manner - thats not excessive. "

Don't assume though that children only have half hour waits in cars / restaurants etc. Some children may have to spend far longer waiting. For example, my DD regularly has to wait 2 1/2 hours for my DD to do her gymnastics lesson. For a competition it could be up to 4 hours waiting plus an hour to get there and back. When the weather is good, we go to the park. When it is not, the DS is one of many toys that come in handy to entertain for prolonged periods.

Plenty of children have to be entertained for prolonged periods - don't just assume it's only half an hour. Surely anyone can entertain a child for just half an hour.

If she is already 7 she may not have that many years for the dolls house to grow and develop with her: by 10 she may have hit puberty and have totally different interests- not everybody keeps an interest in dolls house collecting when they grow up

we got a lot of wear out of the dolls house, but then I bought it for dd's 4th birthday

I'd vote for "ask her"

dd owned a ds from age 7 or thereabouts; she has a brilliant imagination and has read more literature than most undergraduates

but then again, I own a television and I've still read a fair few books...

Some of you have mentioned Sylanians. I'm in U.S. so have not actually seen them. Are they covered with a felt like material? I saw Calico Critters at toysrus. Adorable but have that hard felt covering and thus cannot be cleaned. My granddaugter will soon be three and I am wondering about these for her gift. She has a twin brother and we need ideas for him too. I bought them a microscooter last year to share and they do not use it!!!

Dolls house. A 7 year old is nor to old for a dolls house.

My DDs had a dolls house but it didn't get played with.

They DID play at making lego houses (in fact more like floor plans) - 'this is the bed, this is the cooker, .......' But that was in the days before pink lego.