Talk to me about Nintendo DS please

[jennifersofia]

DD (10) wants one. DSIL has a spare one she would like to give to DD. I do not like the idea as DD is prone to computer addiction and her present time on the computer has to be carefully managed and can cause stress and argument. I am worried about her being on the Nintendo obsessively, and it will be one more thing to manage.
What are the good points of having one? What are the bad points? Are you glad you have one in your life?

Ds1 first had one when he was 7/8. He has dyspraxia and we thought it would help with hand and eye co-ordination, planning and patience. It did all that and within a few years he had a PSP and eventually a playstation. Luckily we have never had any arguments over use, we encourage self control and its paid off. BUT I cannot see the same self control happening with his sister ( she is 4 though and isn't using any of these yet ) Ds3 ( also 4 ) plays on the wii ocassionally but prefers digging holes in the garden !
I really like the Nintendo ds, I like playing the proff leyton games and find it very relaxing.
Does your dd have friends who have them ?

Thanks, anyone else?

You can get educational games for them, plus there are some very good games out there you can play when your DC is in bed!

I have two DSS's, one not interested in computers/computer games etc at all, the other one is obsessed.

Obsessed DSS got a DS when he was about 9 (now 14). A bit of trouble when it was new with him spending so much time on it, but the novelty soon faded and he self-regulated.

I liked it because it was a small screen he got bored more easily than on the PlayStation. He doesn't spend too much time on it and it frees the TV up for the rest of the house!

My 11 year old son has one. You can get some very good educational games but even the other ones help with developing coordination. Obvioulsy you will need to make sure your daughter only plays appropriate games (my son loves the pokemon ones). My son is only allowed to play his at the weekends (same with all computer games / consoles) and not for huge long periods. They're a lot of fun and you'll probably find most of her classmates have them. I say go for it.

ds2 was the first of our children to have one, ds1 who's dyslexic got one around a year later,m for similar reasons to Olbasoil - hand/eye co-ord and reading the instructions. DS2 also a potentially addictive personality, but was managed from the outset, he earns stars for doing helpful stuff or good behaviour (over and above what's expected, extra effort iyswim) and each star is worth 5 mins on the NDS. He has got really efficient at saving them up, managing how many he wants to use, setting timers and so on. His time to "cash in" his minutes is usually agreed between us.
In addition to this, he's allowed to use it as he wishes during long journeys (over 30 mins) in the car or on a train.
All points positive ime, having been a cynic at the start and could see loads of potential problems and issues, like you OP!! atm having a conversation with dd who's 6 and wants one, but we have said she can have one when she's 7 as her brother did.
It does teach them all sorts of skills, we have a mix of educational and fun games, ds2 is a maths whizz (G&T) and loves the games where you manage money and resources to build your empire. It's not all frivolity and potential addiction, it's also taught ds1 to share and tolerate others when they link up on a game.

I share mine with my 4yo DS1! He doesn't ask to use it as much as I had originally feared, and enjoys simple Mario type games. I probably let him have it once a week on average for about 20 minutes, and he is usually OK about switching it off when I say so, and forgets about it as long as he doesn't see it!

Am I glad it is in my life? I guess so. Am I glad my DS uses it? Not really but he enjoys it and can put it down when I say so.

Bad: Very addictive for some
Good: Ideal for car journeys!

I have a DSi and so does DD (10). There are some great games, educational and fun. The screen is too small to stay on for hours. It's ideal for travelling or waiting around situations. And they have earphones. We can also link them and compete against each other.
Nothing bad to say about them in this house. But we aren't addicted.

3DS apparently brings on headaches, so we aren't bothering getting them.