Nintendo Switch or smartphone?

[sweetpea6002]

Hello, my soon to be 13 year old is asking for a Nintendo Switch for his birthday - desperate to have his own - says he would share it with his two siblings (11 and 8), and also says he'd prefer this present to a smartphone (he's been without a phone as his last two got smashed/lost).

I had been planning to buy him a second hand iphone for his birthday, but now I'm wondering if I should get him the Switch instead?
Is that better (in terms of managing tech and screen time arguments) than a smartphone?
But doing this would also be grossly unfair to the other two kids - who'd be at the whim of their brother when it comes to sharing - so wouldn't I then end up having to buy the 10 year old his own switch too to even things out? and what about our 8 year old.... ?
Advice greatly appreciated, I'm clearly overthinking this and could do with some straight guidance.
thanks so much

Does the 13yr old not need a phone? Travelling too and from school? In contact with friends etc?

from a switch perspective, both my boys 5 and 9 have them, they’re great, I often play Mario with them but not really comparable to a smart phone

yes he could definitely do with a phone - but if he gets the Switch, I'd probably spend less on it and get him something more basic.

Does he have access to other gaming?

Most boys have access to a console. In our family we the parents have opted to own the consoles so we can mediate sharing/access. I appreciate this isn't a choice for everyone.

I like the switch as it has good parental controls and a wide selection of more kid suitable games. You could save money and get a second hand one.

I recommend a second hand android phone from a recon site as a really good value way of getting a decent phone. Check HotUKDeals for the good offers.

i think a switch is reasonable, especially if he doesn’t have any other games console. Is his birthday coming up soon? There’s always deals as it gets closer to Christmas

Most families I know in this situation bought the switch for Christmas as a joint family gift.

when we bought our switch I bought it for “myself” and said they could play on it. So it didn’t belong to them or just one of them.

if he’s 13 and has no gaming console I’d try to get the switch. A smartphone can wait to Christmas and he’s told you he’d rather the switch.

It's nice he would share it but it really wouldn't be his though because of the sharing. I think you might be playing referee to who gets time on it when it's supposed to be his present.

It's nice he would share it but it really wouldn't be his though because of the sharing. I think you might be playing referee to who gets time on it when it's supposed to be his present.

Phone for him. Family switch for all the kids at Christmas so no one has a monopoly on it. Get a couple of extra controllers and some good multiplayer games like Mario kart to encourage family play.

Switch, we love ours! It’s not just single player it’s multiplayer if you get the full version not switch lite. My DH plays with our eldest on it and we have used it when friends come over to play Mario party.

My two were both primary age but we bought the switch as a joint Christmas present with them getting a couple of games they would like each and some other small bits. They were very happy and it had a lot of use. Moving on a few years and we are now considering a PlayStation as a joint Christmas gift.

I tend to err on the side of not buying kids expensive presents they are not asking for, so since he is not asking for a smartphone the switch would be the way to go.

Keep in mind there are two versions of the switch: the Switch Lite which can only be played by one person at a time, or the OLED Switch which can be played as a handheld, or plugged into the TV. If you want them to share it, get the OLED version and some multi player games (e.g. Mario Kart) and at least one more controller (it comes with 2), so they can play together.