[Closed] How young is too young for an iPod Touch?

Though this thread was going to be about something else entirely.

On a practical point how well are they likely to look after it? they are not the most drop proof things in the world.

and on more of a 'what the hell is the world coming too' type point at 5 & 6 shouldn't they have dolls or trains or something?

Ultimately they're your kids, I imagine you know best.

Our youngest had a nintendo ds at 2 1/2 but as all her older sisters had one we couldnt leave her out! She has grasped quite a few games but she plays mainly with the camera taking pics!

Blimey that's an inappropriate thread title!

😯

What's wrong with lego?

"they are almost 5&6 respectively."

Respectively to what?

Do you possibly mean: 'they are 4 and 5'?

[i]What's wrong with lego?[/i]

here is wisdom.

tinribz - Member
What's wrong with lego?

its late, im bored at work and it sounded funny.....plus, it got noticed so i guess it worked.

They have both had ds's for a while now....both enjoy the camera too...just wondered whether it was too much too young.
They have good bikes,action men,dollies,prams,matcbox cars etc plus about 10 shelves worth of reading books.....just thinking outloud really as im wondering what to get them for christmas.....thought you guys might help?

yes, the answer is Lego! either you'll listen or not! there is no Lego in that list. LegoLegolego

"about 10 shelves worth of reading books"

As opposed to what other type?

Buy yourself a course in basic English before you get your kids toys that will only turn them into back alley crack whores a few years earlier than is really needed! 🙂

a day's holiday somewhere?

I thought Apple already did a junior version of that device. It's the "itouch kids".

Thought this thread was going to be about home brew.

razor1548, well, there are colouring books, and writing books I suppose. And they might have brought home from school topic books and maths books. Maybe some reference books?
All books to be read, but I, my class and school are pretty happy with the term reading book. 🙂

hmmmm.......lego could be winner i guess....hadnt thought of that, although i doubt i'd get much done as i'd end up playing with it too.

Razor....very good....i thought it best to clarify which books they had in case one of the pedants turned up on thread......glad that didnt happen eh 😆

Have you ever stood on a Lego brick? Generally considered to be one of the most painful things known to man, and you know what five year olds are like for leaving stuff lying around.

jesus? seriously? do your kids learn anything from their mistakes; do you eliminate every risk in their lives? And if it's you that can't avoid it, try being more careful. pfft

I once mentioned on a thread that my 4 yr old had a Nintendo DS, his sister's old one given to him by her, and was told to "get a grip FFS", so don't be surprised if you get some flak once the self righteous brigade have woken up.

I have 1, 4 &7 yr olds. I wouldn't get them one until they'd longed for one for ages. Too young.

A mate's 6 year old has one. She is never off it!
It's a good gaming device, but it's also got an interweb connection which is harder to control (parental controls) than on a PC. They aren't that tough, although a case does help.
Ultimately, I don't want my kids staring at a tiny computer screen all day and for that reason I'm out!

I'd say way too young. Plenty of years to go. There is enough of a gadget arms race as there is. And these handheld games/touch screen things can tend to isolate people from each other. Unlike using a Wii.

Got 2 kids. They both have good access to computers. The eldest one (15) only got a touch very recently, but had a nano for many years before. The 9 year old has had a nano for 2 years and will probably get a touch in a year or so, but has only one friend with one at the moment. Just asked him - he says yours are too young.

Another point - as they get older you will run out of things to buy them as xmas presents. Save this one for when they are older

Interesting study by Unicef just published. Basically children in countries that have a less consumer focused culture than the UK are happier because they have more social interaction with their parents and peers; kids need social activities not electronic gubbins.

Not making any judgements on the OP as a parent, or anybody else for that matter, just saying.

I'd say 5 & 6 is too young and possibly sets a hard to reach precedent for your children's future gift expectations.

I don't have kids.

An interesting one, my daughter is 4 and uses my ipad quite alot. That said, it is still mine and her usage is very much controlled. It has helped her dexterity, understanding of computers aswell as the learning games she has been playing on it.

Despite seeing it first hand I still feel slightly odd about such young kids using these sort of gadgets but I guess that is just because I am from a childhood of lego and playing out with your mates on your bike etc.

Go for it I guess although a touch at 5 means the next 10 -15 years worth of presents are going to be very expensive to trump it 😀

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14898614 ]...and by sheer coincidence[/url]

My 7 year old got a ipod touch for her birthday last month. She's wanted one for ages and uses it for games and music with one of those speaker docking station things in her bedroom. She loves it and (so far) is being fairly responsible with it. You'll know your own kids well enough to know if they're ready for ownership?
As for the "what's wrong with lego" crowd, are you auditioning for a new series of "Grumpy Old Men"?

Have you ever stood on a Lego brick? Generally considered to be one of the most painful things known to man

I imagine standing on an I touch would be more upsetting.

Take them to see Santa in Lapland or take them skiing. There is no substitute for real life fun.

A mate with an iphone has all kinds of apps for his daughter (2 1/2) to play with on it, they seem quite educational and interactive and always seemed quite a good idea to me. Despite the false utopia that everyone seems to imagine of children climbing trees and building soapbox carts to race down hills, interacting with technology from an early age is more likely to help build the skills for education and the modern world.

That said I don't think I would buy them one each, I would buy it for myself and let them play on it, keeping control of the time used and the apps etc installed.

Ipad yes

Iphone (or any phone). No.

I still subscribe to keep mobile technology away from developing children.

hora junior is still at the stage where he thinks a large calculator is his mobile 😆

coincidentally this morning:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14898614

Parents in the UK feel powerless before the consumer pressures on their children, suggests international research into family life.

The study by Unicef, comparing families in the UK, Sweden and Spain, found UK parents buying high status brands to "protect" their children from bullying.

Parents in the UK struggled to spend enough time with their children.

how depressing.

Can we list this under the 'middle class angst' bracket as well?

Bad enough playing console games on a big screen - giving them a tiny gadget seems to be setting a bad example for the future.

Still - they seem to be good substitutes for parental attention and proper interaction with peers - from what I've seen anyway.

My son was given an Ipod Touch for his 9th birthday. I put a screen protector on and a rubber cover but he does look after it (although we did catch him using it whilst in the bath once 🙄 ). It stays downstairs after bedtime (So the wife and I can play Angry Birds 😉 ). My daughter is 6 and won't be getting one for a while.

Ultimately, I don't want my kids staring at a tiny computer screen all day and for that reason I'm out!

My sentiments exactly.

I'm from the generation of Lego, Meccano, Airfix, Scalextric, Action Man, playing outside, building go-carts, sand, felt tip pens... generally using your imagination, doing something constructive, learning to think, interacting with other children.

TV, games consoles and other electronic devices generally just spoon-feed, don't encourage thought or imagination, are very anti-social, and prolonged exposure teaches their brain to become used to the over-stimulation thus reducing attention span such that they can't concentrate on something for more than a few minutes without announcing they're bored.

Our 4 y.o is allowed TV and computer games for a limited time (roughly max 2 hours TV a day, maybe an hour of games, and usually one or the other). I have noticed his behaviour change if he's left too long doing these things.

Whereas he enjoys the TV & computer games, he's much happier on his bike, drawing, painting, doing a puzzle etc with his friends or parents.

[i]I'm from the generation of Lego, Meccano, Airfix, Scalextric, Action Man, playing outside, building go-carts, sand, felt tip pens... generally using your imagination, doing something constructive, learning to think, interacting with other children[/i]

jesus, you sound like my dad. I spent most of my childhood doing gymnastics, running around in the woods with mates, and getting up to no good, and I'm 20. pervy little brov (13) has a worlds biggest collection of model areoplanes in his room, and could bore you to tears with them, and lego, and bikes...

Toys are just *part* of being a kid, yours were plastic, your dads were metal, and his dads were wood, your kids toys are electric...so what?

When I were a lad me and my brother shared an old tape player for listening to the wombles tunes , etc. No doubt that was cutting edge gadgetry at the time, it even had a red record button. It was well used and played with.

Now my 4 year old wants an ipod for christmas - we're going to get one of the cheaper similar looking mp3 players. Thing is, we know she'll use it for playing all her disney tunes that she loves to sing along to. Kiddy cd players break too easy and she can easily flick between songs on our mp3 player or phones already. Way I see it is work out why they've asked for it, will they use it and is it affordable.

I also had a zx spectrum when I must have been bout 9 as a joint christmas present with my brother as I imagine perhaps many here did? Nowadays the equivalent would likely be a netbook or a smart phone. It's what just different times and stuff has progressed.

we also played outdoors, in the woods, climbed trees, etc. It's not the gadgets, it's the parent attitude towards them and how they're played with. How many parents sit for ages messing about on smart phones in front of their kids instead of playing with them?

I also had a zx spectrum when I must have been bout 9 as a joint christmas present with my brother as I imagine perhaps many here did? Nowadays the equivalent would likely be a netbook or a smart phone. It's what just different times and stuff has progressed.

Exactly and the same reports come out about it effecting kids imaginations that kids in other countries are perfect and the 'modern' parents preach about their Tarquin is limited to 30 mins per day of stimulus or it makes him a grumpy boy.

Lego

Have to agree with Lego, it is the way to go.

That way they can make whatever they want... an ipod, a phone, a rocket etc... It is called playing and it is what children should do, even at the advanced ages of 5 & 6.

A friend of mine was given a ZX Spectrum, another was given a C64 and another some wierd screen/game thing.

I got a bike and I used my mums Acorn PC.

Take them to see Santa in Lapland or take them skiing

My memories of childhood consist of playing in fields and woods in the sunshine with my friends, summers were warm, winters were snowy.

Reality is that I came from manchester and it rained more than anything else and I spent a good chunk of my time indoors watching television, but I don't remember that.

Nostalgic memories of childhood and youth actually differ quite a lot from the reality of life. most of you seem to believe the distortion that time has had on those memories, rather than accept the truth.

MSP I spent most of my time outside. My Mum gave me bus fare to get to school but I used it for sweets and walked there and back.

I spent most of time in TP Woods in Huddersfield, rain, sunshine or snow.

I also had a paper round 99% of the year to enable me to afford my Battle and 2000ad comics.

Oh and if I was inside the house my Mum assumed (and asked) if I'd fallen out with anyone and why FFS

Childhood was a false utopia that never existed as remembered, and is now just used as an excuse to attack the young and claim superiority.

[img] [/img]

i had one that was a Teenage mutant ninja turtle one. i wonder how many hours i wasted racing up and down my road on it 😀

I don't understand how a young child has to have 'their own' gadget.

Why can't they share yours?

Sorry, I'm not questioning anyones parenting but..

Spoilt children anyone?

not a big fan of technokids myself personally.. but I'm a bit of a naturalistic hippy type.. I'm still feeling queasy about my boy watching TV and having ridiculous plastic squawking flashing electrical toys..
What the hell is wrong with a nice stroll in the woods fergoodnesssakes..!?

A good friend however already has his 2 year old twin girls completely at ease with an iphone and apps.. some of the apps are very educational and they are very good at navigating around the menus..

most of you seem to believe the distortion that time has had on those memories, rather than accept the truth

No, I know for a fact that I spent very little of my childhood/youth gawping mindlessly at a screen.

Ironically, I now work in IT, so spend my days gawping (mindlessly?) at a screen 😐

Yunki, its not hard to pick up a tech item nowadays and learn quickly how to navigate around as they are designed to be intuitive (more so than the past) so its not a case 'oh I must get them into the mindset and learning otherwise they will be behind in life later on'..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14899148

...in addition what if your personal circumstances change as they are growing and you can't afford to give them the future ipad5 or iphone6 etc etc and they somehow feel 'left behind' or unloved by you?

Buy it for you and let them borrow it 'if they are good'. Share a decent spec pc.

**** giving them expensive tech toys.

right, firstly..thanks for the replies....they've been both funny and informative.

just to clarify..i spend about 4-5 hours a day playing with my kids..i.e jigsaws, footy in the garden, swingball, doing their homework, 1-3 times a week playing on the cbeebies website under my supervision so its not like they are just handed stuff to keep them out of my way.....like i've said earlier, they both have a nintendo ds that they use maybe 3 times a week.

A lot of their friends have tv's and games consoles already and i've been branded a meany as i wont allow ours to have this just yet, so i thought about something smaller(admittedly, i had no idea what an ipod touch was capable of until after i posted this thread).

I've decided against it mainly due to the fact that i cant see them using it too much.....time to get them a camelbak instead 😉 so they can accompany me on longer rides instead.

philconsequence....love it..that is a definite..cheers

hora...this may be a rare thing on here but, i think you maybe right 🙂

In the Night Garden is scary. Hora junior just stops and stares blankly. Last night he held his ball whilst watching them throwing a ball around on screen 😯

Get them a zx spectrum and get them programming in assembly language.

i'm makka pakka.....pale, round and has ocd

according to the wife

Had you thought about Playmobile instead?

derek

thing is.....they have a world map,europe map and a map of the british isles on their walls so that whenever we talk about/hear about somewhere, they can go and research it. They both read to me a lot, practice spellings, practice their maths etc on a daily basis so its not as if they arent getting the educational help they need

actually..the more i type, the more i'm wondering what the hell i'm doing even considering such a gadget.

i apologise for wasting everyones time 😳

dont apologise 😀 i'm now daydreaming about bouncing down my childhood road on a pogo-ball thanks to this thread!

well, at least its brightened your day eh 😀

glad to be of service

A lot of their friends have tv's and games consoles already and i've been branded a meany

Hey listen it's not like the old days. You should encourage your kids to spend as much time immersed in technology as possible, it will give them a massive advantage over the kids who aren't technologically literate in the same way that we have a divide between the technology "haves" and "have nots" today.

Randonjeremy unless you are going straight into programming or fault finding I don't understand how your disadvantaged?

Modern windows are very intuitive to use. I don't understand what is hard on pc's to use.

I don't understand what is hard on pc's to use.

A PC, how quaint, you have been left behind by technology already 😉

[img] [/img]
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20104332-1/a-slobber-proof-iphone-case-made-for-babies/

Hey listen it's not like the old days. You should encourage your kids to spend as much time immersed in technology as possible, it will give them a massive advantage over the kids who aren't technologically literate in the same way that we have a divide between the technology "haves" and "have nots" today.

My gran bought a laptop this year for the first time at the age of 86.

Despite only gettign a TV with a remote controll a couple of years ago she seems fine with it, so bang goes that thoery!

A year or two ago my (now 7 year old) daughter dropped into a conversation that she really wanted a "DS"

"Do you know what a DS is?" I said.

"No"

Needless to say she has not got and won't be getting a DS.

By coincidence I just went to collect something I bought from the local auction yesterday for £15 - it will be one of my son's Christmas presents:

[img] [/img]

A few thousand bits of Meccano!

I'm going to buy my lad an MX bike 🙂

Well that's not my point really, anyone can use an ipod or iphone or PC or what have you as a basic user - but some will become enthralled with wonder at how these things work and will want to delve deeper, maybe leading them to follow a path of discovery and end up working in the highly lucrative technology field. There's a big difference between your nan using an ipad to check the lottery results, and learning how things work underneath the GUI.

You should encourage your kids to spend as much time immersed in technology as possible, it will give them a massive advantage over the kids who aren't technologically literate in the same way that we have a divide between the technology "haves" and "have nots" today.

Wrong.

It will give them the attention span of goldfish.

Here you go. Buy a copy of [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Remotely-Controlled-television-damaging-lives/dp/0091906903/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1315991171&sr=8-6 ]this book[/url] for £3.75 and find out for yourself.

I can't be bothered to read books. Summary please. 😉

Books, TV? How quaint.

Any sort of screen based entertainment is very bad for young people. Kids under two should have zero exposure. Plenty of scientific research to back up the claims.

The OP was talking about 6 year olds not infants. I was learning how my VIC 20 worked when I was 6, it helped fuel a lifelong love of learning about technology in general, and specifically how complex computer systems work.

[i]Why can't they share yours?

Sorry, I'm not questioning anyones parenting but..

Spoilt children anyone?[/i]

Have you ever tried sharing something with a 6 year old? Bloody hard work!

Anyway, my boy (9, respectively) has a DS - got bored, stays in its box (the DS, not the boy, he's always escaping) and [i]shares[/i] an iPad with me.
He prefers Lego.
Just bought this with his birthday money (over £100!)

[img] [/IMG]

I was learning how my VIC 20 worked when I was 6, it helped fuel a lifelong love of learning about technology in general, and specifically how complex computer systems work.

and judging from your previous posts on this thread you've turned out to be a well rounded individual with a rational and balanced world view... 😉

It seems most peoples are arguing against technology, without understanding the difference between the actual technology and the content it delivers.

Buy a copy of this book for £3.75 and find out for yourself.

Maybe I will read it on my ipad, I have a whole library of books available to me just a click away.

What children need to learn is not how to boot up technology, but how to get the most out of the bewilderingly massive amount of information available. and how to filter the probability of viewpoints.

Any sort of screen based entertainment is very bad for young people. Kids under two should have zero exposure. Plenty of scientific research to back up the claims.

Source?

Our little one (17 months) loves her Peppa Pig. Happily points to the screen and says "bappa" and if we don't get the hint she goes and gets the remote and the DVDs.

She also plays with our iPhones sometimes.

Surprisingly neither of these activities have turned her into a drooling vegetable. She also loves reading books, playing outside, going to the park, tearing round softplay etc

The OP was talking about 6 year olds not infants.

QED - you do not have the attention span to be able to read and understand my three sentence long post.

Source?

The book you asked me to summarise you nitwit.

Hey, whilst I'm generally agreed with the consensus that holding off getting the iPod etc. till as late as possible is a good idea, I have to admit that I wrote my first computer program when I was 7, and played quite a lot with computers throughout my teens (as well as biking, running around, scouts, music etc), and now I'm quite good at computer programming and play with computers for a living.

Although in those days having a computer pretty much meant being able to program it, at least in basic or some similar language* - whereas having an iPod, you are a long way away from being able to program it, and I think the interface is not designed in any way to encourage people to do their own stuff with it, it is very much designed as an easy media / app consumption device rather than as something to program yourself.

Joe

*I do remember when we got older asking parents for Pascal / C compilers etc. which were probably quite expensive, that is how much of a sad kid I was!

The book you asked me to summarise you nitwit.

What book? 😉

Edit: seriously does Dr Aric Sigman actually tie his opinions to some hard research and published papers? You said [i]"Plenty of scientific research to back up the claims"[/i] so I'd like some citations.