Gaming for kids?

[rosie272]

Do any of your 5+ year olds have games consoles? What do they have and how do you feel about them using them at this age? We have a Wii at home and Charlie plays Wii sports resort or Sonic olympics but he had a go on a PS4 at his friends house (Knack was the game - it's for kids) and won't stop going on about it, begging for me to get it for his birthday. Now I don't know if I'm being a total meannie, but I feel he's too young for a console right now (and they cost £450 )

So what are your opinions on gaming for kids? Yes or no?

 

[OmarsMum]

We have xbox, omar likes the adventures & sports games, but he's not obsessed, he uses it less than once a week. As long as it's used in moderation I dont see an issue of having one. Omar is more into inventing his own games & toys, he's not obsessed with electronic games, tablets or games consoles

Eta: my cousins who are 4 & 7 are obsessed they spend most day playjng with xbox, tablets or their parents mobiles, my friend's 8 yrs old son, walks around the mall with his mum's mobile in his hands playing a game, it depends on the kid & how you limit the use of electronic games during the day.

 

[PresqueVu]

In moderation, it's a way of teaching good skills I think

I wouldn't spend the monies on one just for them tbh though, it would need to be a family one!

 

[aimee-lou]

We've said that until Earl can learn self control with it - i.e. not asking for it every second of the day if it's there - then the Wii, Playstation etc stay in our room packed away most of the time.

He spent a lot of time playing on a friend's DS over the weekend but wouldn't come off it, there were tears when the battery went flat, it just wasn't pleasant. Until he's old enough to not do this every time we tell him he's had long enough, then he's not having anything of his own.

I do however have a couple of games on my phone - little pet games and things - which he's allowed for 15 mins at a time at a push like last night when we were at Ice Hockey and he was getting a bit bored after nearly 2 hours there.

I know this isn't helpful from your question but you're not the only 'mean mummy' out there

 

[Racheldigger]

Rowan is continually begging for an ipad after seeing her friends playing on them before dancing lessons. She already has a couple of kiddie-toy consoles that play simple games, a Leapster GS (a hand-held system superseded by the Leap Pad, which Daddy picked up at Cash Converters for about a tenner because it's obsolete) and her own controller for Daddy's Play Station, with a few games suitable for pre-schoolers which Daddy's downloaded for her; she also gets to sit on his knee and play grown-up games with him if they're puzzles or other non-violent ones (she's not even allowed to be in the room when he's playing Metro 2033), so it just goes to show that whatever you get them isn't enough when their friends have got something else!

 

[shellideaks]

DS is nearly 8 and he has an xbox 360 in his bedroom. We got it off a friend so only paid £60 (I'd never buy him one new!). He likes the Lego games and Minecraft.

I see no problem with him playing on it, as long as he's not on it all the time

 

[rosie272]

Thanks girls! One of the reasons I'm not sure is the fact that he only likes that one game and it's only available on ps4 - don't really want to buy a console just for one game it's only Charlie and I at home and I'm really not into gaming at all so I'm torn! He has his own Kindle Fire with games on it - he loves Temple Run and all the Peppa Pig ones but can take it or leave it. He's hardly ever at home, we're really busy and he's forever at the park, kart track, playing out with friends on scooters, bikes, roller skates etc etc so I'm not worried about him getting addicted to it or anything as he would be timed on it and certainly wouldn't be sitting in with it all day. I'll maybe wait until nearer his birthday and see if he still remembers

 

[Racheldigger]

It's definitely worth checking games exchange shops and places like Cash Converters before you buy new: games systems depreciate really fast, and you can often pick up something that's only just out of date for about a fifth of the price of a new one.

 

[RachA]

We have a Wii at home that is for family use and I have a Nintendo DS that I allow my son to use and he's got a couple if his own games for it.
Regardless of price my own opinion for my family is that until they are of an age where they appreciate the cost of things like this and can control usage of it then we won't be buying anything for them personally.
I wouldn't go out and buy a console for my son based on just one game.

My 6 year old has recently started asking for things like an iPad mini and has been told no. He has access to my iphone and OH's tablet as well as my laptop and the aforementioned consoles. I don't see how he needs his own iPad! Thankfully he's very accepting.

 

[Amarna]

We have an XBOX 360 at home for family use, mostly we use it to stream Netflix. DD uses it a couple times a month to play games on but that's it, I really try to limit her because she's the type to get really sucked in and want to spend all day on it. The only games she has at the moment are some Lego ones but they're really entertaining (I even like to play them lol). She used to have a tablet but broke it and I refuse to buy her another until she treats electronics more responsibly, they're just so expensive and I don't have the expendable cash to throw away on these items!

 

[alicecooper]

My DD is 8. She has an iMac (it used to be mine)

My DS1 is 6. He has an iMac (it was second hand) and an android tablet. Somewhere in the house kicking around he has a PSP (which used to be DH's) but he hasn't used it in ages, I don't think he knows where it is.

My DS2 is 4. He has a little windows netbook laptop thing (it used to be DD's), an android tablet (which he bought himself with money he got from relatives for his birthday), and a Nintendo DS Lite (it used to be DS1's)

All three of them got a Wii U for Christmas, which was a shared present. DS2 likes it the most though, but then again he gets bored whilst DD and DS1 are at school so he ends up going on it the most. He's a bit obsessed with Mario.


To be honest DD and DS1 like their computers rather than consoles.

 

[ames_x]

K had a wiiu for Christmas as our old wii broke, he plays mario and lego games. He does love it a bit too much but he is only allowed on it after school, and if he misbehaves he is banned off it for a few days.

Always a few arguements between him and OH over sharing OH is just as bad so I take it off them both

 

[lindseymw]

We have a Wii in the living room for family use but to be honest, it's hardly used.

We have the sports/olympic sports type of games. I wouldn't get a "sit down" type of game, but I don't mind the type where you have to get up & play.

We are in no rush to get a PS4/Xbox for the boys. We don't play on them at all so they are none the wiser.

 

[Racheldigger]

Ooo, shared games systems, that's a risk! I have never forgiven my brother for setting his heart on an Atari games system - this was somewhere around 1980 when games came on cassettes - because the only way our parents could afford one was to give us it as a joint present.

 

[mummy2o]

My partner and I are both gamers. It would be natural for us to have most consoles, gadgets, pcs in the house. My son is autistic and loves the pc. He will only play educational games though so I see no harm in that. He would play all day if we let him though, so we do have to think of ways to get him off. However, that being said its reinforcing all the maths and reading he's learnt at school as he needs to be repeated several if not hundreds of times before anything sinks in.

 

[Logan's Mum]

We dont own any games consoles that we share with the kids. All we have are 2 Nintendo Colours (retro ) and a Nintendo 3DS XL (mine and only I use it). I have discussed with OH and we agree that we will not be buying the boys their own consoles until they are a lot older. Logan has plenty of toys which will be forgotten once he has a console I reckon If we were to buy something like a PS or XBox we would have one in the lounge that we shared, and then it would be limited use.
In fact, Logan has been asking for a tablet as his friend from school has one. Ive said no as Ive seen how hooked this friend is on his, rarely puts it down. Hes also a bit rough with toys so it probably wouldnt last long anyway. x

 

[karlilay]

We have an Xbox one, a iPad, and I brought Madi as DS for her birthday.
I'm not sure i would spend £500 on a console just for her, I would wait a while, I bet the game will come out for PS3. You can pick one of those up pretty cheap, if he still wants one, maybe get one for Christmas.

 

[JASMAK]

We have a Wii, an iPad, and a Galaxy tablet. The tablet is actually my 3 year old but she doesn't use it. My kids have DSi's and iPods. My son just upgraded with his own money to the iPod 5. My kids use them for texting and facetiming friends and they play minecraft. Overall, they are too busy to use their gadgets much as they are in school, swim club, and BG club. My son also has a laptop her uses for homework.

 

[Selaphyna]

We have a PS3, and my son's dad has an Xbox360. My son has gamer parents (as well as my OH is a gamer), so he was exposed early on to it all. He didn't get his first game system for himself until about two years ago. He got a 3ds for christmas from his dad's family. I figured if his dad bought it for him and my son breaks it, that's out of his dad's pocket, not mine. But my son is really good with his electronics and I do think that that has to do with us being gamers and having the electronics that we have.

Also for the last 5 years or so when he goes to my parents, he gets time on my dad's computer, and plays games on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.

I just continue to have safety talks with him about talking to people he doesn't know online that are playing the games with him.