Sorry I must be a stone age parent!

[Cat]

What with my last post and now this!

The otherday I sold my Nintendo Wii, the couple came to pick it up and we were chatting, I assumed it was for them to use, no, perhaps a teenage child, no.

They were buying it for their 5 year old!!!!

Now is this just me, but I found this really sad! (not just from the point of view of how much are they bloody spoiling this child!) But at that age a child chould be developing imaginative play not just sat infront of a computer in my opinion, and they should be outside and playing with other kids, not being anti social. I know other people who put TVs in their babies room too and I hate this idea as well.

Persoanly I have the TV some of the day but not much kids TV and noah is too young to really pay it any attention and just plays with his toys still. Once he is old enough to want to 'watch' TV Iwill limit the amount he watches it, and Icertainly wouldnt let him have a games console untill he is at least 10.

Whats your view?

 

[Layla]

ahh, again i have to diasgree, sorry lol

I dont think its bad? if they child was sat in front of it all day everyday then yes maybe! but an hour here or there i dont have a problem with, Charlie and Ethan both have tv's and dvd's in there room as well as computer consols, but they dont sit in front of them everyday, they do go out the back garden and play, and go round friends houses.
But at the end of the day they get in the bed clothes and lay in bed watching a dvd before they go to sleep, its like a wind down for them, and if its a rainey/cold/windy day so they cant go outside, they play there computer games.

i know i will prob be the outcast agin here like i was on teh other thread lol but it just goes to show how diffrerntly people parent i guess, im very protective about letting Charlie out, i have just started letting her walk home from school but im on edge the whole time untill she gets home (plus i stand wand watch her coming down the street) but i wouldnt think twice about some pictures or computer games.

i hope i havent offended, i really dont mean to, im having trouble expressing myself lately and its getting taken the wrong way lol.

xx

 

[Jo]

I think its a lot of maoney to spend on a console for a 5 yr old but...
I bought Emily a TV for her bedroom when she was 6 to have wind down time of if her friends were round i didn't have to sit through another damn Disney film
Emily has had a gameboy for a couple of years and she got her first console(PS2) for xmas
I don't think it is wrong if it is in moderation, and to tell you the truth she isn't on it that much now the novelty has worn off LOL
I bought it as i thought she needed some 'fun' games opposed to the 'educational one' she always plays on PC

I think they can be good if restricted, Em still loves been out on her bike or just reading etc....

So I agree with you Layla on this one

 

[Cat]

No un dong worry your comments dont offend me, I just find it interesting to get other peoples views on the subject, and how other people raise their kids. I guess Im old fasioned, and thing kids should play with toys and do family things, if the kids are watching TV I want to be watching it as a family, not them disapearing to their rooms. Its the same with how lots of people I know have their kids eat their dinner at a seperate time from them and give them differnt food. Whilst I understand that if you work late you dont have the option of eating meals together. We have our dinner at 6 o'clock. I have it ready for when OH gets home from work, and we always eat our meals as a family at the table.

 

[Lauz_1601]

I agree with the others too, I remember when I went to visit family in america and my then 5yr old cousion was playing on the playstation in the villa, but she didnt play on it for hours, I think its ok in moderation, personally I wouldnt buy one FOR 5 yr old, but if for example Dave bought it for himself I wouldnt mind her playing on it for a bit. Ella loves tv, she usually watches it when Im cooking tea, it gives me 15 mins of peace to get it done, she is a dora fanatic and I think a bit of TV can be educational, for example in dora they learn to count ect. I certaintly wont let her turn into a couch potato thouh, theres a limit.

 

[Wobbles]

It is a lot of cash to spend on a 5 year old but I bet they have games too .... games like happy feet are probably not that hard & just look like a bit of fun for the child. Theres some funny little games on the Wario moves I think which could be quite entertaining for a child too & of course the fact you can download older games from the first nintendo onwards that are really simple.

I wouldn't have my child infront of a video console all day every day either but wouldn't they get sick of that anyway ... kids like to play (house, garden, friends) ...

I be ok with that & the TV video in room that seems like a good idea for me lol Bit of peace & I bet the kids would be glad of some peace from Mum now & then as well when they are home & bored

 

[Cat]

I guess I think as well though that by letting them have TVs and computers in their rooms you cant monitor how much they are watching it or what they are looking at.

For instance a woman whoes daughter commited suicide, found out afterwards that she had been going on her computer at night and going into 'suicide chat rooms' where she made a suicide pact with other girls and had been getting tips on how to hide signs of depression from your family etc. Plus their was a TV series on recenty about teenagers addicted to porn, who were loging on and perusing porn late at night etc.

 

[Wobbles]

Ohhhhh a PC connected to the internet online NO that would be a BIG NO in my eyes not even at 10 11 12! Any online activity I would monitor with eyes in the back of my head until they were 18 probably LOL

 

[Jo]

OMG now that i can understand
Our PC is in the dining room so i can always see what she is on plus withAOL(the one good thing!) is you can set parental controls on it so if she tries to get on a website she needs my permission by way of a password

We do watch TV as a family but if she wants a DVD/video on she watches it in her room
Just for the record me and OH have as many games as she does for the PS2 lol she does tends to put singstar on!!

 

[Cat]

Oh I have been thinking about my recent threads and how I must be coming across to some people. I dont mean for these threads or comments to be critisizing of other peoples parenting, its just when I hear things like kids creating websites on other kids, and games consoles for 5 year olds and ear piercing babies, they just surprise me as they are things that I had never even contemplated and I didnt know if I was in the monority with my thoughts (in most case it seems yes) or if other people do that to, etc so it was something Iwas interested to know, if these things are considered 'the norm' these days!

So appologies if Ihave come across as a sanctimonious git!

 

[Wobbles]

I just think everyone is different & some parents will be more protective than others & tbh I think I would be VERY protective over my kids maybe a little extreme but everything I've been through so far I think that would come natural to me

 

[Cat]

Thing is Idont think Im over protective, Ilove the idea of my kids playing out in local parks and woods etc once they are old enough and going on bike rides. I know a lot of people worry about kids being out of sight and being attacked by weirdos, but I think its important to give kids space and let them charge around with their mates. But also I only want then going out if they have places to go to and things to do. I would not let my kids just hang around on street corners making nucenses of themselves. If they and their friends didnt have anything else to do I would rather they all come round here than just hang around the streets.

I think its just the kind of play Iwould encourage with my kids, I dont want them sitting in front of a TV or computer, no matter how educational some kids programs are etc, I want them to be playing with other kids, or just making up games using their imagination, and creativity, and doing craft things, like I did as a kid. Ididnt play on a computer I played with lego and dolls, and make hideouts and dens and make stuff with clay, and daisy chains etc, thats what childhood is to me, about inocence and play and letting your imagination run wild. I never sat playing computer games till I was a teenager.

 

[Jo]

I don't think your sanctimonious at all hun, its just we all do things differently and things have changed since we went off all day on bike rides etc...
Personally i try to give my children the best of both worlds
Emily is a very arty/crafty person and has glue, paints and embellishment coming out of her ears, she loves doing jigsaws and her imagination when with her friends is a sight to see LOL
But on the other hand i like her to be able to use a computer, they start teaching PC use at schools, Emily could boot up a PC and show her friends what to do but had no idea how to play on a console, which some of her friends found odd
Jack has block, bricks jigsaws pens etc... and i wouldn't dream of plonking him in front of TV for hours on end and i doubt i will let him on the console before he is 6

 

[Wobbles]

I wasn't suggesting I think your overly protective over you lil one or would be - I was saying some parents are protective in their own ways some will appear more protective than maybe you would be personally ... An that I think I would be overly protective rightly or wrongly.

x

 

[Imi]

I had a telly in my room that was it ... Computer and internet accsess?? NO WAY - my sister (shes 12) moaned about havig no internet in her room ... mum basically trold her tough i was VERY relived!

I think some computer/Games con time is fine to "wind down" but i don't think there are that many games you can do that to lol!

I think every parent have a right to be over protective thses days, i mean we have no reason to trust anyone where our children are concerned.

Nobody is either right or wrong, we just parent in different ways and i've learned alot from each and everyone of you ... you all do a fab job!

xxx

 

[weestar21]

Adele and Colby have in their room

t.v, digi box, dvd player and a v-tech smile game.

Adele watches cbeebies in her room and has done since she was a baby and i was amazed by how much she learned by the time she was 3, she was able to have conversations about how astronauts (sp) go into space and tell me all about teh different planets ect.

she never uses the dvd player very often but when she does its a music/ nursery rhym cd she plays on it and dances around the room and colby just giggles at her.

The v-tech smile thing has been learning her how to spell and say the alphabet ect, and she loves playing new games on it.

we cant let her out to play with other kids for 1 i feel shes far to younge, plus we stay in a flat and their isnt really anywhere for her to play thats why she has all this in her room to stop her getting bored of mum learning her how to write or colouring in. i just feel she needs more things to do during the day to keep her ocupied if we cant go to the park or do anything else.

hope all that made sence

 

[Lauz_1601]

Oh I have been thinking about my recent threads and how I must be coming across to some people. I dont mean for these threads or comments to be critisizing of other peoples parenting, its just when I hear things like kids creating websites on other kids, and games consoles for 5 year olds and ear piercing babies, they just surprise me as they are things that I had never even contemplated and I didnt know if I was in the monority with my thoughts (in most case it seems yes) or if other people do that to, etc so it was something Iwas interested to know, if these things are considered 'the norm' these days!

So appologies if Ihave come across as a sanctimonious git!

Not atall, we all have different opinions its good to hear other peoples views and opinions its what makes the world interesting!

 

[Dionne]

nothing wrong with it. its 2006 not 80's any more.
my brother is 5 and has a xbox 360 he is sooo good on it lol, he plays on superman and aves people and he talks me through every thing he has a brilliant imagination.
still it dont mean he is not out in the garden climbing trees etc. he does he is a lucky kid to have a 360 in my opinion as the kids in his class love coming round after school to play it

 

[beanie]

Cat I was just thinking the same after the belly piercing hread - I must sound like a right ogre but I am the same as you. OH has loads of consoles but I don't want Seren playing on them for a very long time. I would prefer her to be playing imaginative things such as dress up etc. I used to love doing that when I was a child. Same as a tv - I probably won't say yes to a tv in her room till she is between 8-10 and even then I will be not happy about it lol. I am such a dinosaur too

 

[Cat]

Cat I was just thinking the same after the belly piercing hread - I must sound like a right ogre but I am the same as you. OH has loads of consoles but I don't want Seren playing on them for a very long time. I would prefer her to be playing imaginative things such as dress up etc. I used to love doing that when I was a child. Same as a tv - I probably won't say yes to a tv in her room till she is between 8-10 and even then I will be not happy about it lol. I am such a dinosaur too

Yeah Im not the only one!! Ihavent seen a belly piercing thread yet, I take it im in for a further shock!