Too Young for Nintendo DS?

My son wasn't allowed to get the DS until he was I believe six or seven. I forget LOL. He had the leapster until then. I prefer the leapster because of the learning games. He didn't know the difference! I would stay with it until she has outgrown the games! My youngest daughter now has the leapster and calls it her DS LOL she has no clue nor does she really care that it is different then her brothers.

They have some great educational games for Nintendo DS. My nephews have had theirs for quite a while and NEVER grow tired of it... You can also buy used games for it at Game Stop and other video game stores. Also, think of all the peace and quiet time you will have when she is occupied doing something she loves. You can limit the time if you're concerned....

Good luck!

She is not too young for a DS. My yo ngest had one at five and loved it. However, if she does still like the Leapster then keep with it. Much better educational games.

i have a 4 and 6 year old in my house, and the 6 year old brought her DS with her. I would never buy that for them at that age. it stays in the middle of the floor,OPEN ON THE STAIRS to get stepped on. it stays in the bathroom, and one day they were using the charger cord for a lasso! to me the leapster products are made to be more durable. the games are a little cheaper for the leapster products also. so i agree with you she is to young. and who says they have to have a DS because everyone else has one? good luck

p.s. i must admit though my 4 year old plays with it more then the 6 yo, he is addicted and that's why it's in the linen closet now!

I have nothing against video games. I started playing the most gruesome games you can imagine when I was 10 and my sister played with me and she was 2 (ok she didnt play she watched) and I turned out fine! however I dont think you should get a 5 yr old a toy that expensive (and that could break by just dropping it to hard) no matter what it is. oh and I want to add to all you non-gamers out there video games have been proven to imporve rationalizing and strategy skills.

Hi,
I agree with you completely Mom, way too young. I think the Leapster is good for this age child, but I have seen the DS become almost addictive with kids 5-7 yrs old and think it is not age-appropriate. If your parent friends have read any child development books recently, TV and video games are not too I think the educational computer games are not bad if you limit and monitor their use. My now teenage daughter got her 1st hand held Gameboy (so yesterday now a days) at age 10 and it's entertainment value was pretty short lived for the money we paid not to mention the price of the games If your parent friends would take read a few child development books they will find out that TV, DVD's and computer games are not good for the young brain, especially those that have little or no educational value. I teach young children and call me old fashioned (in my late 40's), but I even cringe when I hear of toddlers, preschoolers and elementary age children with TV's and DVD players in their bedrooms.In my opinion parents are using the TV, DVD players and video games as babysitters now a days rather than spending more real quality time by talking, playing with or reading to their child. I think helping your little girl learn how to read would be much better for her, then take her to the bookstore to let her pick out is a much better idea. I would not follow this over indulgent buying trend Mom, it's not in the best interest of your daughter. THere have got to be lots of other things out there she would like for her birthday, I woud just tell her thatthe DS is not good for her brain and you and Daddy want her to think of other things she wouild like or why don't use surprise her. You have plenty of time for her to come up with other ideas. Hope this helps.

I was initially surprised on how many kids in that age group have a DS. My girlfriends kids have them, one is careful the other is not. The money alone causes one to pause. I guess it depends on your daughter. If you feel she is responsible to play with it and yes, they do have educational games, then I would get it, doesn't mean it will lead her to be a hard core gamer later in life. My son loved his leapster and played it all the time. My hubs bought him a PSP when he was 6 and frankly I was upset. I felt he was too young and the PSP was too expensive. He proved me wrong. My son still takes care of it like it's gold and only plays games that appropriate to his age and I do limit his time so he doesn't get all caught up. I think also what makes the DS attractive to little girls more so, is the fushia color and all those pet and cooking games.

Hi L.,
May I just say, good for you: YOU are your child's mother!

I'm lucky, my 5 yo has no idea about Nintendo, but if he asked for it, I would say, "no."

I know I'm going to have to tell my boys no a lot over the years, so I might as well get good at it now - LOL!

t

My son is 3 (will be for Nov. 22nd) and we got him a DS, he doesnt have a Leapster, and he doesnt use it that much really, mainly while on the car. I bought a used one from ebay for like $50 with a really good impact resistant case and I think he is really using it the right way. If you are concerned, you can limit the time she uses it, and of course educational games are fun too!. Of course if you feel like she is too young, you can also wait, its up to you. In my humble opinion is not so much the "machine" as it is the game. Hope you find this useful, Good Luck!

i got my kids just before they turned 6 because everybody in their class got one so they asked for one. i got them age appropriate games too. guess what? both nintendos are collecting dust. my kids love their leapster more than the DS. in fact just the other day they said could i move the nintendos in the garage because they're taking up space. so to answer your question, even though my kids love the computer, and their leapster the nintendo was not something they found interesting. so i took them away and will introduce them again in a year or so. i will also not loot to purchase a wii which i had intended to.
leapster games are very educational and my kids love taking them when we go on trips.

All three of my kids have one. My oldest got hers for Christmas when she was 5, same with my son...he was a few months shy of 5. And my youngest got his (my daughter's old one) because my parents got her the DSi. They use it most at doctor's office, hair appointments (my daughters takes two hours), other kids activities, etc...it definintely is not an every day toy. But I think they are fine to use them :o). Totally up to you. But never give your kids something because someone else has it - that's just crazy.

I know its tough but keep holding out. My dd got one when she was 5. I never gave it to her. She'll be 8 next month and I still think she's too young. She does however, play games on the computer but her computer is next to mine, so we compute together!! Good luck. I know it's tough to stick to your guns sometimes but children cope and it's for their own good.

At 5, probably she wont' play with it a ton.
Versus the leapster.
My daughter, was 7 when she got her DS, from Grandma. She also had a Leapster already, from Grandma. To a certain extent, she liked the Leapster more... usage wise from my observation. Although 'she' says she likes her DS.
She likes it, but does not play it much at all.
I think, 5 is a bit young, although it is entertainment... and per your preference as a Mom.

ALL kids will say they want one... but IF they actually make good use of it and play with it over time, consistently.. is another story. And the games for it is not cheap... unless you buy it from say Game Stop, which sells used games.

BUT if she does not make use of it... YOU can use it... there are MANY adult games for it, and puzzles, fun stuff for adults too, for the DS... which is also a popular niche market for the DS. The game "Brain Age" for example is a great game... which exercises the brain... and is for BOTH kids and adults. We use our daughter's DS too, sometimes.

all the best,
Susan

If you should get a DS or not completely depends on what you want as a family.

However, I will share how resisitant we were to getting a D.S. for my 6 year old son. He really wanted one and asked just about every day. Instead of us buying it for him, we had him save money he received in gift certificates for his birthday and Christmas. Luckily alot of friends gave gift certificates to Target. We however do have very strict limits with it. Most of the time he plays it, is in the car on long trips. He is not allowed to bring it on errands or short trips. He recently brought it on our trip to Disneyworld, but only played it on the plane. The rest of the time it was put away in the safe. He will rarely get it out in our house unless it's a rainy day or his sister is napping and I have some cleaning to do.

Children don't have to be glued to a video game all day if they have one. It is our job as parents to put restrictions in place.

Good luck with your decision; I know I had a difficult time with this one too!

Don't cave in to the video game peer pressure!! :) I would highly recommend that you never go there. Five is definitely too young. She has so many other things she can do with that time. Video games have shown to decrease attention spans where people can't concentrate on a page in a book long enough to read it. Oh, she doesn't need such a thing. Let her play and enjoy doing things. You are on the right track by even questioning it. Yay you!

The "everyone else has one" doesn't fly at our house. "Everyone else" doesn't live at our house. Five is way too young. I'm thinking our son was 8 or 9 when we finally caved, and I'm not sorry we waited.

So...now my daughter is 11...and "everyone else" at horse camp this week has their own horse!!?? (Or so she says...) If we had given in to "every one else has one..." when she was 5...would we have to buy her a horse now??? lol. Just a reminder that it won't stop with the ds...so you have to determine what your family's rules and priorities are.

L.,

I feel the exact same way you do and my son is going to be 7! I just feel that kids don't need to have their face planted in a video game all the time. Plus, I told him that even if he had one he wouldn't be able to take it to school or to summer camp. It is too expensive. My son also has the Leapster and I like the fact that he is learning. My husband and I made a deal with him that if he had a good year in 1st grade that as a reward at the end of the school year we would get him one.

Good luck!

L.

oh and so it begins...."all my friends have it..."!! We live in an affluent area where "all" the kids have "everything(so it is perceived by my kids!) My hubby and I are firm on not allowing this "force" ;-) to guide our family! It has worked very well in our home to set the boundries clearly so they know how it works in our family...no matter what all the rest of the world is doing! And because it's a 'our family' thing...they seem to buy into it...not that they don't grumble..but they're clear.

the challenge was deciding on those boundries with our first child..but once decided..and explained to the kids...it's been mostly smooth sailing!

The DS is great...but she doesn't need it...my daughter got hers at 7...and she lost it. So now...she plays with her Leapster again and is just fine. Decide what makes you feel comfortable and then explain.."In our family..you get your DS at age __..."

Start now setting and clarifying those boundries with your family..makes for much more peaceful days I believe!!

...another issue that we struggled with was cell phones...we decided that it made sense for our family to get my son his first phone when he entered middle school since he'd be walking home...now that is the precedent(and my 8 year old daughter does inform me of all her friends that have phones..but is clear on "our family's rule"!

Good luck! This is just the beginning!!
Jen Ohrman

This is such a personal thing, there are so many people who are totally against things such as the DS, but here are my thoughts.

My son (nearly 7) started asking for one at around age 3 or 4. Now, he has uncles and one aunt that are very close to his age (10 years is the biggest age gap there is) so he was perhaps more aware of them because of this. Also, some of the other boys a few years older at daycare had them. My husband and I told him no, that's for older kids. When he turned 5, the onslaught began. I told him flat out that he wasn't old enough for it, no matter who else had them at that time.

He started kindergarten last fall, and asked for one for his birthday that month, and for Christmas, and again we said no. However, this was more a maturity thing and a wanting to keep him focused on school thing that an aversion to it or thinking he was still too young. In April, we sat him down and told him that if he got all "S"es on his report card at the end of the school year, then he would be rewarded with a DS. He did, so he got one a week after school was over. We sat him down, gave him the rules (no playing in his bedroom, everything kept together when not playing, when we say turn it off, do it or you lose it, etc...) and so far there have been few times that it has been an issue. He spent last week camping with my mom, we sent it because of the distance they were traveling, and I was a little worried he'd want to play it more than he should because he wasn't at home, but when I picked him up my mom said he maybe played with it twice over a 5 day period.

He was ready for it, but all kids are different. Hold out longer if you can and if you want to; set some goals for her to "earn" the system, that makes them more invested in it.

One more thing, it seems that girls are less likely to be overly interested in it at a younger age. I see some girls (like my sister) who have them, and play with them, but not that much. I would keep that in mind as well when making a decision.
Good luck!

I wouldn't let that genie out of the bottle for a long time. I see kids glued to those things to the exclusion of almost everything else. Some are addicted and can't put them down. They'd rather play than eat or sleep. My son's 11 yrs and I still won't get him a DS. I'll get him any book he wants to read and he's an avid reader. There are a few educational games I let him play online, but I only let him play a few hours a week. If everyone was jumping off a cliff, my son would be one of the few not jumping with the crowd.

My brother bought my son his DS when he was 5, but he really didn't get into it for about another year.

I wouldn't "get one" or "not get one" based on what others are doing. I had decided not to get a DS for my 5-yr old, but then my parents bought her one for an early birthday gift. I thought she was too young for it, but have found there are some educational games and in moderation it's actually a great gift. She doesn't play it to the exclusion of everything else. In fact, she mostly plays it in the car and on trips. She also plays when she gets together w/ her cousins who each have one and they trade games. Most importantly, you have to just know your kid. I have a brother who was obsessed w/ Atari games when we were kids. He would have played day and night if he was allowed. My daughter isn't like that. If you have a child that will get lost in the games, hold off as long as you can. Moderation is key.

Go with your gut and how you want to raise tour child. You will have many years of "Everyone has this" or "No one does that." Just ignore it and stick with your guns.

When my daughter was little my mother-in-law wanted to get her a Gameboy (that was the big thing then), as she had done the same for my daughter's 2 cousins who were about her age. I thought they were the rudest inventions on the planet and would not let my MIL buy one for my daughter. My kids never had Gameboys, although many of their peers did.

We had no video games for the longest time. Plenty of computer games when they were little, and they were great, fun and educational.

We did not bring our first video system into this house until 18 months ago, when our kids were 13 and almost 10. My husband and I held out for a long time, and our kids knew it was not something to ask for, it just was not going to happen. We surprised them with the Wii one day, and it has been fine--they use it occasionally, ignore it a lot, and that's fine.

I have been on class trips with my son where kids are on the bus using their DS systems. It reminds me of when I would sit in my MIL's living room and my niece and nephew each would be busy on their own Gameboys, ignoring everyone around them. Not for me.

(We also did not allow TV on playdates or when babysitters were over, unless our kids were asleep. I had someone in the house 3 days a week while I was at work, and I wanted the person I was paying to play with my children, not sit them in front of the TV. Our kids are older now, and so the restrictions do not need to be there the same way.)

Good luck! Although there have been times over the years that our kids are not thrilled with our restrictions, we know we have made the right choices for our family.

Hi, L.:

The less electronics the better. Never. D.

I personally think that the sooner you start some things, the sorrier you will be in the end.
There are so many things for 5 year olds that don't involve a Nintendo.
I'm sure your daughter wants one if her friends have one, but that shouldn't be what influences your decision.
Some kids do fine being able to just have a little time with games, but I know too many parents who wish they had never even allowed them in the first place. It's easy to say that you will monitor and only have so much time per day or week allowed, but so often it becomes a fight every day about playing the video games. If you don't have it, there's nothing to argue about.
I literally know kids who are completely addicted by age 7 and their parents have tried using taking the games away as punishment or incentive to do other things. It can really backfire.
Your daughter may well be like my son who can take games or leave them. He's 15 and he almost never plays his video games. He's too busy riding his bike or skateboarding, but he has friends who, especially since it's summer, never get outside because they are in front of a game.
He babysits younger kids and he gets them up and out because if they had their way, they would do nothing but have a controller in their hands.
They are 8 and 11.
There is really nothing wrong with video games. But, moderation is the key and once you introduce them, you find out the hard way if a kid can take them or leave them. At 5, I don't see bringing that whole thing into the mix.
That's just my personal opinion.
A kid can't miss what they never had.
I think 5 is too young.

I mean no offense and that's just my personal opinion.

My daughter was 7 when I got her one. She was 6 when her Dad bought her one. She's almost 8 now and I've noticed just recently she's been really into it.