Nintendo DS - too young?? OH objecting and being tight!

robpw2

I cant believe that when i was five their was none of this wii or ds availible

back in the 80s we had board games for christmas

wii is a great invention as four people can play and they have wii sports and thats good fun etc

i would suggest the wii that way you wil encourage interaction between all four parties and you wil be able to get a wii now from places like CEX -quite cheap compared to at christmas when it wil double in price.

you could buy them and extra controller each as a stocking filler and maybe a game they would each like

npw32jnw

Our daughter got her DS at 7, but we have just agreed to get son one at 6, because we now accept that it is the right age - it does encourage reading of instructions, so we think that earlier than that is too early. We too have R4DS's for both, again this cuts the cost significantly.

Incidentally we have also already boughtg the Wii and Wiifit for Xmas as a family present. Took us ages to find the wiifit! Hoping therefore that price rockets in the run up to Xmas, so we can feel smug.

On the issue of decorating bedrooms, we sometimes do this for birthdays - I have a job ahead of me to sort out sons bedroom in a day whilst he is at school, in a couple of weeks time on his b'day.

robpw2

i can just imagine a conversation with my mum

can i have a wii for christmas?

well if you have to wait that long perhaps you should go see the doctor?

or you can have one now dear the toilet is upstairs:)

bryanb

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

That sounds like an excellent argument for not getting one! Not a healthy situation to be in at that (or any) age!

Agreed, but we are the grandparents, therefore cannot "interfere"

lesley1960

tattoed_bum wrote: »

at 4 and 6 isnt really to young for a ds my son had one last year when he was 4 and has played with it constantly ,a wii takes a lot of setting up and with a new baby on the way this may not be practical they do lots of ds games from age 3 up .

but i agree doing up their room isnt really a present is he the kind of guy who buy's lots of practical gift's for xmas
imagine your kids faces when they wake up christmas morning and get that as a gift they are to young to understand that santa painted there room as a pressie they will be disapointed

Or imagine DH's face when he wakes up on Christmas Morning and finds a wrapped ( raw) turkey under the tree for him lol.

skylight

I had my bedroom decorated for my birthday. That was it. I was 12 and I hated it - not just because mother picked something she liked, I hated it because that was all I got. Mother (I call her that when cross about something!!!) had got the rellies to buy matching items for the room rather than pressies. It wasn't a present, it was an awful colour mess. (80's........)

I know yours are only 4 and 6, but I am getting upset at remembering crying my eyes out for weeks after..... Don't do it.


On the DS though - I also think they are a bit young (!!) I bought last Christmas off Ebay the Nintendo Gameboy, newer one for DD who was almost 6 then. Paid £40 for the gameboy and 10 games, case etc. It had barely been used. She loves it. The 4yo (who was 3 and half last Xmas) got the older version of the gameboy (not as good as no backlight) but they share the games and they both love them.

Dazi

Can't comment too much on the DS as do not know much about them I know my stepdaughter has one and so has my mum, so they are obviously meant for all ages! (I am putting one on my santa list)

Would like to give another thumbs up for the wii, its something everyone can enjoy, my parents have just given us a very early xmas pressie of the wii fit, OHs granddaughter who will be 4 soon was playing on it at weekend and loved it. And she was sooooo much better than me on the hula hoop :rotfl:

To me, decorated bedroom and bunk beds would be on par with getting a saucepan for xmas, not sure I would be able to show appropriate enthusiasm but I might like the paper it was wrapped in. :rotfl:

If your OH is still set on the bedroom thing, maybe you could leave it till after xmas, buy them lots of little bits and make a book for them .....this is sorta difficult to explain. Like pictures of a bedroom with I would like the walls this colour...., I would like my duvet like this........, I want to put my toys into this.... and get them to fill in the blanks, then in the new year you could decorate it how they would like it to be (can also take advantage of the January sales then) I think we often expect children to like our version of how a room is, nothing like what they would like, well, within reason of course! I once let my daughter have loads of those tester pots to see what colour she wanted, she doodled with them then told us she wanted it left like that!, and so she did, we just shut her door firmly when anyone came round.

robpw2

yes painted bedroom its like that wooly jumper or pack of deodrant or briefs that your nans tend to give you that you would never ever wear but you say thanks and try to hide your disspointment

especially to kids they arent gonna care if their room is painted or not

*Louise*

Sorry, I think the idea of kids getting their bedroom decorated for an Xmas present is the stingiest idea ever!!

They should have it decorated because it's their bedroom and they're entitled to somewhere nice to play/sleep. Little kids don't understand costs and it's certainly not something that can be unwrapped on Christmas morning. :sad:

Next time your OH's birthday comes round, tell him the kitchen's getting painted and that's his present.;)

I wouldn't have bought my son a DS at 4, but these days there's so many games aimed at younger kids it's easier to find more suitable ones. And they are GREAT for car journeys!!!

Plushchris

RoxieW wrote: »

maybe - OH isnt keen on a wii either though - he's a ps3 man through and through. Will look into it though as i quite fancied a wii fit

Are the pressies gonna be for him or the kids?

Seriously, the PS3 is good but the Wii is probably better for kids of that age.

Tell him not to be such a bah humbug and let them have a pair of DSs