Kids Xmas, Tablet for Kids

TheConways

Another thought - i'm partly in the camp that "it's a lot to spend on a 6-year old". When is his birthday? I would think about giving him a sum of money for Christmas and birthday, and say that you cannot afford an iPad, but he could put this money towards one.

He can then earn money by doing jobs around the house to get to his target.

I am fairly certain that by the time he has earnt his own money, and saved up, he might not be so eager to spend it on an iPad... and he would also learn how much these items cost, and how they have to be paid for!

Min wage is ~4quid an hour to an under-18 year old, so I reckon that's 25 hrs of non-stop hoovering, cleaning, dishwashing, carwashing etc etc to get to 100 pounds....

pearl123

WOw..I quite shocked that a 6 years old want an ipad. I'm 46 and can't afford to get one. I'm sure they are educational but surely if you do give something as expensive as this it's almost like saying you can have anything you want. This 6 year old may develop rather expensive tastes and that does not alway bring happyness if you can't afford it!

Balgair

Word of warning: don't buy any Apple product expecting it to last more than a couple of years - my iPod Touch is only 3 years old, and has the newest upgraded operating system I can get for it, but I can't get most new apps for it now - "not compatible". Basically, too old, already! So it's fine for my old apps, but any time I want to try a new game or anything, I either can't get it at all, or find it barely works, so either way I have to give up until I find the money for a new iPod.

Same will happen with the iPad, so do bear that in mind; it's not an investment which will last 10 years unless you're extremely limited in what it's used for. Given this is for a child, by the time he's 10 or 11 he'll want the latest games his friends are playing, and on a 4-year-old iPad, it's unlikely many will work. My opinion would be, wait till he's a bit older, 6 seems rather young for something so expensive anyway.

mildred1978

I have an iPad 2, but most of the stuff on it is actually my 2 year olds. I'm perfectly happy with him playing with it (he knows how to unlock it, how to swipe between screens and choose what he wants). He has had his own iPod touch since he was 1, and apart from making sure he didn't take it with him for bath time I had no issues.

But I wouldn't dream of buying an iPad solely for a 6 year old. Can't it be a family present?

jellyhead

TheConways wrote: »

I would think about giving him a sum of money for Christmas and birthday, and say that you cannot afford an iPad, but he could put this money towards one.

Surely at the age of 6 he still believes in Father Christmas? FC doesn't give money, not to 6 year olds, surely?

If it's what he desperately wants then a cheap alternative would be better than money.

raven83

pearl123 wrote: »

WOw..I quite shocked that a 6 years old want an ipad. I'm 46 and can't afford to get one. I'm sure they are educational but surely if you do give something as expensive as this it's almost like saying you can have anything you want. This 6 year old may develop rather expensive tastes and that does not alway bring happyness if you can't afford it!

This is exactly what I think, a lot of it comes down to status.

jellyhead

Has he got a bike? What about a scooter? roller blades?

I know some children who talk about ipods and ipads etc. for christmas, and my cousin was on about getting an ipod touch for her 5 year old's birthday! My son got swimming lessons and a trip to London. She thinks he's deprived. I think her boy is deprived - he never goes swimming, they never go on days out, they just spend their weekends looking at various screens. They take all of their screens on holiday with them, they even pack up the xbox - they think we're mad for going camping on a site with no electric hook-up. They would need a proper caravan, so they could pluf the xbox and monitor in.

Anyway ... we don't know that the OP is like my cousin. Perhaps the child has a full life with varied activities, and has seen an ipad at someone's house and it's what he's set his heart on. Mine wanted a DS for his 7th birthday and while I think there's no need for it it won't do any harm as part of a balanced lifestyle.

1940sGal

An iPad for a 6 year old?? J***s C****t!

jellyhead

1940sGal wrote: »

An iPad for a 6 year old?? J***s C****t!

Mine got one of those gogo hamsters for christmas when he was 6. They are so young, and they think father christmas will bring them what they've got their heart set on.

If OP doesn't want to get it then she can gently persuade him otherwise. Sometimes these purchases are for the parents too .... according to my husband the children desperately want new electronic gadgets that they've never heard of, and really it's because he wants to play with them :rotfl:

When eldest got a wii it was for the whole family and to us it seemed justified. Not sure how careful a 6 year old would be with an ipad though, I wouldn't trust them with a pair of glasses

raven83

jellyhead wrote: »

Has he got a bike? What about a scooter? roller blades?

I know some children who talk about ipods and ipads etc. for christmas, and my cousin was on about getting an ipod touch for her 5 year old's birthday! My son got swimming lessons and a trip to London. She thinks he's deprived. I think her boy is deprived - he never goes swimming, they never go on days out, they just spend their weekends looking at various screens. They take all of their screens on holiday with them, they even pack up the xbox - they think we're mad for going camping on a site with no electric hook-up. They would need a proper caravan, so they could pluf the xbox and monitor in.

Anyway ... we don't know that the OP is like my cousin. Perhaps the child has a full life with varied activities, and has seen an ipad at someone's house and it's what he's set his heart on. Mine wanted a DS for his 7th birthday and while I think there's no need for it it won't do any harm as part of a balanced lifestyle.

I agree it is sad now that kids don't seem to want the more traditional toys these days and would rather spend their time looking a computer screens. My youngest DD has just gone 6 and I wouldn't dream of getting her an Ipad! I can't help think a lot of it comes down to parents wanting to keep up with the "status" thing. They are expensive and tbh more of a luxurious "toy" than a real essential. I know of parents that have fed their kids beans on toast for nearly a month and not paid bills just to be able to say they have an Ipad. I think it is incredibly sad.