Horror Aficionados discussion

My 6 1/2-year-old son said he would like an iPod Touch for Christmas. I don't even know what all this thing does.

His school has them for each classroom and at certain times a week groups of them get to use them. He's already pretty computer savvy and plays video games and goes to learning sties on his computer. However, I don't want him to be one of those kids who is either on the computer at then pounding away on one when he's away from home.

Any advice?

Wow at 6 1/2 years old.....I can tell you I would say no. It is basically a portable mini computer for the most part....music, videos, movies, books....I think it can even text in some cases. I know kids want to have the best latest thing, but I would have to tell my kid no at that age. Go play outside or with friends or games or books, etc. I mean kids are at school with computers then at home with computers.....and usually once kids have a little phone or device like iTouch they have their nose in it all the time.....not that it is always a bad thing....sometimes it could be good for school work and the like. I would say if you really want to get him one....I would limit the time he has it. They are not cheap either.

All of what you just mentioned is the reason I'm leaning towards him not having one.

I refuse to put a DVD player in my SUV. He already watches movies at home; when we're in the car we like to talk or listen to music or audiobooks, and most times he is content to sit and look out the window. Now he's into writing and learned to read last year, and when he's quiet I'll look back and he'll be reading a book.

He mainly sees the gizmo as a little thing to play games on. That's what it's used for at school. I've got a $30 Virgin Mobile phone that has two piddly little games on it, but my brother's g/f has a phone with cool games on it. He used hers one day and I think that's been in his mind ever since.

My son has a habit of wanting to get on the computer too often when he gets a new game, but after a while that use tapers off. He still loves playing board games, roughhousing with us, playing light sabers and swords and Nerf guns, and jumping on his trampoline. So he isn't one of those kids who is chained to an electronic gizmo all day long.

Think of the iPod Touch as an iPhone without the phone part. For a 6 1/2 year old I think it is a little too high end. Not only will it tempt him to spend every minute with it - listening to music, reading, playing - but because it is so high end, it will put his expectations for the future all way up there.

In addition an iPod Touch is pretty fragile because the display is made of glass. Drop it once or twice and the thing is a goner because the glass cracks and the touch screen won't work any more.

Personally, when my son was 6 1/2 I gave him a Nintendo DS which he had access to only when we were traveling.

I think it is a bad thing that kids these days spend every free second with gadgets like phones. Look around you, every kid these days runs around with ear plugs firmly implanted 24 hours a day. They are either on the phone all the time or texting or listening to music while they should actually be paying attention to other things - like the street, the traffic or whatnot.
I feel it is very important to teach kids "headspace." To teach them that they have to use their own mind once in a while to entertain themselves, that "thinking" is not a bad thing but can be fun. I always feel pity for the world when I see how clueless some of today's kids are when their phone is broken or when their parents tell them to turn it off for while. It's like they don't even know how to live in the real world any more.

Don't make the same mistake with your kid... that's my 2 cents.

Well....those are all pluses and if you could limit his time, I could see the value in it, but inevitably (in my opinion), it will lead to wanting to play with it more and more and read and play (for real) less and less.
I can tell you I told my kids no plenty of times when they were growing up....no cell phones, etc. They had walkie talkies to use to walk to and from the bus stop and play outside so they could communicate with me....I know it seems lame, but it worked. As soon as they had cell phones and what not, the texting and games started and the regular kid stuff started to go out the door.
My kids were both readers and now they hardly read as they live with their father and all of the fun gadgets and TV and the like.

Well said, Guido and Jennbunny. I think it's very sad the way humans cut themselves off from others these days. Even on my 10 min. walk back and forth from work to the parking deck, I'll listen to my iPod. It's like every min. must be filled with the static of a gizmo. Although most other times I like peace and quiet; yet I still spend too much time on a computer at home.

I'm getting one for my 11 year old grandson for Christmas. He does very well in school in 6th grade and have 8th grade math and English. But he does spend alot of his time on either his xbox or computer. He is the first to be picked up on the bus and the last off so he has an hour ride each way to/from school every day.
Cyber monday is having ipod touch with accessory bundle at walmart online this Monday. I don't think that price can be beat. He loves to read a lot so I will make sure he gets the reading app on it

Tressa-you are correct....people in general have cut themselves off so much, they do not even notice others around them at times.
Now I think this computer/technology age is great....less paper and waste which is better for the environment, but too much of a good thing can be bad. Kids don't even write letters anymore....everything is in short abbreviated text (some of which I do not understand and have to ask what it means).