Have you bought your child a Nintendo DS?

[Ann@thebeach]

How old were they and did you put limits on usage?

My son is 9 and really wants one. We have no other game playing things at our house except for a Leapster ;)

I suppose we are in the dark ages not having Nintedo or xbox but we never used the TV much in the past.

 

Anyway, my son has a few friends that have the hand held Nintendo DS and he's just dying to get one-he talks about it all the time. He does play a few games on the lego.com site but that's the extent of his "gaming" experience. I know I'd have to put some limits on usage.

 

It would be for his 10th b-day this fall I think-I'm not just buying something for $130 for no special reason KWIM? It's a bit over our normal birthday spending but he said he's pay for part of it so I thought that was fair.

 

Just curious if they are worth the money in terms of not breaking down and if your child has used it alot or would something like a Wii be better overall?

 

thanks

[elegantlion]

My son got a ds when he was 9. He is pretty much self-limiting on play time so that has not been an issue. He'll play more when he gets a new game, but after a few days it's back to normal.

 

I like the DS because they are portable. My son is not hard on toys, but it has held up very well over the last two years. DS brings his when we go out or on road trips, he plays in the car.

 

He also has a playstation and wants a Wii. We have held off on the Wii because of the price of games.

 

That is also something to consider, the price of games. Our issue hasn't been the play time but how often he is allowed a new game. He buys 75% of his own games, it's great incentive to save money. All games must have parental approval.

[SusanG]

My kids have had them since they were 4 and 5, I think, and dh and I also own them for ourselves. We love playing 4 player games together - it's a lot of fun!

[BeachGirl]

I bought my dd one when she was 14 (last year). She takes it to the dentist and doctor appointments so she has something to do in the waiting room. She also uses it on the bus. There are educational games out there. I have two for my DS. Both are foreign language coaches. One is "My Spanish Coach" and the second is "My French Coach". I have learned quite a few new words, grammar and phrases from each. They have puzzle type games also.

[abbeyej]

We have several in our home. (I've mentioned that dh has every game system known to man as part of his research...) They've held up well, no mechanical or software problems, and there are some cute games to play on them. (My favorite is Animal Crossing: Wild World.) The styluses are easy to lose if they aren't stuck into their little holder each and every time they're not in use, so that's one thing I'd warn a kid about...

 

In our house, all screen time (of any sort) is "by permission only". Ask politely, and the right answer is always "yes, ma'am", whether I say "sure", "no", or "after you ___"... Any whining or arguing (when I answer, or when I say, "Okay, time to come to a stopping point and turn that off") means no screen time at all for a series of days (relative to the level of whining). Consequently, we have almost no whining or arguing when it comes to screen stuff... I find this more flexible and adaptable than having absolute time limits... The kids are also fairly self-limiting, so I don't have to be "on them" very much.

 

I also don't allow the DS to leave the house under most circumstances. There are a few occasions (airplanes, expected very long waits in dr offices, etc) where I'll allow them, but not places where there are other kids to play with, etc. I just think it's incredibly rude.

 

But the DS is a nice little system.

[Plucky]

My kids saved up money and bought their own. You can get a refurbished one for cheaper and we've not had any problems with them. My boys have now saved up and bought refurbished psps. They've hacked them apart and learned a ton about computers and user systems (as well as using the computer).

[Adrianne]

Our son just got his first DS this past February. He had to save up and earn the money to pay for the games and the system doing chores, B-day and X-mas money. It took him about 6 months.

 

We also have a game cube that is a family toy and are talking about getting a Wii this Xmas as a family toy.

 

My ds9 likes the DS and I have found it a great thing when we have had to go to drs appointments or other appointments that I know are going to be long. I also allowed him to bring it to a wedding recently for everyone's enjoyment. Otherwise, it generally does not leave the house.

 

As a general rule in our home, "TV time" which includes any electronic media (with a few exceptions) is restricted to 30 minutes a day. This includes the DS.

 

Our ds5 has been asking for one but not until he can earn it himself.

[HollyDay]

dd received one for her 12th birthday to replace her Gameboy Advanced

 

dd will receive one for her 9th birthday for same reason

[cin]

Our 4 yr old just got one for her brithday. It is not a daily toy. DD 7 yr has a psp. The games are used for certain things, for example, this morning I had a dr. appt. The waiting room can be VERY boring. So they took their games. We also use them for long car trips. But even then, we limit the play.

 

DH is a geek, and he insisted they needed these. They also have their own desktop computer on their schooldesk. It is not connected to the internet. And they both have a variety of games to play.

[bettyandbob]

last fall. this was in anticipation a long trip last winter. They got games and gift cards to gamestop for xmas. Both have jobs (pet sitting dd, paper route ds) and have bought and sold games since getting the ds's. We've had no problems with screen time. They helped immensely for the long trip.

[Mom-to-three-sons]

I have / we have said, "no". We do not budge on that one. They have ipods, however, and that is almost as bad, in my opinion. We had to end up taking that away from our youngest son, as he got his at age 11, and is generally much less mature / responsible than his older brothers were at the same age. He wasn't ready to own it and to maintain his "duties": chores and homework.

 

We have - in the past - limited the home gaming system to weekends and special days (holidays or company). It just did not work for us, otherwise.

[Pamela H in Texas]

My kids bought one together. I think they were 10 and 12 at the time. It fell under other screen time rules. They sold it several months ago because they didn't play it much due to playing other things.

[Plucky]

I have / we have said, "no". We do not budge on that one. They have ipods, however, and that is almost as bad, in my opinion. We had to end up taking that away from our youngest son, as he got his at age 11, and is generally much less mature / responsible than his older brothers were at the same age. He wasn't ready to own it and to maintain his "duties": chores and homework.

 

We have - in the past - limited the home gaming system to weekends and special days (holidays or company). It just did not work for us, otherwise.

 

No, I know a lot of families that don't do video games. Every family has different rules. It's nice when we don't judge each other's choices but just explain that families have different cultures, beliefs, values, and rules (it's also nice when families afford us that benefit when we do differences).

 

Homeschooling has really opened the door for us to know a variety of families and we've really enjoyed it. I think in that way homeschooling can be even more diverse because families don't bow to other family peer pressure. Pretty cool.

[Aubrey]

We have not. Ds is 7, & we will not. Dh & I have pretty strong feelings about most electronics, but computer/video games are...not something we will do before highschool, if then. Probably not then. And for now? Not even at friends' houses.

 

Just wanted to let you know--if you *are* in the dark ages, you're not alone there! :001_smile:

[5kidsforME]

How old were they and did you put limits on usage?

My son is 9 and really wants one. We have no other game playing things at our house except for a Leapster ;)

I suppose we are in the dark ages not having Nintedo or xbox but we never used the TV much in the past.

 

Anyway, my son has a few friends that have the hand held Nintendo DS and he's just dying to get one-he talks about it all the time. He does play a few games on the lego.com site but that's the extent of his "gaming" experience. I know I'd have to put some limits on usage.

 

It would be for his 10th b-day this fall I think-I'm not just buying something for $130 for no special reason KWIM? It's a bit over our normal birthday spending but he said he's pay for part of it so I thought that was fair.

 

Just curious if they are worth the money in terms of not breaking down and if your child has used it alot or would something like a Wii be better overall?

 

thanks

 

My son (9) got his DS for Christmas last Dec. (he was 8). In the beginning they want to play it a lot but that dies off some. I like it. I am happy he is has it. He loves to play games. He will go for a couple of weeks without playing it. My 2 younger ds also play it. They play very little but enjoy it as well.

 

I will take it away if they fight over it. If they are grounded they lose it for a period of time. I do sometimes put time limitations on their use if it starts to be used excessively.

 

HTH!

[emzhengjiu]

Both my daughters, 11 & 8, have DS systems. Fortunately both DDs also enjoy many other activities so I've not had to make specific rules limiting their use yet. As part of the requirements for getting / using them, my sweeties have to be willing to stop graciously when asked and to be willing to carry on conversations with me and others even if their games are more interesting to them. They've actually learned a lot about the art of conversation this way. When we first got them, I made a point to interrupt their game play unexpectedly to be sure they will react graciously. Since they have demonstrated to me that they can "handle" having the DS over many months now, I'm no longer concerned (at least not as much as I was when we first got them.) The games are fairly expensive but the really good ones can be played many times. Also, we buy used games at Gamestop. Used games there can be returned for a refund within 7 days.

 

Ann

[Erica in PA]

My 12 yos has one-- he really loves it, and it's been well worth the expense. I like that it's portable, so he can take it in the car on long trips, while waiting for appts., etc. I actually prefer that for him to a video game console that stays in one place all the time. There are a good variety of games available to play on the DS, and they seem to be well-done. My dh actually has one too, and it's so much fun for them because they can play together at the same time, each able to see the other person's player on his screen.

 

We have rules and limits to the amount he can play, but it hasn't been a problem. My soon to be 8 yos would like one too, but we're going to wait on that for awhile. He has a gameboy advance, and we think that's enough for him right now.

 

Erica

[Erica in PA]

There are a few occasions (airplanes, expected very long waits in dr offices, etc) where I'll allow them, but not places where there are other kids to play with, etc. I just think it's incredibly rude.

 

 

 

I totally agree with Abbey here!! We do allow ds to take it in the car on long trips, to dr. appts, etc., but NEVER when there are other children to interact with. I think that's so rude, as well!

 

Erica

[Old Dominion Heather]

We have said No to individual handheld games and have opted instead for a Wii, and before that a Gamecube.

 

My husband and I decided that we would rather have them play together, interactively than hole up by themselves and play.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Dd7 got one for her birthday this year.

 

I am actually opposite a bit of some here- I won't allow my dd to take it in waiting rooms (unless it was a family member having a big procedure which would involve us being at the hospital literally all day long). Long car trips- forget it- look at the scenery and let your mind wander. If she has a playdate and we know the friend has one too, she can bring it along, though. She is not rude enough to sit and play the thing if that's not what the other kid wants to do.

 

We don't put limits on it. Dd is much too busy to be playing video games all day. It is our new favorite thing to take hostage when needed, though. ;)

[Slartibartfast]

My dd has a DS.

 

She likes Animal Crossing and that game where they train puppies.

 

We don't allow it all the time, plus if there are other kids there she always wants to play with the kids anyways. So she is actually really good with it.

[Ann@thebeach]

Wow, lots of responses. Thanks everyone for your input. Lots of good info to take into consideration.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

DS 10 got one for Christmas. He had been told we would never allow videogames in the house, so it was quite a surprise!

 

We have a few rules too. If there are other kids around, he can only play for a max of 10 minutes. Usually it's to show the other kids how to do some specific trick. If the other kid also has a DS, then they can play together, because of the wireless connection. It's actually lots of fun.

 

One has to realize that for boys of that age, the DS is a *great* social skill to have.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

... individual handheld games ...

 

My husband and I decided that we would rather have them play together, interactively than hole up by themselves and play.

 

The Nintendo DS has great wireless connections, and kids do play *together* (or against each other - depending on your point of view).

 

Since my son got a DS, I'm amazed at the social network he's built!

[Kari C in SC]

I think it depends on the kid. We let our oldest ds -19 have lots and lots of game systems. Sometimes it was a war with him. 10 years later, when we had our dd, we decided we weren't going down that same path. Well... this past Christmas, I wanted to get our toddler a leapster for the many long car trips we had planned. I saw the writing on the wall that our 9 year old dd would want a "game" too. So, we decided to get her a DS. I thought I would have to put all sorts of restrictions on it, etc. Nope. She goes in spurts where she will play a new game a lot, but for the most part - she only plays a little here and there. I have found it is great for road trips, waiting rooms, etc. There are also quite a few educational games that go with it. I am still not convinced we want a tv gaming system in our house, but I am very please with the DS my dd has.

[Michelle in OK]

All three of my girls have one. They like to connect together to play and send each other pictures they draw. They are only allowed to play certain games and are not allowed to connect up via wireless. We first bought them because we travel so much and the road trips are typically pretty long. The little one is actually the one that likes to play it the most. The kids are not allowed to play with them when they have friends around. I really don't have to police their play time much. If they are able, they would rather have physical play time.

[EarleneW]

My 10yo, 7yo and 5 yo all have them. The older 2 got them at 9 and 6 and the youngest at 4. They are wonderful. We are out of town in a hotel right now and they have been a lifesaver today!

[Desert Rat]

We have a love/hate relationship with the DS here.

We paid for half and my ds8 raised the other half. We agreed to letting him get one because all of his friends have them and I think that it helps him fit in. I know this might be a problem for some people, but my ds has some peculiar traits and it helps to have something in common with other kids.

Now for the hate part. My ds has obsessive tendancies. So, letting him choose when to play doesn't work here. He can play on the weekends pretty much at his leisure although we do enforce periodic breaks. During the week he can earn the priviledge to take his DS to Taekwondo on Tuesdays and Thursdays and play while his brother's class is going on. This has worked well so far because a) it's incentive to behave well and do his chores and (most importantly) b) I get some well-needed adult interaction time at TKD!

The DS itself is great and durable. Yes, I think it's worth the money. In our house though, it's been trying at times to find a balance we all can be happy with.

HTH

[Jenny in Florida]

. . . he is not the only 9 or 10 year old in the U.S. without a DS (or comparable hand-held game). My son is 10, doesn't have one and isn't getting one anytime soon. In fact, he doesn't even have regular access to a TV-based game system. There is a PS2 in the house, but it's technically his dad's, and it isn't even hooked up most of the time.

 

My son does play some games on his computer, but that's about it.

 

I'm actually pretty horrified by the way these games seem to have grabbed hold of the brains and eyeballs of most kids, and I just refuse to go along with the pack.

 

I do want to say that I'm sure there are some kids and families who handle these things just fine. It's not like I think the items, themselves, are evil or anything. It's just that I see so many kids who seem to have the things surgically attached to their hands, and I know perfectly well that my son, given half a chance, would be one of them.

 

So, at least for now, when he needs something to entertain him that is portable and fits into his hand, I suggest a book. It's worked quite well so far.

[EKS]

We gave our 12 yo one for his birthday a month ago. Of course, it then became clear if we ever wanted peace in the house again we either needed to get rid of the one we gave him or get another one for the 6 yo. So we got one for the 6 yo.

 

They mostly play with them when they are waiting, like at the hairdresser or during violin lessons. After a brief honeymoon period where they wanted to play all the time, now they essentially never want to play. It is regulated as a screen here (same as TV), so they need to earn time to use it.

[farmgirlinwv]

Our dd got one for Christmas, age 10. She has Animal Crossing, Dogz, Animal Doctor, Big Brain Academy...stuff like that. She really likes it. It's nice for long car trips and when I'm busy for several hours somewhere to keep her busy just sitting and waiting.

[sticer]

It sure beats "Are we there yet?" on long road trips.

[hsmamainva]

I bought a Nintendo DS Lite for my 3rd child last year, on his 8th birthday.

 

We haven't had a problem with 'screen time'. He usually plays it in the car (we live in the country, so a trip to Wal-Mart takes 45 minutes each way -- the DS comes in handy!!)

 

He also takes it to Tae Kwon Do (he takes the children's class and then he has to wait for his older sister to finish the adult class, which ends an hour after his, so he plays his DS in the waiting room)

 

I bought one for our oldest son for Christmas two years ago. He's not a big fan of it. Like our younger son, he primarily plays it in the car.

 

They have a Wii, which we bought for them last Christmas and they play that every day .. but we have a rule during the school year that video games are only played after schoolwork and chores are finished. It helps to encourage them to finish on time!!