melissel Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 I'm contemplating getting each girl her own MP3 player for Christmas. DD6 loves audiobooks and is just starting to get into grownup music (her dad prescreens and makes mixes for her), while DD3 strongly prefers listening to kids' music and only likes the occasional audiobook (she loves the Golden Books on audio, and Dr. Seuss). However, I just have this vision of everyone sitting in the car with their headphones on listening to their own thing, no one talking or interacting. On the one hand, that seems like such a peaceful vision :lol: But on the other, I'm just having kind of a hard time with the idea. Am I making too much of a big deal out of this? I know lots of people here have MP3 players for their kids. The girls would love to have them, and DD6 would be so happy not to have to hear her sister complain all through her audiobooks. I don't know what my sticking point is. What do you think? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumbledeb Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 We all have them. The littlest ones only use them occasionally. Mostly we use them while doing chores or gardening, but not all the time. I don't find that we talk less, in fact we talk a lot more about music now.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 My 7 y.o. has an MP3 player and the 4 y.o.s like to listen to it. We set limits because, yes, it can be a means of isolating one's self. We grown-ups have iPods, and only use them in certain instances - my husband has a nifty car stereo hookup for his and listened to a number of his books for grad school while commuting, I listen to music, Car Talk and Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me while cleaning the bathroom - but not generally when we're all together in a room or doing things that should be interactive. They're great on long car trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I've put them off so far because I don't want my kids to isolate themselves with their Ipods! DS 11 is asking for one and he may get one next year. I just bought dh an Ipod touch for Xmas, so we'll see how this goes!! But, I DO hear ya' on the car issue!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Bear in mind, too, that kids should use headphones, not ear buds...and if you can preset the volume so they can not play the MP3 too loud that is also good. Do not want to harm their hearing!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confuzzled Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 We generally don't allow headphones while in the presence of other people. Exceptions are made for long cross-country car trips. I think it's rude to have earphones in when with other people. My husband will sometimes walk around with news radio playing in his earphones, which he only sticks in one ear so he'll still be part of any conversation, although I still don't like it. It was a compromise because I SO hated listening to the ranting and raving he listens to on the radio everyday and he didn't want to turn it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 We don't use them constantly. I think K's is buried somewhere in her bedroom, because I haven't seen it lately. We got R a cheap one for her 4th birthday because she had really been wanting one, and she likes it but only occasionally. I bought a transmitter for mine for the car, and play audiobooks and kid music on long drives, plus I listen to it most nights while I making dinner and dh has the kids. I think there's definitely the possibility of overuse, but it hasn't happened here - if it was affecting their interactions with real people, I'd set time limits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 We generally don't allow headphones while in the presence of other people. Exceptions are made for long cross-country car trips. I think it's rude to have earphones in when with other people. :iagree: I think it can be great, as long as you set limits. It is rude to have headphones on when you're around other people. Reasonable exceptions include long-distance driving, or on an airplane. (And you can decide how long a trip must be for you to allow headphones. Half hour, 4 hours, whatever...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ack25 Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Bear in mind, too, that kids should use headphones, not ear buds...and if you can preset the volume so they can not play the MP3 too loud that is also good. Do not want to harm their hearing!!! We have had our kids look around the website Listen To Your Budshttp://www.listentoyourbuds.org/kids.php created by the American Speech and Hearing Association. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 We solve this issue by making a rough schedule for a long car trip. For example, we might declare the first hour a play hour, the second hour iPod time, the third hour play again, and the fourth hour for a family audiobook on the car stereo, for example. We are very firm on not wanting each person to just be in their own world all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 All of my girls have them and it hasn't been a problem. They listen to them on long car rides (2 hours or more,) in bed (where they just as often double as flashlights for reading) and sometimes when doing chores such as washing dishes. They will often all set their Ipods to the same song and sing out loud. They are really terrible singers. :D I had my dh put a bunch of things on them like the multiplication tables, latin songs, poetry, classical music. If nothing else, they know the first line to several poems and have figured out how to hit the skip button without even looking down at their Ipods. :tongue_smilie: I did lock the volume at just under the halfway point for each Ipod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Am I making too much of a big deal out of this? I know lots of people here have MP3 players for their kids. The girls would love to have them, and DD6 would be so happy not to have to hear her sister complain all through her audiobooks. I don't know what my sticking point is. What do you think? No, you're not making too big a deal out of it. It's smart to give this a lot of consideration because once you go down this road, imo, it'll be very, very hard to turn back should you ever want to do so. I also think you should listen to your instincts on this one. I wouldn't want to sit in a car with a group of people all isolated in their own little worlds. I can not abide being around people who are listening to iPods/MP3 players. It is something to be enjoyed when you're own your own, imo, not in the presence of other people. Children (and adults) need to strive to cooperate and respect one another's preferences. If your younger daughter complains all through her sister's audiobooks, she needs to be taught not to do so, not pacified with her own MP3. Goodness. To be honest, the thought of children so young sitting there together ~ but separate ~ makes me very sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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