To DS or Not to DS, That Is the Question

NO. I watched another family member, addicted to games, failing school in high school. He only cares about his video games. I decided I don't want to fight that battle. We will never have any video games at all.
We do have a TV. That's hard enough! We limit the time.

The kids don't go on the computer yet. Oldest is 7.

But he gets to play the Wii at after-care and LOVES it. He wants a DS because the other kids have them, but the answer is no. :)

I'd buy an Ipod touch before i bought another DS. My kids lost more expensive game cards than I'd care to admit. Once we discovered the Ipod touch I realized how much money I'd wasted over the years. DD (11) got a Kindle Fire - same idea but with a bigger screen, and she's used it for all her reading and game playing.

I personally think he is way too young. My husband has a PSP and my son is obsessed with it to the point that I had had to hide it and the games. He became obsessed with it almost instantly. And my stepkids can't go one day without their games and it drives me insane. We find my stepson online at midnight when he should be in bed sleeping and when we tell his mother what he's up to, she ignores us. Our generation grew up with limited or no video games and are so much better of for that, in my opinion.

I went through this last year when my son was 5 1/2. I ultimately decided to get him one instead of the leap pad. I figured it would last him longer. His interest comes and goes. He will play with it non stop (if allowed) for days and then not again for weeks. It is great during car rides. The games can be pricey but he has had to save for some of them. He also trades in the ones he is done with at game stop. At play dates they seem to play the DS together. We do have some rules. He cannot have it in his room at night and cannot play it in the am until he is ready to go to school or in the evening until homework is done. Any back talk and he looses it as punishment. He also cannot take it to school or camp (he is very forgetful and I don't want it lost or stolen). With the proper rules, I think it could be a good investment.

My oldest has a DS but hasn't played with it since she got her IPod Touch years ago. The games for the iPod Touch are up to $2 and the iPod Touch is also a camera and video recorder. My kids would have a hard time living with out it:)

I'd probably get one for a child your son's age. Overall, I think the DS is dated technology next to the Ipads and other tablets. But it is a lot cheaper to buy a DS. You can spend a lot or a little on games. Either way, you'll spend more on games for a DS than with an Ipad. We bought a handful or used DS games at Gamestop years ago. We had a used DS in our house for awhile. The kids liked it. I didn't find they played it to excess. Now that we have an Ipad and other newer tech stuff in our house, the DS hasn't been touched in really, really long time.

Please wait. When she gets "into it", she will want it above all else. It gets a bit addictive. Instead, she should be looking at lots of books, working puzzles, Legos, train track, imaginative play. Manipulatives - real things with her hands.

My sons had a friend whose dad bought every known electronic gizmo on the market for his son. He was a techie and he loved it. My kids were very jealous of what this boy had, and I ended up having to get gameboys for them because my older son (2nd grade) became obsessive about others' gameboys. It changed his personality, P.. I know that the obsessive factor was already there, but boy, did it come out with that darn gameboy. He also could not STAND it if he lost his work. If he had a game where you had to get to a place in order to save, and it was time to get off that gameboy, it was a real ordeal because he couldn't stand to let go of it before he was able to save. If I had understood that, I would have refused to buy him ANY game that was like this.

And of course, my youngest had to get to play too - I couldn't give one child a gameboy and not the other.

I admit that though I loved this family, I sometimes wished (when I was going through this) that we hadn't met them until much later because it would have been a lot longer before I allowed them to have gameboys.

That's my opinion.

Dawn

My kids are allowed to play video games for one hour after school on Tuesdays, and all evening on Fridays (if we have nothing else planned), and sometimes on playdates. They are also allowed their ds when they have a long wait somewhere, such as the doctors office or when I am in a meeting, and occasionally on a long car trip. They usually only get a new game at birthdays or as Christmas gifts. I have found them useful, but I definitely need to limit screen time, because if I left it to the boys they would play all day, every day I'm sure! My younger son was about four when he got his ds. My older son doesn't play his ds much since he got his ipod touch.

Our daughter got one last Christmas when she was 6. She has about 8 games now. She's definitely not addicted and forgets about it for long periods of time. The newness has worn off, you know. So I don't need to limit anything as she's not an over-user. She enjoys bringing it to restaurants when we go to dinner and entertains herself if she gets tired of the small talk and coloring. Or she'll bring it on road trips or long drives.

I'm going to be getting in Ipad soon so I'm sure that will be the hot item in our house for awhile. But the DS is nice and compact and great for travel and kids. I don't think I'd want our daughter taking our Ipad everywhere; too expensive of an item.

We have a couple that we use for trips and days the kids have to come with us to the office. You can buy used games fairly inexpensively and there are a number of games that are kid friendly.

We are a 'yes' family...always have been. None of my kids have ever had trouble with playing too much and I have never been afraid of 'fostering a game addiction' either. I have a grip of boys and they have all owned *every single handheld gaming device as well as every single game console... ever made*

You are right, the DS is expensive and the games are expensive...it sounds like that might be a problem for you, so I say stick with the iPad and the FREE games.

I am not a believer in buying toys/electronics or anything if you can't afford it, so I say don't do it if you are worried about how expensive it is. My kids have still tons of fun on the iPad too!

~In response to JC's post....the DS is also a camera and a video camera too!

My son got a DS a few years ago. But he doesn't play with it much anymore. He plays more on the Ipad and his Ipod touch. Like you said the games are much cheaper.

We do not have one. I HATE HATE HATE watching all the zombie children with their screens.And truly HATE when people take their kids to restaurants, never actually interact with them and the kids watch their screens the entire meal. Eating out is an opportunity for us to talk to our son, learn what he is doing and practice civilized manners.

My son has one. We fought the idea for a while. He worked to save money last year and bought his own when he saw us wavering on the idea. We use his during "waiting" times. Car trips, doctors office, oil changes, etc. Occasionally, when he's bored, he'll ask for it. And sometimes we allow it. I would say that he enjoys it thoroughly, but he is far from addicted. And there are times where I am extremely grateful to have that distraction for him.

ETA..the DS is NEVER allowed at any dinner table. EVER.

We were looking at the DS last year. I decided that it's really a huge waste of money. It becomes outdated SO quickly, the games and accessories are so expensive, and it doesn't really DO anything else.

I ended up getting both of my boys an iPod Touch. I got each an Otterbox Defender case. So many games and apps are FREE or 99 cents that we can get games more often, and they can also get my music using iTunes, check the weather, and lots of other good stuff. I used Facetime (like Skype) when I was away for two months at a military school. They can watch movies and cartoons on Netflix, listen to music on Pandora, and can text my iPhone (and I can text them back). It has a camera and video, as well as the ability to add any iPod app, like Kindle, the YouVersion bible, Minecraft (my boys' favorite)...It's really the best way to go. Still the best gift I've gotten. I'm so glad I didn't get a DS.

They don't get their iPods during the week at all. Only on the weekends, and on Saturday, their chores must be completed first. If they rush through their work to get their iPods, they lose them for the day. I also don't want game-obsessed children either, so strict limits are a must.

Best of luck!
♥
C. Lee

We got the kids tablets instead and have not regretted it. They still want DS's though. I tell them that is silly, they have to buy each and every game they play on them. They get all the other stuff free on their tablets and can do all sorts of other stuff too.

But they still want those elusive DS's. To me they are outdated by the tablets that are currently available. It's sort of like Atari then Nintendo then Playstation/PS2 to Wll to something else. It's all about getting the parents to buy the latest thing then immediately marketing the next thing and the brand new thing is obsolete and items can't even be bought for it anymore.

We did end up getting one for our daughter for her 5th birthday, and it's been fine. She plays with it sometimes, some days more than others, but often goes several days without picking it up at all. She got 3 games along with the DS itself for herb-day and for Christmas she's getting a few more - we don't buy much for her toy-and-game-wise when it's not b-day or Christmas. We've never had to put limits on it because she tends to limit herself - she would rather draw and color than play on her DS most of the time. It does come in handy on longer car trips - we don't let her take it into restaurants or visits to other people's homes or to school. I think it just depends on the kid, and how prone you think they might be to getting "hooked" on video games. And how well they take care of things, or if they are apt to lose them or have them end up broken or ruined. Reading the other posts, I wonder if "addiction" seems to be an issue for boys vs. girls.

Each of my boys got one at around 5. The youngest is 8 now, and he is getting a new one for Christmas (3DS). They play games on it, but they also draw and take wacky pictures with it. We get the games used at Game Stop and the Resale/thrift shops. Also I've traded with other parents - so we manage the cost from that perspective. Compared to an Ipod or tablet, I think the DS is cheaper and handles drops better when out and about (we did get a cover for each). We limit all video time. No video's, Wii, gaming during the week. However, both 2nd and 4th grades have math and spelling 'study' games they do on the computer during the week.