How Young is too Young?
Discussion
My son ( almost 4 ) has an obsession with Super Mario....when I say obsession he watches videos of people playing various Mario games on YouTube. This isn't overly excessive - but rather than maybe watch something on TV he'd rather watch a couple of videos of someone playing 3D World or Mario Kart, he knows all the characters names etc....
Now - I've pondered getting him a 2DS or WII U so he could get the real experience, but there's a nagging voice in my head saying....."He's too young and he'll get addicted, it'll become a problem"....so I've held off.
I was just wondering what others think....is 4 too young?
If not what's the best device to start with?
Now - I've pondered getting him a 2DS or WII U so he could get the real experience, but there's a nagging voice in my head saying....."He's too young and he'll get addicted, it'll become a problem"....so I've held off.
I was just wondering what others think....is 4 too young?
If not what's the best device to start with?
My son is 5 but has enjoyed playing Disney Infinity and Toy Story since he was about 3 1/2.
Use it as a reward or bonding tool and I don't see any issue with it
He gets half an hour on a Friday night and a couple of hours over the weekend when he has done some drawing/writing etc.
I see it as an aid to his learning. He sees fantasy worlds full of imagination and needs to understand instruction/solve puzzles.
Use it as a reward or bonding tool and I don't see any issue with it
He gets half an hour on a Friday night and a couple of hours over the weekend when he has done some drawing/writing etc.I see it as an aid to his learning. He sees fantasy worlds full of imagination and needs to understand instruction/solve puzzles.
Down to personal opinion. For me, it's too young, but so long as it's used as a reward or sharing experience, with limited, prescribed playing times, (perhaps linked to good behaviour during the week ?)it's probably going to work out ok. Using it to keep him quiet for 2 hours sat in a corner on his own is where the problem lies.
Access to gaming is a privilege for my now 13 year old, not a right. He started with a Wii as its interactive and not "personal". Then onto PS3 and now PS4. He now also has an iPad as they use them for school. Also, gaming is never allowed upstairs in the bedrooms. No electronics in the bedroom. We still have "fun" with some battles about it....as per expected with a teenager !
Access to gaming is a privilege for my now 13 year old, not a right. He started with a Wii as its interactive and not "personal". Then onto PS3 and now PS4. He now also has an iPad as they use them for school. Also, gaming is never allowed upstairs in the bedrooms. No electronics in the bedroom. We still have "fun" with some battles about it....as per expected with a teenager !
I don't see the problem as long as it's restricted eg 30 minutes a day or 30 minutes afternoon, 30 minutes evening rather than it becoming your new, cheap babysitter. Some research found that kids who were brought up with an ipad had a quarter of the vocabulary of similarly aged kids who interacted more.
My dad bought me a PS1 and Gran Turismo when I was 4ish. I was obsessed with it.
18 years later i'm on here, What do you think happened?
Children are very impressionable, I became a huge car anorak and geek because my dad bought me GT1 instead of Fifa (Who knows, I could have been leading England to victory the other night!) so as part of the gamer in me wants to say "buy him one" the sensible part of me is saying "a few more years".
18 years later i'm on here, What do you think happened?
Children are very impressionable, I became a huge car anorak and geek because my dad bought me GT1 instead of Fifa (Who knows, I could have been leading England to victory the other night!) so as part of the gamer in me wants to say "buy him one" the sensible part of me is saying "a few more years".
Wii is good hand eye co-ordination training for 4 yr old...manage the time rather than letting him loose and he'll be fine.
Realistically once they're home from school, homework, dinner, chores, they're lucky to get an hour before bed each week night...that's on the nights they're not swimming or doing other stuff (more social life than us).
The weekend is normally the killer session time, constant battle to get my son off his PC and doing something more active. At least I know he's safe...let's be realistic, how many people still mix with the people they went to primary/secondary school with? I'd wager it's not many. You try organising with another parent when you're kids can meet up, it's worse than business meetings...he can socialise when he gets to Uni.
Realistically once they're home from school, homework, dinner, chores, they're lucky to get an hour before bed each week night...that's on the nights they're not swimming or doing other stuff (more social life than us).
The weekend is normally the killer session time, constant battle to get my son off his PC and doing something more active. At least I know he's safe...let's be realistic, how many people still mix with the people they went to primary/secondary school with? I'd wager it's not many. You try organising with another parent when you're kids can meet up, it's worse than business meetings...he can socialise when he gets to Uni.
towser said:
My son ( almost 4 ) has an obsession with Super Mario....when I say obsession he watches videos of people playing various Mario games on YouTube. This isn't overly excessive - but rather than maybe watch something on TV he'd rather watch a couple of videos of someone playing 3D World or Mario Kart, he knows all the characters names etc....
Now - I've pondered getting him a 2DS or WII U so he could get the real experience, but there's a nagging voice in my head saying....."He's too young and he'll get addicted, it'll become a problem"....so I've held off.
I was just wondering what others think....is 4 too young?
If not what's the best device to start with?
Id kinda be worried about the obsession with just watching other people play on youtubeNow - I've pondered getting him a 2DS or WII U so he could get the real experience, but there's a nagging voice in my head saying....."He's too young and he'll get addicted, it'll become a problem"....so I've held off.
I was just wondering what others think....is 4 too young?
If not what's the best device to start with?
that said, go find a cheap used wii with a few (easy) nintendo games and have at it, just keep an eye on the amount of time, and you not using the thing as an electronic baby sitter (and maybe talk to your wife, see how she feels about it?)
TheLuke said:
Hoofy said:
TheLuke said:
My dad bought me a PS1 and Gran Turismo when I was 4ish. I was obsessed with it.
18 years later i'm on here, What do you think happened?
You can't communicate with people in the real world? 18 years later i'm on here, What do you think happened?
My nephews (4 and 5) love playing with 'robot dog' on the HTC Vive. In 'The Lab' there is a little dog thing that follows you around, you can throw sticks, rub his belly etc. They think he is hilarious, so if they have been good they can play with that for 15 mins or so before they go home. I dont think I would let them sink hours into a console, but as a treat I see no problem.
I was playing Doom from age 3, moved onto Quake as soon as it came out and was hooked on games until I hit 16 and had to be a grown up. It never hurt my social life and I had plenty of friends in and out of school. Most days we'd play on our bikes outside, but video games always got us through the evenings and rainy days.
My daughter is 6 now, and I let her play on the PS4 for an hour or two if she asks. Minecraft is her go to game currently and allows her to be pretty creative to the point of being impressive. If we both decide to spend the evening playing a game, we stick something more story driven on. Although a lot of people might disagree I haven't got a problem with her watching or helping me play more adult games, provided the content isn't too graphic or sexual. We played and completed Doom 2016 together recently which she found fun. Sure, It's gory, but shooting monsters doesn't bother me nearly as much as something realistic like Call of Duty would. It was quite funny, as 20 years earlier I was playing Doom with my dad. Good memories.
My daughter is 6 now, and I let her play on the PS4 for an hour or two if she asks. Minecraft is her go to game currently and allows her to be pretty creative to the point of being impressive. If we both decide to spend the evening playing a game, we stick something more story driven on. Although a lot of people might disagree I haven't got a problem with her watching or helping me play more adult games, provided the content isn't too graphic or sexual. We played and completed Doom 2016 together recently which she found fun. Sure, It's gory, but shooting monsters doesn't bother me nearly as much as something realistic like Call of Duty would. It was quite funny, as 20 years earlier I was playing Doom with my dad. Good memories.
joshleb said:
Only you can decide, but I personally feel I would want my kids trying to interact more with people and surroundings at that age, rather than isolated on a game.
You realise you can switch the console off? It's not like the kids are hooked to it 24 hours a day. I started off with a Megadrive when I was three, and when I started school my gaming was restricted to weekends for a few years. Funnily enough, I still enjoyed school, made friends, learned to ride a bike and got a few belts at Judo. What was a positive for me was the fact that my friends all enjoyed gaming, so we had a shared interest in that. When I became a teenager, I credit the computer games with keeping me out of bother. I was always being a nuisance at school, but in the evenings I usually stayed in gaming, mostly, aside from when I was chasing skirt.
I still enjoy gaming today, alongside my other hobbies.
Obsession grows when playing on a console becomes habitual.
We bought our 4-year-old daughter a tablet computer last Christmas and had the same concerns - but we needn't have. I think having 'designated' time slots for playing can make matters worse, because this introduces habit. I'm no perfect parent, but I have witnessed this with my nephews who get 'Tablet Time' or 'Xbox time'. It inevitably transcends into argument - either they were interrupted so should be allowed to play longer, or they'll argue that they didn't start at the same time so the time should be extended.
By all means introduce video games at a young age but treat it as an occasional thing rather than a limited time treat repeated once a day.
I say this as a bonafide gaming addict myself! But that's where my habit started...
We bought our 4-year-old daughter a tablet computer last Christmas and had the same concerns - but we needn't have. I think having 'designated' time slots for playing can make matters worse, because this introduces habit. I'm no perfect parent, but I have witnessed this with my nephews who get 'Tablet Time' or 'Xbox time'. It inevitably transcends into argument - either they were interrupted so should be allowed to play longer, or they'll argue that they didn't start at the same time so the time should be extended.
By all means introduce video games at a young age but treat it as an occasional thing rather than a limited time treat repeated once a day.
I say this as a bonafide gaming addict myself! But that's where my habit started...
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