# For my daughter's sixth birthday...



## ashleygirardi (Apr 3, 2011)

...her grandmother (my mother-in-law) wants to buy her an iPad. My mother-in-law has one and my daughter likes to play angry birds on it.

I said no way, that's a totally inappropriate gift for a six-year-old. I don't want to create a tech-addicted monster so young. I hate it when you go out and see whole families bent over their gadgets, completely ignoring each other. And if she gets an iPad at six what is she going to expect at sixteen.

Am I overreacting?


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I'd be thrilled. There are so many fantastic educational apps for the iPad. And as her parent, you could set limits on how it can be used. I'd love to be able to buy iPads for all of my children. 

We go out to breakfast and the older girls and my husband have their iPhones and I have my iPad... I'm sure we're one of those families you're talking about.... But we're usually all playing monopoly or scrabble with one another... You can have the same game going on all the devices!  It's a great way for family game time without having to take up table space. There are also games where you just pass it from player to player and we do that too...


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

I totally get where you are coming from with regards to not wanting to raise a tech-addicted monster (one of the kids in my daughter's _second grade class_ was just given an iPhone 4 by her parents.  Countdown until my kid comes home and asks for one --which she will NOT be getting, thankyouverymuch). These days, it's not only the t.v. and computer, it's iPad and iPhone and iPod Touch and DSi and Wii and XBox...the list goes on and on. However, I think the real issue lies not within these devices themselves, but with the parents who do not set limits regarding the use of these devices. The iPad is treated like the t.v. around here. We only allow our kids to do certain things on our iPads, just like we only allow them to watch a handful of shows on t.v. They are only allowed to use the iPads for a set amount of time (I actually have a timer app on mine--when the timer goes off, they know it is time to put the iPad away). Everything in moderation, if you will. There is tremendous educational value in the iPad. I say let your MIL buy the iPad for your daughter and set the limitations for its use that you're comfortable with.


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## spoiled brat (Feb 14, 2009)

Personally I think the Ipad is too much a luxury gift to give a 6 year old. 
It boggles my mind to think someone would give a  6 year old a gift like that. 
I would let her play Angry birds on Grandma's IPad, make it a special time for her.
  But I guess if you have the money...,and to some, $500 may seem as simple as $50. 
I guess it is all in the perspective.


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2011)

I grew up with an Atari in the early 80's when I was in 1st or 2nd grade and was hooked on electronics ever since. I was taking summer computer courses for kids at community college when I was in 3-4th grade. We had a computer since the 80's. So I started early with electronics. 

Now I'm a crack addict. I'm joking   I turned out alright. Tech is going to be part of their lives in the future with school and work so it's better off to get them started right. I'd rather have them learn something new on a computer than kick around a black and white ball on a grass covered field.


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## Eve Yohalem (Apr 1, 2011)

This was all so much easier even five years ago. My kids are 11 and 13 and when they were younger, we had a "screen time" rule. Didn't matter whether they were using the computer or the TV, it was all screen time and they were allowed a certain amount of time per day. Now that the computer is used for homework and the iPad is used for reading (as well as plenty of zero brain cell activities), we can't make those easy distinctions. Even limiting "entertainment" screen time isn't clear cut, because as far as I'm concerned, if they're reading a book for pleasure on an electronic device, they're welcome to do it all day. It may be hard for your 6 year old to distinguish between iPad apps she can use as much as she wants and apps she needs to limit. If you let her have the iPad, you'll have to do a lot of monitoring. 

That being said, if anyone in your household has an iPad, she'll probably end up using it anyway!


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## kindlemama (Jan 5, 2010)

Every kindergartner in Auburn, Maine is going to get one from the school district:
http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/1011728

There was at least one school in CA who gave out iPads to their students too, though not quite as young as kindergartners. (This was at a public school in a low-income area.)


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## ashleygirardi (Apr 3, 2011)

McGee said:


> I'd rather have them learn something new on a computer than kick around a black and white ball on a grass covered field.


This is my issue. She has more paper books than she could get to in four years. My daughter has a wii, nintendo ds and access to a laptop. We have educational games for those systems that she never wants to play because she thinks they're boring. When grandma comes over (almost every weekend) I let her play with the iPad and I guess I kind of feel like that's enough. To me, $500 for a birthday present is a ton of money, to the in-laws not so much.

I totally agree that tech competence is going to be very important to her generation but I also want her to spend a decent amount of time outside. Her school has already cut recess down to fifteen minutes.

None of my daughter's friends have cell phones or ipads (yet!) so I think I'm going to err on the side of waiting a bit longer. Thanks for all the input.


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## spoiled brat (Feb 14, 2009)

The children today need outdoor time..they need to be kicking around that white and black ball.
They don't need to be tuned into every electronic thing that comes out.
I have a computer, and an IPad and an IPod. I love love love electronics.
I just think children need PE everyday for an hour right through high school.
We are a  nation of fat kids and fat people.
The schools here in Colorado are laying off teachers and cutting budgets. I don't think they can afford to give little kids IPads here.


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## DachsieGirl (Jun 30, 2010)

I agree that this is too extravagant a gift for such a young child.  I'm 41, and I don't think even my parents have ever spent that much on me for a gift, except for the washer and dryer I got as a wedding present.  I work in a high school and am always amazed at all the latest gadgets the students seem to have, and I wonder if they can truly appreciate the idea of working hard for an expensive item when they seem to get everything handed to them.  I never even got the Barbie dream house I asked for as a kid at Christmas because at $100 it was too expensive--okay, maybe I'm still a little resentful about that. 

I love gadgets and have my share of them.  But growing up in the 70s and 80s, they just weren't omnipresent the way they are now.  I am glad that as an adult, I can enjoy them--but am afraid that if I grew up surrounded by all the distractions kids today are surrounded by, I wouldn't have fallen in love with reading and writing the way I did.  I read an article a while back that suggested we get our most creative ideas during "boredom," those moments when we don't have anything to do or anything to distract us.  I worry that we are raising a bunch of kids who know how to use technology better than we do but who are losing their ability to think and create.

Having said all that, if your daughter was a little older, I would suggest you bring up the idea of a Kindle to the mother-in-law; it's still a "gadget" but could help foster a love of reading.  That may still be a good gift--I just don't know how much is available in the way of children's books.  Another idea would be to let the mother-in-law get her an iPod touch.  She would still have access to Angry Birds and other games, but it would be a less extravagant gift.


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

I am all for kids playing outside, but I don't think that they are mutually exclusive.  iPad and computers usually reduce tv time (that is what the general research is showing is that children and adults are watching less tv and replacing it with computer and especially iPad).  

I have an iPad, it is mine.  But my two nieces (now 2 and 3.5, I am their nanny) use mine pretty much daily.  Primarily the use it to play an occational educational game and read books.  I read paper books to them as well, but on the ipad they can listen to the book be read to them.  They also use it to watch netflix and netflix on the ipad has almost completely replaced the regular tv.

And with durability, it has been dropped at least once a day since I got (and I got it right when they originally came out).  I have good replacement insurance on it, but it is honestly the most durable piece of electronics I have ever owned.  Also refub iPad 1 are now down to $350 on Apple and I have seen as low as $300 other places.

I don't know what your daughter's regular computer access is like. But my nieces just can't use a computer, they don't have the dexterity to use a mouse well and they are too young to be able to really read.  But the touch screen of the ipad makes complete intuative sense.  I think that touchscreens should be a child't first computer because they learn how to control with their finger and not the abstraction of a pointer.  They understand that better and will get the mouse later when they have more physical dexterity.  My wife used to be an elementary computer teacher and she says many kids just don't get mouses until 8 or so.


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## spoiled brat (Feb 14, 2009)

I don't think you can say watching NetFlix on the Ipad is cutting out TV time, it is the same thing, only mobile. 
My 2 year old grandson plays with my Ipad, while he sits on my lap. He taps and swipes, but at this age lacks the skill to actually do much with the IPad. Plus he doesn't sit still or have the attention span for longer than maybe 5 minutes at best. I would never let him play with the IPad by himself. Yikes.


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

sharing time and play of an ipad with the little ones is great on many levels. being able to watch what you want verses what is on and without comercials would be great if bandwidth is available. 
the ability to individualize the ipad or kindle is great.
sylvia


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## luvmykindle3 (Dec 5, 2010)

I agree, I think 6 is a little young for an Ipad. There are so many other things a child can do at that age. I teach middle school kids, they love to get on the computers but not to do anything worthwhile. All they want to do is play games and listen to inappropriate music. They don't want to read anything. With as many tests as are being demanded of kids today, they need as many educational tools as possible. The Ipad is great, but they are only going to want to play games on it. My friend's 4 year old was looking at my Ipad at a meeting. I put the Toy story book on for her to listen to. She watched it for about 2 minutes and then started trying to play with other random things I had on it. I took it, and put it up. She has been begging her mom for one too.

It's just my thought, but once you start buying all these expensive gadgets, it never ends : (  My kids are 13 and 18, they have laptops, and Itouchs. My 13 year old wants an Ipad now, its not happening. She will read on one of my ereaders every once in a while. I will always buy books if they want to read...LOL

I think your decision was wise : )


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