[twotoddlers]

Thanks for the reply twotoddlers - are you saying too much of anything is a bad thing or just too much of the DS? My sister's feeling is ANY time on the DS is too much for her son. Perhaps he's just not old enough for it? Maybe it's just him? I welcome further thoughts.

too much of anything is a bad thing. especially something like DS that can turn your child into a zombie.. limit is key.. limit to time and limit to the places he can bring them to..

I think its okay as long as they can let it go after an hour.. If they start to protest when you ask them put it down for a couple of minutes then you know its a problem.. Age doesn't really matter as long as the child understands it is like any other toy.. it shouldn't be brought to the table during dinner.. it shouldn't be on or even given to them when they need school work done.. etc.

[Jemstar]

Don't blame the DS for a child's black mood. Or the TV, DVD, computer or any other screen. Blame the parent for not teaching boundaries.

All things in moderation.

I agree with this.

And I also think it depends a bit on the child. My older two boys have a DS each. The youngest has a Leapster Explorer. The youngest and oldest play their games maybe once a week on average. My middle boy, if he was allowed, would play his DS in every spare waking moment he has, so he has pretty strict rules around his game playing. If he doesn't hand over the DS when his time is up, then it is removed until he earns it back. And if he has a melt down and won't give it back, then we follow through - he's currently part way towards earning his DS back after cracking the sh*ts over it having to be put away a few weeks back!

But yes, they are fabulous things when travelling or having to wait around in a boring situation for a period of time.

At the end of the day it's like anything in parenting - it's up to the parent to set the boundaries and be consistent (and the big one is following through!).

This post has been edited by Jemstar: 13/04/2011, 03:45 PM

[kemisz]

There was once a time when the Radio was considered the Device of Satan and no good parent would let their child listen to it.

Or go back to the time when books influenced your children and caused them to become shameless and prideful! Those evil books and the evil parents who let their children read! *Shakes fist in old timey way*

It's all about how you parent and sometimes it's just about demystifying the new technology.

[mumofsky]

I hate "The DS". DD's DS (there's a confusing sentence) caused her all sorts of problems that mimicked the symptoms of Tourette Syndrome and even had one doctor send her for an MRI to see if something was putting pressure on her brain - it turned out to be the bloody use of her DS. Since identifying it we've tested it out by going without it for weeks then letting her on it for a day - sure enough, the symptoms come straight back. Nervy, twitching, head-shaking, repetitive speech.

It's actually in the warning manual. The new 3D DS isn't recommended for use by children under 7 at all.

[blaast]

We have four kids aged 2 (DD), 5 (DS), 6 (DD) and 9 (DD) yo and 3 of them have DS's, and our youngest occasionally plays a Leapster.

They have tremendous fun together and learn cooperation, patience, encouragement, imagination and responsibility!
It is rare for things to go bad, and if they do they are dealt with swiftly by threatening a 'Nintendo' ban...which does the trick.

None of our children are lacking in social skills due to too much gaming, in fact far from it as they are more outgoing than many kids of their age.
They play together really well...of course with the typical occasional argument.
They are intelligent, and this is regularly commented on by teachers and family.

The DS certainly hasn't had a negative impact on them, and in fact, I would be more inclined to say they have had a positive influence.

So from our perspective and experience it is more like 'you (the parent) can't handle the DS'.

[sugarplumbdolly]

I'm sure for many families games are not a big problem and can be enjoyed in moderation. Lucky for them! We have a daughter who is fine with them. Then there are other children who have problems no matter how strictly and consistently the parents regulate them. Our son (also named Max, what's in a name hey?) gets more than a little obssessive when it comes to games. We want him to be able to enjoy them in a healthy way but they almost always create frustration and aggression in him (kids games not violent games). He wants to game all the time. Whilst playing he forgets to blink or sit down, he is deaf to us. I totally relate to the 'gaming trance'.
He is rarely allowed to play because his aggression and obssession is so problematic for him and our family, and when he does play it usually ends badly. He is 8yo and understands there will be immediate and unpleasant consequences for the behaviour but he truly seems unable to deal with the frustration build-up. He seems to do better with physically active games where he uses his body eg. Wii Sports.

Neither of our kids have a DS even though "everyone else has one". We have a computer, an xbox and a Wii already. That's enough! Also it does not impress me that the kids have friends with DS's that they play in front of my children when we/they are visiting and ignore everything around them. It is rude and antisocial so I get ticked off with the things.

This post has been edited by sugarplumbdolly: 15/04/2011, 05:06 PM

[MotherClucker]

Grandpa guilt at living overseas saw us the proud owner of 4 DSs for our children. They save their pocket money up to buy games or get them as gifts for birthdays/Christmas.

They are brilliant with long car trips, they are great at teaching hand/eye coordination and my 7 year old DDs favorite game is some maths game where she gets quizzed. Could they live without them? Probably? Our kids still go outside and play, they still use their imagination and play with their other toys; they love drawing and coloring in. When your kids get up at 6:30 and are in bed by 7:30 that equates to a lot of hours in the day reserved for playing. We limit ours to 1 hour per day and 2 on weekends.


They are not drop friendly.Especially on slate.

(eta: it is only mildly humorous when my 2 year old starts having a tantrum saying "iwanna dssss" hehe)

This post has been edited by MotherClucker: 15/04/2011, 06:03 PM

[mummahh]

Device of Satan. Problem is they are portable. Which means they go everywhere your child goes and you'll never have a face-to-face conversation again. More like face-to-head stuck in DS conversation. i.e lots of grunting, little to no comprehension.

[Tyrone Finkelmey...]

they go everywhere your child goes and you'll never have a face-to-face conversation again

Then just don't let them.
My 3 older kids have one. My second daughter barely looks at hers. My eldest has patches of playing it a lot, then ages of not at all. My son likes his a lot, but still plays lots of lego, reads constantly, does well at school, and is not addicted to his DS.
I don't get the hysteria. They are nothing new really. I am nearly 40 and I had a double donkey kong game when I was a child, which while obviously much much simpler, was the same sort of thing really. I used to play it on long car trips. I am a fully socially competent adult now!

[pomegranate]

It scares me. I actually think if effects different kids differently. My son is banned currently. We 'lost' it in our move butthought he was ready after a year without it and within the fi,rst day he was having a melt down. We arevery strict with it but it makes no difference. We have also had another 'computer game' that i have put away even though he got exercise with it, i believe he becomes addicted. I really think it alters his brain some how. I dont believe all children react the same. He is normally a loving, outdoor loving, sensitive, smart child. But give him a computer game and he is 'different' and becomes agressive and obssessive. At the end of the day, i survived without these things so i am sure he will too.

Hth.