at what age should you buy ... for your kids or grandkids?

[sudodus]

at what age should you buy desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, for your kids (or where appropriate, other young relatives)?

The arguments of this discussion are interesting but somewhat strange to me. I have focused on other issues, when deciding when to give a computer or smartphone to my children.

- I gave the children own computers very early. The computers were connected to the internet via ethernet. I found that they learned to write before they had enough coordination to write letters with a pencil on paper

- I waited until the age of 11 years until I gave them cellular phones. I did not want to expose them to the radiation too early. I encouraged SMS (text messages) instead of talking because of the distance of the phone to vital parts of the body.

- The first years their computers were in the same room as the parent computer, so that their internet browsing could be monitored and discussed.

- Now, after several years, I think one of the children (the daughter) tends to use the internet too much, while the other one (the son) can stop and go to bed without problems.

- Both children have gradually transferred their internet browsing from their computers to their smartphones. I think this is typical for many people of their generation.

[mastablasta]

- I waited until the age of 11 years until I gave them cellular phones. I did not want to expose them to the radiation too early. I encouraged SMS (text messages) instead of talking because of the distance of the phone to vital parts of the body.

"3.6 roentgen. Not great, not terrible."

- Both children have gradually transferred their internet browsing from their computers to their smartphones. I think this is typical for many people of their generation.

i read that smaller devices are easier to sneak to bed

but yes, if parents are with them on a journey it seem they understand. and they also need to have limits.

last weekend i couldn't sleep anymore in the morning, so i got up early. went to check some news, read the email, did OS updates.... then i had nothing to do and it was quiet. so i decided to play Hearts of iron 2 game a bit. i like to have some quiet and peace when playing it otherwise i forget what unit i mean to move, constantly pausing and giving judgements and penalties during constant bickering. anyway, the kids woke up about 20 mins later and saw me. i said "yeah, i am here playing since last night and the PC will be occupied for the duration of the day". i was joking of course, but the oldest one though i was serious and wished he could be allowed to play for so long. maybe if he did all the school work in advance?! that would be a no.

also save function helps a lot and multiplayer games that have long sessions are bad.

[Shibblet]

The arguments of this discussion are interesting but somewhat strange to me. I have focused on other issues, when deciding when to give a computer or smartphone to my children.

- I gave the children own computers very early. The computers were connected to the internet via ethernet. I found that they learned to write before they had enough coordination to write letters with a pencil on paper

I have 2 boys. When my older son was 9 or so, he got his first Nintendo DS. He was told to treat it with respect, and not to "lend it out" to his friends. He did not understand why at the time. So, he did exactly what he was told not to do, and it got trashed. He was VERY upset about the whole issue. Upset with his friend for trashing it, and upset with himself for not listening. We had a discussion about it right after it stopped charging.

Anyway, he saved up his allowance, so that he could buy another one. He was about 10 when that happened. After that date, he had learned to save his allowance for many different things. He's 22 years old now, and an bit of an old hardware collector. He has 5 different Nintendo DS's, an old GameBoy, GameBoy Color, Cell Phones, NES Cartridges, and all sorts of stuff that collectors have. He also kept my old GameCube from when he was about 14 years old. All of his things are in pristine condition. He takes incredibly good care of them, and does not lend them out. If I bought him a laptop when he was 10, I can guarantee it would still run great, and look next to perfect.

My other son, on the other hand, does not have respect for electronics. We have a home "cell phone" because it is less expensive than a land line. And he loses it throughout the house whenever he uses it. He has been told repeatedly to put it back on the desk, but does not. It ends up in his room, and then ends up broken. We have replaced the phone 3 times, from his age of 12 until 17 (today).

I received a phone call from his school about 2 months ago, and they explained that he had not returned the laptop he checked out for homework. A black Asus Chromebook. Nothing super expensive... around $150. However, when he was asked about it, he couldn't remember what he did with it. A couple of weeks ago, when he was told to clean up his room for the 14,000th time, the Chromebook appeared from the back of his closet covered with all sorts of crap he just threw in there, and it all landed on top of it. For a punishment, his XBoxOne is being held for ransom, to the tune of $150. You've never seen a teenager so willing to mow the lawn... Hopefully he will learn the lesson of treating your things with respect.

So, like my previous post. If they can treat things with respect, they can have one.

My kids are mostly grown now. Internet is not really a problem anymore. But when they were younger, they had very limited access to WiFi. I configured the router to only accept access to the MAC addresses I put in. We also had limited hours of access. WiFi went off an hour before bedtime (9pm). My server ran a blocker for the known "inappropriate" web-sites, and a tracker to know what they have been looking at. Any video calls were done in the living room, and with permission. Netflix was also done with permission, since we had a data cap at the time. Not a single one of my kids complained once about this, and seemed to think it was a good idea. My mother always told me "kids need structure," and she was right, they thrive on it.

[mastablasta]

I received a phone call from his school about 2 months ago, and they explained that he had not returned the laptop he checked out for homework. A black Asus Chromebook. Nothing super expensive... around $150. However, when he was asked about it, he couldn't remember what he did with it. A couple of weeks ago, when he was told to clean up his room for the 14,000th time, the Chromebook appeared from the back of his closet covered with all sorts of crap he just threw in there, and it all landed on top of it. For a punishment, his XBoxOne is being held for ransom, to the tune of $150. You've never seen a teenager so willing to mow the lawn... Hopefully he will learn the lesson of treating your things with respect.

well played.

[ryansenn]

Depends what they will be using it for. Some kids just want to watch youtube, some want to play games.

[Skaperen]

- I waited until the age of 11 years until I gave them cellular phones. I did not want to expose them to the radiation too early. I encouraged SMS (text messages) instead of talking because of the distance of the phone to vital parts of the body.

and transmit is just a quick burst.

[romie13]

I believe it should be near 10-12 years, as mother and social writer I must suggest this. I gave my daughter her first tablet at her 12th birthday she used it for school science projects and for dance tutorials

[Tadaen_Sylvermane]

I don't think there is a set age. I've seen young ones more grown up than some adults I know. One size does not fit all in this case. That being said I was on a computer from the time I was 7 or 8 and it has severely stunted me emotionally and socially. At least I can see the problem. Regardless of how mature my child was if I had one, I likely wouldn't give them anything until late teens just so they develop normally unless absolutely necessary. They would have access to a computer for school and stuff, but their own machine / phone or whatever that they can spend all day on? No thanks. My wife's 4 cousins (ages 9-15) all have tablets and phones and they do nothing but sit on them all day, same as I did. They will have issues like I currently do and I don't want that for my child.