iPod touch How young is too young?

Well OP, I have three yr old twins which I'm planning to buy 8GB 4th gen iPod touches for xmas. Me and the wife(well me really, being the techie one) thought long and hard about it and decided it was a great idea. Better than buying them a Nintendo DS etc... Kids are getting smarter these days and are growing in a culture of smartphones and tablets. So why hold them back from learning the tools that are shaping our future...?

They have proven to me that they’re more than capable of unlocking it and selecting their favourite apps/games to enjoy, as they’ve had experience using my iPad and iPhone. I think the idea of having a family iPad to share is cool too, but since Apple don’t allow us the ability to create user accounts on our devices, especially the iPad its not very practical in my eyes.

I really wanted to treat them with iPad mini's, but on release decided it wasn’t worth it, as its inevitable that they will be spruced up with retina display etc next yr... and if im spending so much on a device for my young children, I at least want it to be future proof for a little while longer than one year. On the other hand, the 4th gen touches I can live with, as they’re considerably cheaper now, so I reckon I can get a good two yrs use out of them before apple probably stops supporting it with new OSes.

Plus I think the risk of them losing it or breaking it is minimal as i’d slap a case on it and they wouldn’t leave the house with it unless we visit family or friends homes.

Using the iPod itself isn't a problem. Its good actually because its interactive, and better than just watching the tv. It's the fact that they own it at such a young age that's troublesome. A few people have mentioned a family device that they have to share. I think a good age to actually own and take care if a device is 12 or older.

compwiz1202 said:

Are there ways to cause the iPod Touch to make noises remotely in case it is lost in the house, since you can't call it like an iPhone?

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Search VOIP, or SIP, or softphone in the App store. You CAN call it like a phone. Its how call my son for dinner

My son was given his first ipod touch at age 5. I would have given him one earlier but they didn't really exist. Now he has an ipad and he creates huge worlds on mine craft. He can really blaze through the game. He knows it all multitouch, panning, zooming, rotating, etc.

I'm sorry, but if you aren't getting them used to the technology now, they will be behind. I started on technology when I was 8, and now its paying all my bills. I wouldn't make a fraction of what I do now without the early interest and growth.

My neighbor gave his 3 year old a touch, and that kid is getting along fine too.

Kid had hers at 42 months of age

My daughter had her iTouch 4G before she was four - she's had great fun with it, as well as my iMac and her iPad 3G - I'm upgrading her to the 5G this Xmas - load of kids learning apps and painting apps, as well as games - she can even do learning Chinese on it - if two kids get a used iPad 2 wifi 32G and iTouch 64G - loads of fun.

My 5G 64G cost me 200 quid 'used' in Hong Kong - would not pay more than that for iPad or the iTouch.

it all depends on how responsible both the parent and kid/child are. I got stuff at an early age , but if I made bad grades etc. I would get it taken away.

Now a days kids get iPad's and Kindle fire's for little effort and a way to "babysit" their kids.

All depends on how its done.

P.S. I work retail and had a lady by her child a Kindle fire for $159 so she could watch Family Guy. Example of what NOT to do

I say go for it! The best thing that could have ever been done to be was introducing me to technology at a young age. I got my first Gameboy (Gameboy Advance) at the age of 4 and iPod (a nano at the time, which I say would equate to a touch nowadays) at ages 6-7 fallowed a laptop at the age of 9. From here I soon started to learn an increasing amount more and would use my tools to learn more about the world around me and has made me a top student in my class. Now your children may not do that, but theres a chance they might. While I am not a parent (obviously if you couldn't tell by my past description) and I don't know your children either, I would not restrict settings. My parents never put restrictions on myself and while at first I was little out of control with usage and whatnot, I eventually established myself into an equilibrium and taught myself self-control. Buying an iPod for them would also teach them how to treat, take care of, and respect expensive tools which they will soon begin using. I also used to have a reading disability when I was younger and had to take special classes. I always struggled with spelling as well. Now, thanks to technology, I began to read copious amounts of articles online and thus propelled myself into honors/AP English and vastly broadened my vocabulary

EDIT:

phr0ze said:

I'm sorry, but if you aren't getting them used to the technology now, they will be behind. I started on technology when I was 8, and now its paying all my bills. I wouldn't make a fraction of what I do now without the early interest and growth.

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I couldn't agree more with you. My early start on technology has put me far ahead of my counterparts and will be getting me into a great school in the next year or two. It even paid for this midrange RMBP I'm using

My 3 year old cousin uses an iPhone and iPad (not hers of course) and can use them very well. It depends on how careful they are with the devices.

My son is 5 and my daughter is 9. Two years ago Santa got my daughter a galaxy tab and my son an iPod touch. They are both covered in survivor cases and we have had no issues with them over the years other than my son occasionally forgetting where in the house he left it, which is most easily solved by find my iPhone. I have the browser disabled, he can only get new games with my password, and he can't make any in app purchases. The tab is pretty much a hunk of junk for new games, freezes up alot, and the date is never set correctly. So this year Santa is giving them engraved iPad mini's. Yes it was alot of money but that is all they are getting from Santa.

I think it comes down to how responsible your children all and only you know them best and whether or not you can afford to replace them. I know my children will take care of them and any accidents are protected by cases. To me it's no different than my mom buying me a nintendo when I was five, the technology today is just different.

Gymgenius said:

I'm thinking of buying my daughters a 16gig, 4th gen iPod Touch each for Christmas.

Does anyone think the youngest, at 6 is too young to have one?

To be used mainly for games / apps. I won't be encouraging them to listen to music via headphones, and will certainly restrict settings on them (including max volume).

GG

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6 is WAYYYY too young for an iPod touch. No child younger than 13 should have access to something like an iPod.

Nethan said:

I remember when I was six (which I'll admit, was just over 11 years ago).

I rode my bike, played sword fighting with sticks, had a $5 portable FM radio, and had the coolest teddy bear a kid could ask for.

Honestly, I'm no parent nor do I have the slightest idea how to raise a child, but a six year old having their own iPod Touch? Really? I see no benefit from it whatsoever.

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By this logic, we should all still be playing with sticks. The world moves on - what was once an expensive iconic device is now merely an entertainment device, but that's fine.

I had an iPod mini when I was 5, and I'm not some technology-addicted unsociable freak.
Heck, I even conducted experiments with how different music genres affected how well I did on the brick game... science right there

(Classical music was the best, btw...)

urban.spaceman said:

6 is WAYYYY too young for an iPod touch. No child younger than 13 should have access to something like an iPod.

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Shouldn't that be something their parent decides? My five year old had one when he was 3 and he takes very good care of it. And no they don't play on them 24 hours a day. I think it's up to me when I teach my children the responsibility of owning something like that.

This is just my opinion, I think that 6 yr old child should not have a iPhone or iPod because they are way to young and kids to not appreciate what they have. An iPod is not cheap at all and if you feel that money is not a big deal then go ahead. Think about it real good before you decide to make that investment.

Gymgenius said:

I'm thinking of buying my daughters a 16gig, 4th gen iPod Touch each for Christmas.

Does anyone think the youngest, at 6 is too young to have one?

To be used mainly for games / apps. I won't be encouraging them to listen to music via headphones, and will certainly restrict settings on them (including max volume).

GG

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These are the settings I use for my daughters...

If you don't want to be asked daddy can I get this app over and over I highly recommend you to disable the App Store. Good luck!

It absolutely does not mean a Ferrari when she's 18. It teaches them responsibility and there's nothing wrong with it. We impose restrictions and our kids do perfectly fine with it. They respect the things they have and if they were to not, they wouldn't have them anymore.

My son is a year and a half and uses my iPad. They have good apps for him and he learns from it. I wouldn't say he is too young to learn!

I'm worried for the next generation if they are going to be raised with iPads and whatnot at the youngest of ages. When I was younger, I was given lego bricks and told to use my imagination to make things out of it. I was given a bike and told to go socialise with the other kids. I had mechano, which I assembled into structures. I used Spiral-graph to make strange shapes and understand how they work. I sat and coloured in picture books. Overall, I made my own fun.

If kids are going to be given iPads, then it removes the need for them to use their brain. Sure, people might say that there are educational apps on the apps store; but are kids just looking at pretty pictures, or are they actually trying to engage in the information? When I was younger, my dad read to me and we talked about every word. I think its far too tempting to slap your kid in front of an iDevice and leave them.

Kids have functioned for thousands of years without iPads and iPods, and havent suffered. I can only see negative consequences for buying children so young, such expensive things that do everything for them.

Xikum said:

I'm worried for the next generation if they are going to be raised with iPads and whatnot at the youngest of ages. When I was younger, I was given lego bricks and told to use my imagination to make things out of it. I was given a bike and told to go socialise with the other kids. I had mechano, which I assembled into structures. I used Spiral-graph to make strange shapes and understand how they work. I sat and coloured in picture books. Overall, I made my own fun.

If kids are going to be given iPads, then it removes the need for them to use their brain. Sure, people might say that there are educational apps on the apps store; but are kids just looking at pretty pictures, or are they actually trying to engage in the information? When I was younger, my dad read to me and we talked about every word. I think its far too tempting to slap your kid in front of an iDevice and leave them.

Kids have functioned for thousands of years without iPads and iPods, and havent suffered. I can only see negative consequences for buying children so young, such expensive things that do everything for them.

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So is there some kind anti-Santa that goes around and steals Legos, crayons, race cars, sticks, coloring books, pets, and puddles to jump in from kids that are given a piece of tech?

jeremiah256 said:

So is there some kind anti-Santa that goes around and steals Legos, crayons, race cars, sticks, coloring books, pets, and puddles to jump in from kids that are given a piece of tech?

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No, but how many kids are going to pick up Lego/etc when they have an iDevice?

I personally think 6 is far too young, get them outside not trapped indoors connected to the internet. A gameboy is different - no internet and cheaper - I had a gameboy for my 12th birthday. If they want music, buy them a cheap mp3 player built into a usb stick design - I had one of those around 12 as well.
If they need internet then let them use your computer supervised. I think the biggest mistake my parents made was giving me access to a computer unsupervised from 14, some of the stuff my friends and I would search for really werent pleasant.

I was thinking about this very same thing a few days ago when my eldest sister bought an iPod touch 4g (black) for both my 5 year old niece and 8 year old niece. I think the younger they are the less likely they are to think about the fact that the screen is made of fragile glass. My 8 year old niece had been given a 2g touch and within a month or two there had been quite some damage done, like three cracks across the entire screen. I got my 4g touch and am a teenager and it has been 2 years and it is in nearly perfect condition aside from the regular use wear and tear. I'll also add that while I had insurance from Bestbuy I didn't use it once. So I think it depends on both age and how aware someone is of something's worth and fragility but, if you put cases & screen protectors on them it might not be too terrible of an idea, also restricting where they are allowed to bring it might be a good idea too, that's what I told my sister.

One more thing, if you're daughters have friends that they go out and play with I'd be careful with how easily they could be taken advantage of. My 8 year old niece had hers stolen by some kids on our street TWICE. They "traded" each other, an iPod for makeup or whatever.

Xikum said:

No, but how many kids are going to pick up Lego/etc when they have an iDevice?

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My 8 year old has had my ipt4 for two months. Every day he wakes up and plays with.. His lego. Last thing he does.. Reads books. He knows the iPod is part of his life not the be all and end all. He used the camera for some homework this weekend, but asks me before he plays games and knows I'll ask him to stop after half an hour or so.
He's not allowed to take it out of the house and no devices at the dinner table. We sit down as a family to eat, and the only thing on his Santa letter? Lego lego and more lego.

So life doesn't necessarily end, but children need to be guided as with everything else.

Gymgenius said:

I'm thinking of buying my daughters a 16gig, 4th gen iPod Touch each for Christmas.

Does anyone think the youngest, at 6 is too young to have one?

To be used mainly for games / apps. I won't be encouraging them to listen to music via headphones, and will certainly restrict settings on them (including max volume).

GG

Click to expand...

Well... they are just to young, since I don't have kids I bought my nephews ages 5-7 iPod touch 4th gen, totally 3 let's just say it was a bad idea the 7yr lost it. & the 5yr left it in his pocket & it went for a wash. Point is maybe a 9 or 10 is a good age.