Children and Consoles

[garethEds]

Christmas dilema time - my little boy is 7 and he wants ax XBox for Christmas with MineCraft. This also means buying him a TV to put it on. and putting it in his bedroom. But he is 7. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I'm not sure a 7 year old (8 in July) should have a console. I could put the console in the living room but we have a daughter (4) who winds him up a treat.

 

He has a DS 2D which I felt was ok for his age (and the games were).

 

Some of his friends have consoles and have done so for a while. I've looked at a Switch but felt they were too expensive for what they are - especially when I can get an XBox Minecraft bundle for £219 online.

 

Have any Edugeekers got young children with consoles? Am I being an old fart? Do I need to get with the times? Or am I right in keeping my child to age appropriate stuff - which to me isn't a console.

 

Any opinions?

 

Gareth

[localzuk]

Can I suggest a Switch? It has Minecraft on it, can be played as a handheld, or plugged into a TV. That way, he can play it without a TV, or if he wants to play on a big screen can dock it in the lounge and play it with the joycons.

[bald_pig]

Why not get him an entry-level gaming pc? easier to restrict and monitor what he's doing, he can use it for homework, and he can still play minecraft?

[Domo]

I don't have kids, but I had a Playstation and N64 for as long as i can remember when i was a kid.

In my opinion though they should be kept somewhere where it's easy to keep an eye on. Especially if there's any online components

[jthompson]

The XBox dashboard is quite a pushy place, dripping in offers and sales and promotions for DLC, preorders, etc. I'm not a parent, but if I was I don't think I'd be happy with it in a child's bedroom.

[sted]

all three main consoles xbox/ps4/switch do have parental controls so you can block games above a certain rating and i think control max hours a day and off times but i havnt used them

[garethEds]

Thank everyone for your comments.

[RLR]

My son is 5 (6 in June) and loves the nintendo Wii. Obviously all the games are a bit old now but it's still a very good starter console. We're thinking about getting him a Nintendo 2DS xl for Christmas this year so he can play with his cousin. The Switch is also an option we've considered but thinking it's a bit pricey at the moment and not many games out for it.

[HBPS]

My sons had an xbox in his room for a year he is 7 and plays minecraft WWE and F1 from the disc i have removed the xbox from my wifi so no real risk.

[5tu]

My son is 11 and got an xbox for his 11th birthday. I'm very possibly an older fart than any of you as decided no consoles or tv in his bedroom which, after many protests, he now thinks is a good idea as there isn't the temptation to game to excess.

 

He has found though there's a limited range of games suitable for his age.

[atcoates]

I manage my children's accounts through this https://account.microsoft.com/account/manage-my-account when they log in to windows 10 PC they get the time I have allowed them, and each week I'm emailed a list of all websites visited etc. You can also set time limits on xbox etc and turn on parental control etc and all cloud managed. My children are aware of this and know I can see what's going on so that may help, especially with two teenage sons! When they run out of time they click a request on the screen for more time, I get an email and decide what to do. Nasty websites are filtered out etc.

[CAM]

I think your best bet is put it in the living room and play the console with him. Unlike the previous generation, this one played games when younger so they will show more interest in gaming alongside their kids.

 

You also totally won't buy something for yourself to play when they are asleep in bed... >.>

[foofighterjim]

all three main consoles xbox/ps4/switch do have parental controls so you can block games above a certain rating and i think control max hours a day and off times but i havnt used them

 

https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/interactive-guide/

[garethEds]

My son is 5 (6 in June) and loves the nintendo Wii. Obviously all the games are a bit old now but it's still a very good starter console. We're thinking about getting him a Nintendo 2DS xl for Christmas this year so he can play with his cousin. The Switch is also an option we've considered but thinking it's a bit pricey at the moment and not many games out for it.

 

Funny you say that. We used to have a Wii - many moons ago before we had kids. I'm sure they would love it. Had even done the Lego Indiana Jones hack with games running of a usb hard drive. Those were the days. I might look into one of them again.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

I think your best bet is put it in the living room and play the console with him. Unlike the previous generation, this one played games when younger so they will show more interest in gaming alongside their kids.

You also totally won't buy something for yourself to play when they are asleep in bed... >.>

 

Yes -that is what will happen methinks.

 

Gareth

[jos18411]

My son has had a Playstation in his room for a few years. He has a Sub-Account under mine so I can see what he is doing, who he is talking to and what he is playing.

We have also set up separate Wi-Fi that all the kid's devices go on and that is only available at certain times of the day

[ChrisH]

I struggle to find suitable games for my 7 year old for the X Box one, once you've played all the Lego games! Good job she likes Minecraft! She prefers to play some arcade games with me on my emulator setup most of the time.