Usage

[kingoddball]

Not sure if you are posting to enquire or to show off, But rather than spend even more money on your 7 year old,
Who seems to be doing pretty well for gadgets already.

Why not spend the money wisely and put it towards a decent education, Or take him on an adventure holiday to get him
away from all the gadgets he seems to be accumulating. He`ll love you better for it, And you may get to know him
better as a person, Rather than a child stuck in front of or behind a TV, Games console, Iphone etc.

Trooper

Am I the only one who finds this post really uncalled for? I mean, you're basically preaching about someone being a bad parent based on one forum post they made. Talk about jumping to conclusions.

Yeah this does seem a little uncalled for.. I mean most of this is the old man syndrome... I didn't have such devices when I was a kid, so get off my lawn.. Lets just leave parenting to the parents.

When I was around seven I had a pretty decent electronics lab going on in my bedroom.. This was allowed by my parents just to distract me so I wouldn't dismantle everything thing in the house and getting electrocuted is a good learning experience. Let the kid have his gadgets..

Having all these gadgets and the rest are setting a really bad standard toward the children anyhow.

It's setting the kids up the become spoiled little BRATS.
It's a clear and cut issue. These days kid CANNOT be disciplined by force. I don't mean beating them, but you cannot even smack (spank if you want that term) a child by hand in Australia. It's against the LAW, which helps the cause of "gimmie. gimmie. gimmie" attitude.
Children are all getting Phones, iPod Touches/iPhones, game consoles and the moment they don't get what they want it turns to "I hate you" and tantrums.
If you get a child (any age) with nothing and they goto school with kids who have all the good shit then that can turn to depression or lead the child down the "wrong" path (stealing etc).
Not all kids.

Sorry. I'm not trying to incite a fight. It just seems this thread has many mixed reactions. This is mine.

 

[rabidpoobear]

Having all these gadgets and the rest are setting a really bad standard toward the children anyhow.

It's setting the kids up the become spoiled little BRATS.
It's a clear and cut issue. These days kid CANNOT be disciplined by force. I don't mean beating them, but you cannot even smack (spank if you want that term) a child by hand in Australia. It's against the LAW, which helps the cause of "gimmie. gimmie. gimmie" attitude.
Children are all getting Phones, iPod Touches/iPhones, game consoles and the moment they don't get what they want it turns to "I hate you" and tantrums.
If you get a child (any age) with nothing and they goto school with kids who have all the good shit then that can turn to depression or lead the child down the "wrong" path (stealing etc).
Not all kids.

Sorry. I'm not trying to incite a fight. It just seems this thread has many mixed reactions. This is mine.

Opinions about raising kids are a dime a dozen. It depends on the circumstance and the child. I didn't get everything I wanted as a kid, my family was not well off. My parents were strictly anti-force when it came to discipline, and it didn't turn into tantrums. I was a reasonable kid and they would explain things to me (eg. we could get you that toy but then we wouldn't be able to eat) and that's all it took. Some kids are reasonable, some aren't, that's just the way of the world, and you have to guide your parental decisions from that perception.

 

[kingoddball]

You're correct.
I did not have much as a child either. (I may have all the fancy toys now though andora2ut4: )

It's just my social commentary for what I can see these days. Kids are getting far too much and they're becoming far too disobedient.
Just my views.

 

[TrashyMG]

You're correct.
I did not have much as a child either. (I may have all the fancy toys now though andora2ut4: )

It's just my social commentary for what I can see these days. Kids are getting far too much and they're becoming far too disobedient.
Just my views.

I was in the same boat, however a broken TV back then was just as much of a toy to me as an game system is today. My parents believed in working for what you have. My parents didn't buy me a single video game system or even any game when growing up, not even as a Christmas present. However I did have them, My brother and I would work for a neighbor doing yard work and such all summer, save christmas money from relatives and such. Took us a year to save up for a NES back in 1987. I still have that NES today in working order, just because I new what it meant to earn something and maintain it.

I have beliefs in how to raise a child, I just don't think lecturing people on a forum about is correct. In this case he may have good parenting mechanisms in place.. we don't know and it's none of our business.

 

[gibberish]

i'm surprised at all the parents giving their kids computers at such a young age. there is plenty of time for that when they reach their early teens - more than enough time to get accustomed to current technology. at 7 and 8 years old i would think theyd be better off working on their social skills and perfecting their spelling, grammar and maths, learning the ways of the world and acquiring interests that require interaction with other people. maybe that's just me.

having said that, i do remember spending a dis-proportionate amount of time watching my dad use pkunzip and xtree gold on his 386. times are changing i guess.

 

[kingoddball]

Correct! Earn what you want!
Exactly. I'm not giving advice. I'm just throwing my (unwanted) views out there.
I do think the Wii is good for kids.

But as for the Pandora and a 7 year old.. Who knows. The Pandora COULD become the best thing since sliced bread for kids. It could become the next "Leap Pad". No one knows what software might come to this system. It could very well be the greatest learning device on the market.

Touch Screen, Speakers, Keyboard, Game Controls. It REALLY COULD become a great learning device for children!

Just the price would be the sticking point.

 

[rmm2131]

When I was that young we didn't have Nintendo, Apple, Microsoft, and even Unix was unknown. My parents thankfully didn't plant me in front of a box with a glowing screen. I was too busy playing with the other neighborhood kids, or exploring the woods and building things with my friends, getting fresh air and sunlight. In between schooling, my parents(we were not rich) took me out on trips with my siblings. My grandparents also liked to get out and about and my grandfather would use the phrase "lets go for a ride", and we'd travel sometimes with my cousins to many of the local and more distant spots in the region. I've never forgotten how much fun we had and how much I miss them since they passed away.

Unfortunately, i'm seeing the trend of children far too young with gadgets far too often. My young nieces in particular each have Ipods and phones(for emergencies), Nintendo DS's, plus an older computer in each of their bedrooms. In that household, they have two large screen televisions, two smaller TVs, Wii, Gamecube, several cellphones, and three of the latest computers including the new 27" iMac. My brother also says the ones in my nieces bedrooms are for learning and schoolwork which they do well in. To his credit, he and my sister in law have them enrolled in school activities including soccer and softball so they are active, but I still don't like that far away look they get while in front of the computers and handhelds, or how distant they are when you disrupt that important business they are in the middle of. Almost like its draining them of life. Outside, away from the electronics, they are happy, friendly kids. I don't think this is isolated behavior either. :unsure:

No Gingio, your child doesn't need a Pandora.

 

[Chest Rockwell]

Not sure if you are posting to enquire or to show off, But rather than spend even more money on your 7 year old,
Who seems to be doing pretty well for gadgets already.

Why not spend the money wisely and put it towards a decent education, Or take him on an adventure holiday to get him
away from all the gadgets he seems to be accumulating. He`ll love you better for it, And you may get to know him
better as a person, Rather than a child stuck in front of or behind a TV, Games console, Iphone etc.

Trooper

Am I the only one who finds this post really uncalled for? I mean, you're basically preaching about someone being a bad parent based on one forum post they made. Talk about jumping to conclusions.

Yeah this does seem a little uncalled for.. I mean most of this is the old man syndrome... I didn't have such devices when I was a kid, so get off my lawn.. Lets just leave parenting to the parents.

When I was around seven I had a pretty decent electronics lab going on in my bedroom.. This was allowed by my parents just to distract me so I wouldn't dismantle everything thing in the house and getting electrocuted is a good learning experience. Let the kid have his gadgets..

Having all these gadgets and the rest are setting a really bad standard toward the children anyhow.

It's setting the kids up the become spoiled little BRATS.
It's a clear and cut issue. These days kid CANNOT be disciplined by force. I don't mean beating them, but you cannot even smack (spank if you want that term) a child by hand in Australia. It's against the LAW, which helps the cause of "gimmie. gimmie. gimmie" attitude.
Children are all getting Phones, iPod Touches/iPhones, game consoles and the moment they don't get what they want it turns to "I hate you" and tantrums.
If you get a child (any age) with nothing and they goto school with kids who have all the good shit then that can turn to depression or lead the child down the "wrong" path (stealing etc).
Not all kids.

Sorry. I'm not trying to incite a fight. It just seems this thread has many mixed reactions. This is mine.

I'm not sure whether you are worse at armchair psychology or armchair parenting.
People seem to reminisce about how they had (inert early home computer here) but it's completely unacceptably for a kid to have a Pandora! Quite funny.
(I think you're jealous?)
Acting as armchair psychiatrist, I recommend you all take one dose of "not talking about what you aren't qualified to talk about".

 

[Nova]

I just had an idea thing

Slam some mavis beacon-esque software on there, and teach your kid to spell. And after that, teach him to code things for us.

 

[Jeffery Mewtamer]

I am not yet a parent, but I honestly see nothing wrong with encouraging geeklings to master technology at a young age. Of course, I would not allow a child direct use of any device until I was sure they were responsible enough to take care of it. Of course, any children I eventually have will also have access to the home library I am building and my collection of twisty puzzles at the first sign of being interested and responsible enough to take care of the items.

As for Pandora for Kids, a few ideas come to mind:

Install emulators and load it with games that are heaving on reading, problem solving and/or strategic thinking(Many good RPGs have all three)
Would probably require porting a lot of software, but Edubuntu for Pandora might be a viable setup.
I echo the idea of setting it up as a "Geekling's First Programming Environment".

 

[Sphinxter]

Don't make me hurt this dog;

 

[renwils]

i'm surprised at all the parents giving their kids computers at such a young age. there is plenty of time for that when they reach their early teens

I take issue with this. I spent a lot of time with my parents' i386 when I was younger. If I hadn't I wouldn't have had any clue what a command prompt was by the time I installed Linux Mandrake in 8th grade, at the encouragement of Leo Laporte on The Screensavers.

There's plenty for children to learn from using computers, but like everything else, they must be used in moderation.

 

[Nova]

Don't make me hurt this dog;

Awww man. Gimme!

 

[Sphinxter]

Don't make me hurt this dog;

Awww man. Gimme!

That's it, put down the iSerialkiller...

 

[klikklak]

I agree that the reaction of "be harsh, deprive your child and forbid everything you had when you grew up" isn't really appropriate. I mean c'mon, most of us grew up next to computers. And most of us grew up ok, it's just a question of parenting. The pandora might not be a substitute for it, but neither will a forum thread do it. And yes, I started playing with c64's when I was 7, was intensely interested in them, but also managed to do a an absolutely ridiculous amount of reading and a load of playing outside. Mind you, I think kids these days in certain parts of the world are pretty much forbidden from going outside to play, or am I wrong? The small town neighbourhood where I grew up was a jewel in itself (I found out about its problems quite soon afterwards though). The pandora won't be much of a substitute for having a load of good friends and a decent area to live in.

Frankly one of the things putting me off parenting is finding a woman who wouldn't mind games, computers and other geeky hobbies and letting the kid take part in them. But that's partly because I know mostly hippies and anarchists, they're a bit luddite unfortunately.