Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

[RUBICN64]

and no, this isn't a early April Fools joke!

[Jeroak Nelave]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

Yeah, it is in stores...I've seen it.

okay...why did i all of a sudden have the urge to say "i feel it" from the star wars movies...something wrong with me (probably because i'm excited because i'm downloading the Tabula Rasa beta right now)

[Misty]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

I see a lot of young tykes playing the DS these days. It's not surprising given Nintendo's family-friendly image.

[Wavelength]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

Personally, I think it's a wonderful idea.

Giving a DS to a 3-year old is a little bizarre (when I was 3 I probably would have stuck the stylus in my mouth or something), but 5-year-olds or so... being brought up on something like this has got to be better than sitting idly in front of Barney or something.

[Alex]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

Because they're fun and educational?

[ChaosKnightXD]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

I'm not sure if most kids that age would even have the attention span to play a DS. I dunno it just seems most little kids are distracted easy.

[Perversion]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

Yeah...I always found it funny when I worked at Best Buy, and I saw the educational computer software, and there was one that was labeled with "Ages 6-18 months" or something like that. I was thinking to myself, I would think when an infant is that age, they're barely learning to roll over, sit up, etc....why in God's name would a parent want to sit them in front of a computer screen? That's when I thought this whole, "Let's introduce technology to our children early, so they start school with an advantage" thing has gone a little too far.


Also, I was still playing with my Matchbox cars and Star Wars action figures when I was 14.

[Cosmic Jeff]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

I didn't start speaking at all until I was three, but I started playing NES, and specifically The Legend of Zelda, when I was four...

It seems there is a pretty wide discrepancy between development in children in those early ages.

[DarkwingChuck]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

Yeah...I always found it funny when I worked at Best Buy, and I saw the educational computer software, and there was one that was labeled with "Ages 6-18 months" or something like that. I was thinking to myself, I would think when an infant is that age, they're barely learning to roll over, sit up, etc....why in God's name would a parent want to sit them in front of a computer screen? That's when I thought this whole, "Let's introduce technology to our children early, so they start school with an advantage" thing has gone a little too far.


Also, I was still playing with my Matchbox cars and Star Wars action figures when I was 14.

Usually the "educational" toys for infants are designed to do certain things with lights, colors, sounds etc. that promote sensory development. They're not actually expected to learn anything but their eyes and ears get stimulated more than normal.

[Bon]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

I thought kids that age may like Nintendogs better.

[Big Rick Cook]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

My 3 year old nephew likes to play Dora flash games on the internetz. He just likes to see that, by clicking something, he can effect all these changes on the screen. He musses up the screen and the keyboard and the mouse and everything he touches, but he's integrating into the computer generation at such an early age that he's bound to have an edge in school.

Not to mention that it's developing his logical skills, which I hardly feel needs bringing up as a point of contention in this country's education system.

EDIT: Forgot the point I was making. It doesn't surprise me one bit that games like this come out. It's a bit of an under-statement that you can't just leave a 3 year old by himself with a DS and a stylus, but it's interactive edutainment. Kids love that ****. And these kinds of games are often more intellectually stimulating than asking kids to answer a TV caricature of a Prozac guy and his blue dog or a bunch of Mexican cartoon figures with a stupid monkey named Boots.

[DarkwingChuck]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

I thought kids that age may like Nintendogs better.

My nephew who was 3 or 4 at the time absolutely loved Nintendogs. I gave my old DS to him and my neice for Christmas along with Nintendogs and Mario Kart. They mostly play GBA games though since they already had plenty of those.

[Karr Lord of Chaos]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

i dont think alot of this stuff is useful as they claim. i wont be signing up to that baby tv channel or giving my child a ds that early. its a marketing gimic to the parents so they can think that they are doing something constructive for their childs educative future.

then again in just my short years of life ive already seen much of what i did in my teens now being done by bloody elementary kids. grade 7-8 having sex just blows my mind and seeing them trying to be gangsters is wrong.

[Misty]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

I thought kids that age may like Nintendogs better.

That's a pretty popular one for the young ones. But usually they'd be playing Pokemon. Or the children's movie/TV show licensed games like Spongebob Squarepants.

Companies rely heavily on childrens licenses to appeal to the younger demographic and get their gaming dollars. I'm sure some kids don't care how bad a game like that can be so long as it's got their favorite character in it.

[Libby]

Re: Why would you give a DS to a 3-6 year old?

I see the same problem with computers. I have a few kids in my class (one in particular) who can use a computer without any guidance, to the point where they know where all the keys on the keyboard are without searching for hours for it, and how to actually click on an item, rather then wildly smack the mouse until something works.

In the four-year old class, we had two children who had the Gameboy Advance(and one of them had a DS, but he couldn't bring it to the daycare) and they had the Dora/Cars sort of games that they KILLED me on. (that's pretty bad) One child had Pokemon, and his Pokemon were all level 50+. The kicker on it was that he couldn't even read the words, he just played it.

I do believe that making these things avalible to children under school age is dangerous and ridiculous. I have seen too many children come through my daycare that lack all social skills because their parents were too busy getting them ready for school. Knowing your letters and all before you go to kindergarten is nice, but if it risks your children's ability NOT to be able to preform in a classroom setting, then it's not worth it.

Anyways, having these games as a supplemental isn't a bad thing, but parents would HAVE to supervise them at all times. -.- I think now it's just all about making the money.