Kids and the Ipod Nano

I don't see it as a big deal, but I wouldn't get a Nano, I would get a cheaper MP3 player. Also, I don't know if they make ear buds for kids, but I got my daughter a regular set of earphones at Best Buy that are specifically designed for kids so they can't turn the music up to loud.

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I would absolutely get an MP3 instead.

2 moms found this helpful

Depends on what's gonna happen when she breaks or loses it. Or if you are more than willing to keep track of it for her.

I LOVE my ipod, all three of my kids have ipods, but nobody had one at five.

And no, I don't think you're 'corrupting' her. Music is a huge part of our family life. Suggestive/inappropriate lyrics have been fantastic teaching tools for us.

If it feels ok to you, then it IS ok, you're The Mom, after all!

:)

1 mom found this helpful

I'm pretty sure that the latest Nano is still not online compatible. So it would be a wonderful way for her to keep her music all the time and have easy, portable access to it. If you have never owned apple products before, I can tell you from first hand experience they are great! Especially for kids- they are very intuitive and easy to work with. There is only about a $70 price difference between the nano and a touch, though. So if it is a product you might be interested in "sharing" with her, you might want to go with the touch. YOU can use it to go online (anywhere you have WiFi) and check your email, send emails, shop, whatever. And take pictures, videos, etc. And, you COULD use it to keep a few kid friendly apps on it (download for free) for those times when you need something like that to keep her entertained (not feeling well in the waiting room at the dr's office comes to my mind).
But, if you are sure you are not interested in the iPod touch, then I can't think of any reason the Nano would be a wrong choice. It's just music. :)
Well, and the radio. :)

Personally I think she is too young.
My 13 yo doesnt' even have one. She will get one this Christmas. My 10 yo not until he is 13 or so.
If I gave all the coolest gadgets to them when they asked then what would i have left to give them when they turn 16, graduate from hs or college?
My kids want a lot of things. My oldest didn't get a phone until he was 18 My now 16 yo got one as a freshman because she was in clubs and sports. They don't get their ears pierced until 8th grade graduation.

What about getting her a child's cd player for her room, and the cd?

We are very low tech ourselves, no cable, little tv, etc. So we surprised ourselves when we got an iPod Touch for our 6 year old! I would recommend getting the lowest end Touch vs. Nano if you can swing it. Not only does she listen to music, she play games -- and there are some great ones out there -- draws & paints, Googles subjects for school projects (like all about different animals), take great pictures, make her own videos, records herself playing piano and singing, etc. etc. When we had a long flight, I downloaded some fun shows for her to watch and gave it to her on the plane. She documented our trip with photos and videos we can upload to send to family or print pix. I never would have thought to get such a thing for a 6 year old, but it has really been fun for her. She does not use it all the time, but when she wants to, there are so many options. It's been a big hit.

I did not read all the answers, but what we did with our kids was start them out with an inexpensive MP3 player to teach them responsiblity & still afford them the pleasure of listening to "their" music. They worked for quite sometime & when they were ready to upgrade, they worked hard to be able to upgrade with their own money. My 12 yo dghtr now has an ipod nano 4th generation & my 10 yo son has an ipod touch with camera.
If you decide to go with the ipod, then I would recommend getting an extended warranty.

My daughter started using an old iPod of mine when she was 6 (it is the original Shuffle), and she loves listening to it. The first couple of weeks she had it, she was listening to it non-stop. Now she just uses it from time to time. We also limit screen time and have similar thoughts about cell phones, TVs, etc. We got her some of the kid's headphones instead of her using the ear buds. I think you need to know your child if she is responsible enough to take care of an iPod. My daughter happens to be one that is... some children are not.

I don't think she's too young. I mean I had a (secondhand) walkman when I was in Kindergarten, and really what's the difference (besides 20 years of technology). She's not asking for an iphone or even an internet capable device, so I really think you are ok. Ebay has a ton of pretouch ipods right now too. Good luck!

we have them for our kids, and ihomes to use them with. It's wonderful cause you control the music that is on it, but they get to chose what they listen to. We don't let them take it any ole' place but they have not broken one yet.

You can rent CD's from the library and burn songs that way

My greatest concern here is will she keep up with and be able to take care of it. It's a great way to regulate what she listens too. I wish I could manage this for my 20 year old!

Personally I think she is too young. We are the same way, we just got our 10yr old twins Ipod nano's this past X-mas. There are plenty of other inexpensive Ipods you could get for her. She is 5, it's bound to get lost or torn up and why spend that kind of money.

My son got an ipod shuffle for his 9th birthday. A few months later it got left in his pocket and went through the washer so that was the end of that. $50 down the drain. I think a nano is easier for a kid vs the shuffle but I wouldn't buy a new one for such a young child. I would look at craigslist or ebay maybe. Or I think you can get refurbished ones from Apple that even come with warranties and they cost a lot less than new. Makes the almost inevitable breaking of the item easier to take.