Best/youngest age for Nintendo DS Lite

[Perditamarie]

Just curious.....in your opinion what is the youngest a child should be to recieve a Nintendo DS Lite? If your young children have them how long do they play, take care of the game unit and games, etc.? How do you work it with siblings...younger wants to play big brothers game, etc.?

 

[ninety-seven]

My son has had a GameCube since he was 4 and plays my 360 (just a few games!) We got him a DS Lite for Christmas (he is now 6) and he plays it a good bit, especially when we go on trips.

For anyone younger than that, I would go for the Leapster Handheld. it has better Pre-K games and is pretty rugged. Our 2 year old plays it quite a lot and loves it.

If you do get a DS, my son says the best game he has played is one called Playground. You can usually find it in the bargain bin at any game shop or Best Buy.

97

 

[Desnik]

DD(10) has one and has had it for awhile now. DS(5) knows how to use it and DH wants to get him one. I thought he is too young and still likes to play with his Leapster, then again he does have an Ipod Nano! So, I'm thinking we'll get him the DS. It does have a lot more games and DD really loves hers and uses it a lot. It's especially great on car trips or on an airplane. So I guess IMHO 5 and up is a good age for a DS.

 

[shazmart]

My DD is 5 in July, we bought her a Leapster for Xmas which she played with ok. Then in February my Dsis bought me a ds for my BDay and now my DD doesn't want to know her Leapster she just wants to play with ''MY'' DS which she does alot better than I do!!. She's pretty careful with it and she would play all day with it if I let her, which I don't!
We had the same dilema whether to buy her one for xmas but opted for the Leapster as you can buy more educational games for it. May buy her a ds for her birthday when we are in Florida if she's good.

 

[tmarquez]

I had a Gameboy SP that I never used so I bought a kid game for it and gave it to DD(5). She takes very good care of it and plays it as much as she plays with any toy. Not at long stretches of time...she doesn't have that kind of attention span.

I was going to get her a DS for this past Christmas, but decided against it. I thought it might be harder for her with the stylus and all, plus there's not that many games to play that don't require a good deal of reading. I figure by the time next Christmas rolls around she'll be ready (at 6).

 

[lucigo]

My son has been playing nintendo since he was 2. He watched the kids play donkey konga and one day just started playing it on his own. By 3 he was a whiz at Mario Kart and we actually used it as a reward to potty train him.

He had a leapster which was much more educational than a game boy, but once he got his hands on the older siblings GB he wanted nothing to do with leapster after that. The gameboy is pretty mindless really, if you can, I would suggest you try to interest her child in a leapster or V-smile, or even just computer games for as long as possible.

 

[tinkandpan]

Our ds6 had a leapster handheld from when he was 4 until just this past year. It was great becasue the games are more educational and it is certainly more durable. For his 6th christmas we got him the ds. HE takes great care with it and plays a handful of games for short periods throughout the day - usually in the car or when he is getting some down time. My dd2 got hold of his original one and snapped it in half so that was WAYYYY to young (not sure how old your kids are).

 

[BLAMBKY]

We just gave my 9 year old one for Christmas. (He had a Game Boy before that.) The games are tiny, very expensive and eaily lost. You have to decide if you could handle your child breaking or losing a $200+ toy. The fist day my son had it he lost a game-$40. I freaked out and told him if he couldn't find it by the next night that he would lose it for 2 weeks. He did not find it until later. He did not have it for 2 weeks. When he got it back, he was told next time it will be three weeks. He has been much more careful from that point on. WHEW! Glad he is a fast learner.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

All of my children love video and computer games, but it's my 7 yo ds who is really into small handheld games (among other things!). I cannot remember a time when he did not have some sort of handheld game system, beginning with those inherited from his older brother. Because he values the games so much, he takes very, very good care of his games. He hasn't lost a one! I've noticed that his friends also seem to be very careful with these prized possessions.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

My DS was 6 when he got his first gameboy.

DD (who is the younger child) just got her Nintendo DS this past Christmas , she is 4.

She kept watching DS and really wanted one. Every Santa she seen ,she would tell them I want a pink DS.

She loves to play it and it is a Godsend on long cartrips, but I really have to watch her, because her responsibility level isn't that high yet. The games are very small and if I was looking after her , she would have lost 1 or 2 already.

 

[Perditamarie]

Thanks everyone! We love the Leapster, but I think interest is waning. I think the DS would be great for Christmas (I want one too! ),and there are so many games to choose from. I will have a 6 1/2 yo and 7 1/2 yo and will stick with the Leapster for the 5 yo.

Found a great deal on games at TRU...most that I picked out were 50% off ($19.99 games) 2 were reg. price, but caused more discounts on the other games ($14.99 Scooby Doo ended up $2.49), so I averaged $10 a game. I did have to nicely insist that they ring them up, as that was the only way to figure out the price.

 

[TiggerStac]

MY DS 6 got a ds lite for christmas, he takes very good care of it and it's games. He has a gameboy, as well..got this at 4. As expected, lost many games, but I have come to find a lot of them in my sofa.

I have the gameboy aside for when DS#2 gets a little older. DS can still play his gameboy games in his DS if he wants and some of them, he does.

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

DS(almost 5) currently has a Leapster. He will be getting a Gameboy Advanced SP for his birthday this year and a DS when he turns 6. IMO, the GBA is a bit more sturdy. DS would break and loose the pen things for the DS.

 

[Gillian]

My son got one for his 7th birthday, and a few of his friends got them for their 8th birthdays (he's on the young side). It's very appropriate for him. I have told my almost 5 year old that she has to learn to read before I'll buy her one. She has a leapster, and even if she's reading fluently tomorrow, she'll still have to wait for a DS.

For anyone who thinks their child might be too young, consider our recent experience. This morning DS could not find his game. He had it last night in the car, fell asleep with it on his lap, woke up & went inside without it, as far as anyone could remember. He searched the car several times, as did I. We didn't know if it had fallen out of the car or been stolen or what. The thought of replacing it and the games in it at the time (Animal Crossing $35 and Pokemon Emerald for GBA $17 used) plus the system for $129 made us all sick. DS cried, hit his sister for taking it, threw things. It was ugly.

Finally, DH searched the car yet again, quadruple checking under the front seat, and there it was. Maybe this was DS's fault, maybe it wasn't, but he got a talking to about his attitude and lack of responsibility for his things in general. It's not the first time he's misplaced it.

It's made me re-think getting him a cell phone when we change to a new plan. I want him to have one for emergencies but not if it's going to get lost, broken or stolen.

 

[5 for WDW]

Our DD got one for Xmas. She was a little over 4 at the time. However, she is our youngest and has two older brothers so, she had been playing with theirs here and there for a few months before she got hers.

I have to say, she is more responsible with it then my oldest usually. She always makes sure to put the games away in her case and once we got her a leash for the stylus we didn't have an issue with losing them.

She has the pink one. She does not play it often. Usually in the car. She only has a few games. Her favorites are Nintendogs, Horsez and Charlotte's Web. She also has a Little Mermaid game but it is a little advanced for her. She plays that with me.

We bought her a Nerf case for it a few months ago since she is only 4. It makes it a little more bulky but, provides protection in case she drops it. We got that in pink as well. You can find them online and at Best Buy.

 

[tttessa]

My girls are 5 and 7 - we bought them DS lite's last summer - my eldest took to it straight away and loves the usual girly games - Barbie/princesses/little mermaid/dogz etc. The youngest was too young to be able to
a. read all the explanatory text during the games and
b. move quickly enough.
But now she can read she is going great - gets further than me on games like charlottes web and flushed away!!

They have not lost anything yet - but that may be because we bought a mini backpack type case with game cases they can change which games they want at home and carry 3 with them - all enclosed in their pack.

What I would watch out for is: my eldest is a chewer - that stylus was NEVER out of her mouth till we bought a special one with cinderella on the end (look on ebay you can buy all sorts for the DS...).

As the ds was their first game system, we have noticed a great improvement in their "technical" confidence, using remotes/changing TV channels/using the computer etc, so would definitely recommend a game system of any sort from a youngish age.

Tessa

 

[Gillian]

They have not lost anything yet - but that may be because we bought a mini backpack type case with game cases they can change which games they want at home and carry 3 with them - all enclosed in their pack.

Tessa

My son has a case, and now he's going to have to use it, or the game will be taken away. I keep mine in the case to protect it from DD, 4.

My DD is a Tessa, and she's a terror. But we get lots of complements on her name.

 

[tinkerjess]

my ds-8 yo is the total opp. he has a gameboy sp and he plays with it once a month if that!! we asked him at christmas if he wanted a psp? and he replied with no i dont like playing video games that much he would rather be playing baseball, skateboard, or riding his ripstick or bike which im really glad hes very active!!

 

[MousekaMaddi]

Santa brought DD5 one after her 5 yr old friend used his allllllllllllll the time and she just watched over his shoulder, he wasnt good at taking turns much -so we got her one and she rarely uses it, in car ride mainly or train to NYC trips, Pink of course

 

[portia9]

We just bought Nintendos in preparation for the many hours we will be travelling to the States. Our boys are 11, 7 and nearly 6 and they do fine with them. My dh also bought my 3yo dd one but really that was just an excuse for him to have one. The funny part is that it is PINK lmbo. And she thinks it's hers and he gets stressed out every time she wants to play with it lol.