What age did you buy your child a laptop?

[Pembo]

I'm hoping 42...but I doubt it...

 

[taximomfor4]

DD got NO gifts for Christmas last year or her 16th birthday this year (except a claddagh necklace from me and my dh). Just hoarded cash. She had enough for the Best Buy $299 cheapie laptop in July, so got that.

We don't pay an allowance, and only spend about $50 on each kid for their birthdays...oldest dd only had the money sooner because her dad and HIS family spend more than dh and I do. So basically, my other 3 kids won't have a laptop for a loooooong time. The 5 of us (everyone but dd16) share a cheap desktop. Each kid gets a half-hour per day. Homework has to be written out before getting to the computer (so it just needs typed out). This minimizes computer-hogging. Sometimes dd11's friend comes over to type things out, too. Her family doesn't have a computer at all. If we aren't home, she walks to the library about a half-mile away. She, too, knows to have her paper written BEFORE sitting at the computer at my home, lol.

 

[Kteacher]

We"ve given each of our kids laptops when they turned 18 so they would have them for college.

 

[Bluestars]

Both of my DS's got laptops from their grandparents when they were each 13.

 

[jazzielady]

I got one for my dd13 when she turned 12. She is very responsible and I check her history, etc. frequently. I have complete access to her facebook account and is not permitted any other social networking accounts. It is now barely usable, and I will get her a netbook for Christmas. I like this one, but don't think the extra features warrant the higher price:

http://www.mirusinnovations.com/netbooks/CT9XP.html


DD11 will turn 12 2 days after Christmas, and I recently gave her my old netbook when I bought a new one. So instead she'll be getting the ipod touch she's been begging for and I keep telling her NO WAY.

I have to say that a few years ago I was very opposed to kids getting their own technologies - cell phones, laptops, etc. We grew up quite well without them. However, in today's world of technology, I think it's very important for kids to know how to use them fluently in order to be successful later in life.

 

[daisyduck123]

DD opened a Mac Notebook on Xmas morning 2007 at AKV....we were staying there that week. She was 13yo.

 

[Ohiodislover]

My oldest was 12. My youngest (11) is getting one for Christmas this year. We thought about the netbooks, but they both use computers way too much, and need more memory and other things that a netbook can't do.

We will all have laptops after Christmas. I keep having visions of us sitting around IMing rather than talking

 

[december]

dd10 got hers for Christmas last year (so 9). It is one of the $298 ones from Walmart, with a Hannah Montana skin. It is all she wanted from Santa last year. She loves it! And I've been coveting it ever since! I am considering getting on for myself, and giving ds12 the desktop. He likes to type, but he doesn't care much about the internet.

 

[SeaSpray]

They were their high school graduation presents, for use in college.

However, both DSs had built their own desk top computers when they were much younger, under DH's direction. Back then, laptops weren't as affordable as they are now, and there was no need for them to have a portable computer anyway.

If they were younger NOW, we'd probably just give them laptops instead of the desk tops.

 

[AllisonK]

I bought my first laptop at 18 when I was going off to college. That was 2 and a half years ago. My parents and I just split the cost of a new MacBook for me last week. My PC had been giving me problems all semester and when it almost didn't turn on about 2 weeks ago that was the last straw. I'm a journalism major and I absolutely can't go a day without my computer.

 

[Pearls]

I got my laptop as a high school graduation present, so I was 17. My older brother had to wait until he graduated high school as well.

 

[maelstrom]

I got my first laptop when I was 17... a year later I traded up to an iBook and had that for six years... it was time for a new computer, so this August, my mom gifted me a new Dell laptop.

 

[powellrj]

The only one with their own laptop is DS and we got him one for college. I have one that the kids can use.

 

[Acklander]

DS10 had been saving his money (birthday & babysitting) for the past year for a laptop. With the Black Friday deal at Walmart ($220.00 with tax) he was finally able to score one. He was so proud of himself as it's the first "big" purchase he's ever made. He's now saving for some type of animation software because he likes to make videos for you-tube, and there is some type of software out there that is supposed to make the process easier.

 

[PatsGirl]

I bought DS a laptop for high school graduation to take to the Air Force with him I bought myself one six months later but it was stolen. DD has had an ancient Dell since she was about 8 but it is not connected to the internet and is used primarily for photo software and storage.

 

[SadieDog]

We gave our daughter 18 a laptop this summer for her high school graduation.

 

[dawnball]

5. Well, if you ask her "Five and a half." And it's not really "hers", although she's the only one who uses it as a primary machine.

My husband and I have a computer consulting business, so both of us have business laptops. This year I needed a new laptop, for various reasons.

So I got a new laptop, and the old one became the business "spare", in case one of the business laptops has a hardware problem. It's also the business "guest" machine, for when a non-working meeting with clients/consultants turns into a working meeting. It's the projection machine for working meetings. It's the air travel laptop, the guinea pig, and on and on.

And for personal uses it's our multimedia store/DVD player/streaming video player/etc. DD has an account and considers it "hers". She checks and sends email, does her little web games, typing tutor, watches DVDs etc. Massively more computing power than any 5 year old needs, but she's taking advantage of time it would otherwise be idle. And when the business needs it, she logs out and we log in.

 

[DVC-Don]

Son was 16 and daughter was 15.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

My girls are 5 and 7 and they are getting one between them for Christmas. They have no idea. Its a pink Dell and wasn't that expensive. I have a laptop myself and we also have a desktop computer. But the only time DH and I get to use them is after the kids have gone to bed. It seems like we are always want to use them at the same time. I'm looking forward to having free time on my own computer.

 

[bananda]

i had to buy my own. i was 17. i think. it was about 2 years ago. i needed ti for typing up my school assignments because my 3 sisters were always on the family computer.