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  • Electronic and parenting advice

    This summer my 10, almost 11-year-old son has been my little minion. I have a stress fracture and have not been able to get around very well and he has been at my beck and call without much complaint and I really appreciate it.

    Anyway, I was thinking it would be nice to get him something as a reward for his helpfulness and increased maturity. We're also going to Hawaii next week and it's going to be a mutha of a flight. I thought getting him an ipod touch or maybe a Kindle Fire would be a nice thank you gift, plus it would be something that would keep him occupied on the flight. He could also hand over his DS to his little brother to keep him busy.

    So, do you think those gifts are too over-the-top? If not, what do you think about the ipod touch vs. the Kindle Fire? They are about the same price.
    What's to explain? It's a bunch of people, most of whom you've never met, who are just as likely to be homicidal maniacs as they are to be normal everyday people, with whom you share the minutiae of your everyday life. It's totally normal, and everyone would understand.
    -Teenage Dirtbag

  • #2
    Originally posted by marsupial View Post
    This summer my 10, almost 11-year-old son has been my little minion. I have a stress fracture and have not been able to get around very well and he has been at my beck and call without much complaint and I really appreciate it.

    Anyway, I was thinking it would be nice to get him something as a reward for his helpfulness and increased maturity. We're also going to Hawaii next week and it's going to be a mutha of a flight. I thought getting him an ipod touch or maybe a Kindle Fire would be a nice thank you gift, plus it would be something that would keep him occupied on the flight. He could also hand over his DS to his little brother to keep him busy.

    So, do you think those gifts are too over-the-top? If not, what do you think about the ipod touch vs. the Kindle Fire? They are about the same price.
    Yes, you should get him an iPod Touch. To save a little money you may want to consider getting one from apple's refurbished stock. There are a lot of (free) apps that are great for 10 (almost 11) year olds not to mention listening to music and watching videos.
    "If there is one thing I am, it's always right." -Ted Nugent.
    "I honestly believe saying someone is a smart lawyer is damning with faint praise. The smartest people become engineers and scientists." -SU.
    "Yet I still see wisdom in that which Uncle Ted posts." -creek.
    GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

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    • #3
      Originally posted by marsupial View Post
      This summer my 10, almost 11-year-old son has been my little minion. I have a stress fracture and have not been able to get around very well and he has been at my beck and call without much complaint and I really appreciate it.

      Anyway, I was thinking it would be nice to get him something as a reward for his helpfulness and increased maturity. We're also going to Hawaii next week and it's going to be a mutha of a flight. I thought getting him an ipod touch or maybe a Kindle Fire would be a nice thank you gift, plus it would be something that would keep him occupied on the flight. He could also hand over his DS to his little brother to keep him busy.

      So, do you think those gifts are too over-the-top? If not, what do you think about the ipod touch vs. the Kindle Fire? They are about the same price.
      Neither of those devices is too much. Sounds like a great kid. Do it.
      I'm like LeBron James.
      -mpfunk

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      • #4
        I might lean towards the Fire, if you're buying new, simply because I think it encourages reading a little better. We got both of our kids Touches with the idea that they could read, but mostly they just play games. There are definitely more apps on the Touch, obviously, but there are still plenty of free ones on the Fire for an 11 yr old to play around with. And you can get a better idea of what he's doing on there.
        At least the Big Ten went after a big-time addition in Nebraska; the Pac-10 wanted a game so badly, it added Utah
        -Berry Trammel, 12/3/10

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        • #5
          Originally posted by ERCougar View Post
          I might lean towards the Fire, if you're buying new, simply because I think it encourages reading a little better. We got both of our kids Touches with the idea that they could read, but mostly they just play games. There are definitely more apps on the Touch, obviously, but there are still plenty of free ones on the Fire for an 11 yr old to play around with. And you can get a better idea of what he's doing on there.
          I was thinking the Fire might be better too. I mean the screen is a little bigger for when he wants to surf the web. I just don't know how good the Kindle is for web surfing. I know my iphone is sort of a pain, at least in terms of the screen size.
          What's to explain? It's a bunch of people, most of whom you've never met, who are just as likely to be homicidal maniacs as they are to be normal everyday people, with whom you share the minutiae of your everyday life. It's totally normal, and everyone would understand.
          -Teenage Dirtbag

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          • #6
            Originally posted by marsupial View Post
            I was thinking the Fire might be better too. I mean the screen is a little bigger for when he wants to surf the web. I just don't know how good the Kindle is for web surfing. I know my iphone is sort of a pain, at least in terms of the screen size.
            My wife has a fire and says the browsers great. I've never messed around with it too.

            Screen size is actually an issue...my kids still like to play with the fire (ha) because of it.
            At least the Big Ten went after a big-time addition in Nebraska; the Pac-10 wanted a game so badly, it added Utah
            -Berry Trammel, 12/3/10

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            • #7
              Originally posted by ERCougar View Post
              My wife has a fire and says the browsers great. I've never messed around with it too.

              Screen size is actually an issue...my kids still like to play with the fire (ha) because of it.
              I just called a friend and talked to her about hers. She loves it and she can't keep her kids off of it. Now I want one, too. My son just went in to pick up the younger two from camp. As soon as the 3-year-old got in the car he said he had to go to the bathroom. So, of course, I sent in the 10-year-old in with his brother to use the restroom. I don't know what I'd do without him.
              What's to explain? It's a bunch of people, most of whom you've never met, who are just as likely to be homicidal maniacs as they are to be normal everyday people, with whom you share the minutiae of your everyday life. It's totally normal, and everyone would understand.
              -Teenage Dirtbag

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by marsupial View Post
                I just called a friend and talked to her about hers. She loves it and she can't keep her kids off of it. Now I want one, too. My son just went in to pick up the younger two from camp. As soon as the 3-year-old got in the car he said he had to go to the bathroom. So, of course, I sent in the 10-year-old in with his brother to use the restroom. I don't know what I'd do without him.
                Our girls are always playing on Gidget's Kindle Fire. It's nice because they can watch shows on Netflix whenever and wherever freeing up our laptop and TV. Gidget didn't think she would like reading on it at first but now she loves it. She said one of the things she likes about reading on it is that nobody else can see what you're reading and judge you for it.
                "Nobody listens to Turtle."
                -Turtle
                sigpic

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Surfah View Post
                  Our girls are always playing on Gidget's Kindle Fire. It's nice because they can watch shows on Netflix whenever and wherever freeing up our laptop and TV. Gidget didn't think she would like reading on it at first but now she loves it. She said one of the things she likes about reading on it is that nobody else can see what you're reading and judge you for it.
                  [YOUTUBE]rH85EkJPwEk[/YOUTUBE]
                  What's to explain? It's a bunch of people, most of whom you've never met, who are just as likely to be homicidal maniacs as they are to be normal everyday people, with whom you share the minutiae of your everyday life. It's totally normal, and everyone would understand.
                  -Teenage Dirtbag

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I'll vote for the Fire as well. My 13 yo son has a Kindle, mostly because he's a voracious reader. My only advice would be to limit game time to a couple hours a day, max. My kid gets addicted to the strategy/fighting games and would go for 10 hours if we let him.

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                    • #11
                      I vote for the iPad.
                      Fitter. Happier. More Productive.

                      sigpic

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                      • #12
                        Well, I ordered two of them. One for me and one for him. Though, at least on the trip mine will probably be used to entertain the other two children. They'll get here Saturday. Thanks for all the input.
                        What's to explain? It's a bunch of people, most of whom you've never met, who are just as likely to be homicidal maniacs as they are to be normal everyday people, with whom you share the minutiae of your everyday life. It's totally normal, and everyone would understand.
                        -Teenage Dirtbag

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by marsupial View Post
                          This summer my 10, almost 11-year-old son has been my little minion. I have a stress fracture and have not been able to get around very well and he has been at my beck and call without much complaint and I really appreciate it.

                          Anyway, I was thinking it would be nice to get him something as a reward for his helpfulness and increased maturity. We're also going to Hawaii next week and it's going to be a mutha of a flight. I thought getting him an ipod touch or maybe a Kindle Fire would be a nice thank you gift, plus it would be something that would keep him occupied on the flight. He could also hand over his DS to his little brother to keep him busy.

                          So, do you think those gifts are too over-the-top? If not, what do you think about the ipod touch vs. the Kindle Fire? They are about the same price.
                          2 years ago I bought my girls Kindle's for christmas (books are big deal at my house). Last year, I got them iPod Touches. They love them both, although my 12 year old lost her iPod Touch just a few week after christmas. The 14 year old got herself long term grounded (for bad grades) from her iPod so it all works out. However, I'd recommend keeping very close tabs on the whereabouts of the iPod (the find my ipod/iphone device application is spotty, at best). I would also be careful with the amount of time spent on the iPod. My 14 year old immediately disappeared into her music and games on the iPod and we've had trouble with her from the beginning with it. My 12 year old, however, is very responsible with it. So, it depends on the emotional maturity, not age, of your children as to whether they can handle an iPod without it becoming a problem.
                          Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats.
                          - Howard Aiken

                          Any sufficiently complicated platform contains an ad hoc, informally-specified, bug-ridden, slow implementation of half of a functional programming language.
                          - Variation on Greenspun's Tenth Rule

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by TripletDaddy View Post
                            I vote for the iPad.
                            If you are ignoring cost, that is certainly the way to go. Problem is even if you go with the iPad 2 you are looking at twice the cost.
                            As I lead this army, make room for mistakes and depression
                            --Kendrick Lamar

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by atheistcougar View Post
                              2 years ago I bought my girls Kindle's for christmas (books are big deal at my house). Last year, I got them iPod Touches. They love them both, although my 12 year old lost her iPod Touch just a few week after christmas. The 14 year old got herself long term grounded (for bad grades) from her iPod so it all works out. However, I'd recommend keeping very close tabs on the whereabouts of the iPod (the find my ipod/iphone device application is spotty, at best). I would also be careful with the amount of time spent on the iPod. My 14 year old immediately disappeared into her music and games on the iPod and we've had trouble with her from the beginning with it. My 12 year old, however, is very responsible with it. So, it depends on the emotional maturity, not age, of your children as to whether they can handle an iPod without it becoming a problem.
                              Well, I got the Kindle Fire, not the iPod. But the advice is probably the same.
                              What's to explain? It's a bunch of people, most of whom you've never met, who are just as likely to be homicidal maniacs as they are to be normal everyday people, with whom you share the minutiae of your everyday life. It's totally normal, and everyone would understand.
                              -Teenage Dirtbag

                              Comment

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