iPods for little ones: the pros and cons
Categories: Health & safety, Toys & games, Gadgets & tech
The current generation of kids are being called Net Generation, because they are the first to grow up with the Internet, with no memory of a time when Google didn't exist to answer every question known to man. (Was there really such a time? How did we ever survive!?)
But they could just as easily be called the Text Generation or the iPod Generation, because these kids have no memory of a time without cell phones or downloadable music. Show a kid one of those mixed tapes you have in your attic and they'll call you ancient. Or rather, they'll text it to you while listening to their iPod while logging in to MySpace or Webkinz World.
As kids are plugging in and logging on and IMing earlier and earlier, parents are being put confounding position of having to decide when enough is enough, or when, just maybe, an iPod is just the right present to buy a 4 year old for her birthday.
On one hand, every little kid should have an iPod. Just think how quiet restaurants would be. And airplanes. And your drive to anywhere, from anywhere. On the other hand, no little kid should have an iPod. Just think of all the ways it adds to their burgeoning sense of entitlement and consumerism. Yet according to a recent study, "31% of children aged between 6 and 10 in the States own MP3 players, with over half that figure, 54%, owning an iPod, with the nano topping the popularity chart." And the market for kid oriented Mp3 players is rapidly increasing.
The primary concern many parents have about Mp3 players and little kids is volume. Only iPods come with a volume control setting that parents can preset to ensure that their child will not turn the volume up so loud their eyeballs will roll out of their sockets. And while this sounds like the way to go if you are going to let your little one have an iPod, an important thing to keep in mind is: even with volume limitations, this technology hasn't been around for very long--and no studies have yet been conducted evaluating the long term effects of children listening to music with headphones/earbuds.
Does your child have an iPod? What do you think are the pros and cons of young children having their own iPods?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kim 4-01-2008 @ 2:27PM
Ipods do come with a volume control. You can set it to the volume you wish then put in a code to lock it at that setting.
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isisaquaria 4-01-2008 @ 3:17PM
Both my 12yo and my 5yo have them. Ditto to the volume control-
I do know about most of my gen (I'm 34) but we had a home computer by the time I was in first grade and internet ASAP--while it wasn't there at my birth-I have grown up on tech as much as my kids.
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Amy 4-01-2008 @ 3:46PM
I am going to get my kiddo an iPod as soon as I think she can handle one of her own... She's stolen mine (at 2.5 yrs!!). I have a special speaker that I got from Buy.com that I can put it in so she can listen, but I control the volume, content, etc. She can't hurt it in its speaker case, and I don't have to worry about her losing it because the case is about the size of a paperback book.
I look forward to being able to take back my iPod and get the kids' music off of it!!
Amy @ http://prettybabies.blogspot.com
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Sabrina 4-01-2008 @ 4:00PM
I'm not getting my 3 year old an iPod, not now, and not in the forseeable future. She's a child, she loses and breaks all kinds of things. She can use the radio, tape player, or CD player with my help any time she needs or wants to. Before the age of about 10, or when she shows enough maturity to take care of something like that, she will not have an iPod or similar MP3 player. Even then, I will be checking in to make sure the volume is appropriate and that the songs she listens to aren't full of violence or harsh language.
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Judy 4-01-2008 @ 5:12PM
I'd get one for my 12 yo, but she doesn't seem to have much interest. I'm not a huge fan of kids listening through headphones - in their rooms, they can listen through speakers, and otherwise, they should be participating in whatever is going on. I remember once getting in the car and a couple kids (my niece, I think my step-daughter, and maybe my daughter) put on their CD players and headphones, and I said NO WAY!!! On a really long car trip, maybe, but for a short trip (and by short trip I mean less than 2-3 hours or so) they can participate, have conversations, watch where we are going. I really hate the way kids just want to tune out to their own worlds so much of the time.
We have an iPod (okay, we have two), but we only use it hooked up to speakers in our living room, or to play through the car stereo. I've never once stuck the ear phones in it. I could see using it during a workout, but otherwise, I don't get the point.
My boys are 2 and 4, so they won't be getting one any time soon. They can listen to the music they want on our speakers with us - we have all the kids music loaded onto the iPod too!
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Karen 4-01-2008 @ 5:25PM
Oooh...I didn't know about the volume control on iPODs. I'm going to check that out today.
Both of my children got iPOD shuffles for Christmas when they were turning 7 and 10. I happily transfered all of their CDs to the computer and started asking for iTUNES gift cards instead of cds. They got upgraded to the 80gb iPODS this year so they could watch DVD's on the same device.
I adore them. I keep them packed up and give them out when I think it is appropriate (car trips, siblings at long doctors appointments, etc).
My older DD uses her iPOD to listen to SAT vocabulary and trivia games as well.
I think they are too pricey to allow them kids to manage them (unless you have a very responsible child), but I don't see anything wrong with them.
We do have a rule about how loud they can be, but I would feel better if I could set a max and program it there.
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Karen 4-01-2008 @ 7:36PM
I am pretty old fashioned and cheap when it comes to my kids, which is something I am trying to work on, but I just can't wrap my head around how it would be okay to buy your preschooler such an expensive item. The little 4 year old down the street has one and I'm trying really hard not to be appalled by it. I don't even have an ipod myself, though my husband has one and I do enjoy listening to itunes through the computer. I'm interested to read these comments--maybe they will help bring me into the current century--or maybe they will just reassure me that an ipod for the under 10 set is in fact, ridiculous.
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Karen 4-01-2008 @ 9:47PM
Does your child listen to music? Do they watch DVD's?
The iPOD is just a storage device. My kids listen to them with earphones and through speakers and through our car radio. It doesn't have to be a iPOD brand, but the idea is great.
They are great for whenever your child would listen to music or watch a video. Compact, portable, multi-purpose...unless someone has a struggle with price or music/movies in general, I truly can't see any reason against them.
Generally my daughter prefers to read, but reading in the car makes her sick. This is a great alternative on long trips. And while she can sit quietly and does so when expected, I see no point in making things more miserable than they have to be. They are great for all those situations where you aren't otherwise engaged is conversation.
MindBites.com 4-02-2008 @ 10:06AM
The thing to remember with an ipod or any device where you are using headphones such as a portable dvd player, radio, mp3 player etc. is that if you put the headphone at the tip of your nose and if you can hear the sound, it is at the level that causes hearing damage for children. If you put the headphone or earbud to the the tip of your nose and you cannot hear the sound, it is ok for kids.
http://www.MindBites.com
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