Opinions About DS

We got my children the DS last year, Now they want the DSi but they are will not be getting them. My son was six last year and he loves it they would play them all the time if I let them. When they can find them. The DS can also play the game boy games which you can get real cheap at game stop. Hopwe this helps

Hey!

We have three kids 10, 13 and 17 and have had Gameboy since the oldest was 7. Yes, they do make new ones, but usally the old games play for a few years so you don't have to replace one or the other right away. I can say that since our oldest got her first, one has been in nearly constant use at our house since then. They seem to last, and are great tools for us as this is one of the first items we can snactch up when the kids are either misbehaving or not doeing what they should. The DSi has texting and other things that will allow the child to communicate with other people, the DS has a feature that will allow the child to link up and play games over wireless internet, but has fewer internet features.

You should be able to pick up a good, clean, used DS from places like Game Stop at a much cheeper price too, and the used games are a good value and you can also sell games back if the kids don't care for them (keep the packaging to games and this will up what they give you at resale!)

M.

I personally think that 7 is too young for a DS. The main reason is because I also have a 7 year old girl who asked for one. She and her 6 year old brother both have Leapster 2's, and I still find them not put away in their proper place at times. Until those habits change, I'm not going to consider spending a bunch of money on something like a DS. Plus, games are misplaced at times still too. Now, another reason I'm still for the Leapsters at their age is because they still think they're really fun, but they're super educational also! The Leapster 2's are great because they're picture is a really good quality and you can find tons of great games for them like Spongebob, Scooby Doo, and many others. So, if you're going to get her something, I'd check them out. I think they've gone down in price this year to about $50, and there are great sales on the games, which are usually about $25/each.

P.S. I reread my response and I never said DS's were not educational...

i got my daughter a ds two years ago when she was 5 and she loves it...she plays with it just as much today as she did when she got it...i would say it's well worth the money because there are so many games available for your daughter to choose from.

If you don't want to have to updgrade later.. get the DSi. Nothing says your 7 yr old has to know that it has web surfing capabilities. I think it has to be "set up" to use it. Both of my kids had the DS lite and then saved their own money to upgrade. Luckily, Gamestop ran a special this past spring/summer and they were able to trade in their DS for a credit towards a DSi. Don't know if that's something they do regulalary or not. Anyway, at this point neither my 6 or 10 year old surf the web on their DSi's. But, they do love the camera and the sound effects that they can do on it. they do play theirs daily! Good luck!

I have a 7 year old boy who can't play his enough and he's had his for a year. He would play it nonstop if I didn't stop him from doing so!!

my almost 7 year old daughter got a DS last year. All the games for DS will play on the DSi, the only difference is a camera, to my knowledge there aren't very many games that are just for the DSi, and my kids haven't asked for an upgrade, so I'd guess she wouldn't notice. as far as systems go, games are inexpensive, and you don't need much to go with it, a case and a spare stylus or two or three, and that is about it. they have some great bundles that come with cases and a game, last year we got the littlest pet shop set. my kids use theirs all time, and i've even seen parents at restaurants waiting for tables with their kids playing DS. I refuse to let mine take thiers unless the car ride is more than 15 minutes, but they'd take it everywhere if they could. it comes with a charger and battery so as long as you keep it charged there's nothing to worry about there.
a trick for that is to have a plug for the cord like you probably do your cell and just plug it in nightly .

my 7 year old son has the Dsi, the main difference is it has a camera and a microphone and online browser - they use the same games, so if you dont need the camera and the other stuff the ds lite would be fine.
my son LOVES his Dsi, but its not at all educational if thats what you are looking for.

Both my grandkids have a DS. If she really likes to play video games then I would say go for it. My only sugestion is to get the protective case to go over it as they tend to break when dropped, especially if they are walking with them and playing a game.

My 7 yr old son has a DSi and plays with it almost every day. When I try to use it he has to show ME what to do. The DSi has a camera feature that my son loves and it allows you to be creative. Also, we shop at Game Stop where you can buy used games for a lot less than new.
Hope this helps. :)

My 8 year old and 5 year old girls have DS's and they play with them quite a bit at times and then there are lags of a about a weeks time that they do not even touch them. They have a few games each: Wonderpets, High School Musical, MarioKart, Dogs, Babies, Pokemon. There are games for adults as well that you can get - so even if your child wasn't using it all the time, you could do some educational games yourself. They also can download a game and play together which is fun. We had my daughter, myself and my Brother in law playing MarioKart once - it was fun. The reason that we bought a DS in the first place was our 4 year old neighbor had one and a few of their friends had them and my girls were always talking about how neat they were. Hope this helps!

My 7 yr old daughter and 9 yr old son has DSis. I am going to have to disagree that they are not educational. They do have games available that are such as Brain Age. My son plays with his every single day and my daughter almost as much. Well worth every single penny in my opinion. Great for the car, waiting rooms like the allergist or the doctor, mine even play with theirs while I am shopping. I do agree they need a protective case, I bought the Nerf ones but my kids will not leave them on:(

For a seven year old, I would get the DS Lite. The DSi has a web browser on it and I don't think you can set parental control. I don't think you want you seven year old surfing the web with no limits. You can find used games that work like new on eBay for a fraction of the cost of the new ones in the store. Nintendo makes really great products, so I would definitely get one. :)