How Young is Too Young for an iPod?
By Ellen Savage
Like most parents, I want to foster my children’s interests. My five year-old, Matthew, has loved music since infancy – he sings along with the radio in the car, frequently creates his own songs, and even requested piano lessons a few months ago. But when he asked for an iPod for Christmas, it made me wonder where the line was between supportive and over-indulgent parent. Most of his friends were asking Santa for remote-control racecars. Wasn’t a $100+ iPod a little extravagant for a preschooler?
At first I tried to test his interest (wouldn’t he really rather get a Superman action figure?). But his desire for an iPod was steadfast. I discussed his request with other parents, and most of the responses were along the lines of “Are you insane?” It was possible I was, but I considered some other factors. While his 6 year-old brother already owned a Nintendo DS and spent lots of time playing the Wii, Matthew didn’t have much interest in video games. What made his interest in an iPod that different than other kids’ desire for video games? At least the music downloads would be less expensive than purchasing video games.
You’ve probably already guessed that Santa brought Matthew a new iPod for Christmas. It’s a Nano in orange (his favorite color). It’s much lighter and sleeker than my second-generation video iPod. Since he can’t read yet, I sometimes have to help him find a particular song from a playlist. I can also control what content is on the device since he is too young to download content by himself. And we follow the recommendations on www.listentoyourbuds.org to safeguard his hearing. So far, things are going well.
How young do you think is too young for an iPod?
And Mathew gets his iPod.
