Thetownend.com

Ok so my little boy's mother has asked for some advice:

She is thinking of getting my boy some kind of games console (not a handheld one). He's 4 (5 in November) so things like a Wii or PS/XB is pointless... Anyone got any ideas?

She doesn't want to break the bank and it doesn't need to be anything spectacular..

Thanks for looking!

An iPad. All the way. Educational apps and loads of them

His mum has an iPad, as do I..

I just get the feeling that the vTech consoles are a little bit young for him now..

My youngest is the same age, and wouldn't even think about game consoles. That's just my opinion.

The iPad does more than enough.

Ok mate, thanks  :)

I know times change and this is just my opinion and my opinion only, i think 4/5 is far too young for a console.

PS4 with Grand Theft Auto.

When I was I suppose about 4, I had a whole load of imaginary friends....it's quite a common phenomenon at that age.

How the brain develops in a kid is an interesting thing....my older son similarly had a range of invisible chums, I'd have quite long conversations with him about them and what they were up to.

Undoubtedly too much early exposure to electronic fantasy worlds is likely to inhibit such processes in developing imagination, but who's to say short periods will. 

I always said that before the kids came along that I wouldn't let them use any electronic device. I never had anything and turned out alright. But sometimes it does keep them quiet...especially in restaurants or cafes.

Yeah... "alright".

Reg I love that you have children - I swear you've never mentioned this before?

Second hand Atari 2600. They'll be dead chuffed. Although they might get bullied by the kids with Megadrives

It's not only relatively common but there's a lot of research to suggest imaginary friends are beneficial to development.
Even more interesting is that some psychologists believe they live on until late adolescence, they just don't engage so often due to stigma. There are lots of "Ted"s out there, apparently.

Unfortunately, a lot of research into how early exposure to technology will affect children is non-existent, because the kids you'd study are quite obviously still kids... It's also hooked into a large amount of media scaremongering, Piagetian theory, and lovely but non-scientific anecdotal "in my day.." stories.

Another issue with these "findings" is that they are largely predicated on the assumption that if you let a kid play with your ipad that's the only stimulation you ever give it, which from what I know of most prevalent parent TEFers (and anyone else I'd voluntarily associate with) is clearly bollocks.

What is very convincing from research, I believe, is that creativity in particular forms best when all senses are engaged (I.e. In the real world) as opposed to what we currently experience via technology. In that case, I'd say an ipad was more than sufficient, but I'm not a parent, nor do I know what's really out there.

Disclaimer: provoking me into a discussion about psychology is like asking Reg to talk about the Tories.. I'll shut up now.

Just do the opposite of whatever Tans says.

Always sound advice.

FWIW: Both my boys coped with a Wiii from about 5 onwards

Blimey ells, I think that is one of, if not the, most intelligent post I have ever seen on here. And I'm not just talking about the Tans part.

There are loads of cheap tablets out there that run android and which would be fine for the type of gaming I think you're looking at. Without presuming much about your kid, I think 5 is probably a bit early for complicated games with much story, but games with pretty colours and flashing lights are a penny a ton on the android store.

Astro Wars

I used to love that. dah,daaah, da da da daaaa.

Yeah, ells, stop ruining the TEF. ;)

The nephew (now 6) has had a second hand PS2 for the last couple of years. With games like crash bandicoot, Harry Potter and all the different Lego games.

Personally (not being a parent) get them on a Nintendo console and get them playing Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time asap.

It's a game you must play (and complete) in life

Much of the free tablet stuff is a bit crappy. Obviously the Cbeebies app is pretty solid for the 3 to 6 group but in paid stuff the Toca Boca range are very strong. For 5 year olds,Toca Builders and Toca Town give simple but open-ended games. 

:D sorry, won't happen again.



I'm 24 and I still play psx/2 games  :zipped: crash bandicoot was amazing!  :lovestruck:

Ok I'm hijacking this thread with a slightly random request

Does anyone know if you can download the game Terraria to a PC? I'm trying to sort a new reward scheme for an autistic boy I work with and he's requested this game - he had a game called Kodu last year which he earns token towards time to play which was on the PC but looks like Terraria is predominantly an app which costs £4..
Can anyone help?

It's available on Steam for £6.99. I'm sure you don't want to be pirating stuff if it's for school purposes.

Does it need to be PC, or will the iOS or Android app suffice?

We have class IPads so we could get an app but the head wasn't too keen as it's only for one child to use - but if it's more expensive to get a PC version then might have to speak to the head again.

The boy in questions works really well towards structured rewards so it's kinda worth it in my opinion

If you can get Steam on the school PC, let me know and I'll send you a code for the game.

For free? Ace thanks - I've never heard of steam but I'm a simpleton when it comes to these things

It'll depend if the school allows you to install software or not. If you can then go here: http://store.steampowered.com/

Click the 'Install Steam' button in the top right corner and then create an account.

Once you have an account PM me the username and I'll sort the code.

I'd be very surprised if steam wasn't blocked by the schools ISP.

I'll give it a go, thanks

If you can't get it, and want something else I'd be more than happy to ask around for another game in one of our schools.

Thanks for your help - the heads decided to let him have the official app