This past week, a faculty member casually asked me about my recommendation for a MP3 player for her son… so I casually asked how old her son was. “He is nine years old” was the answer!! Man.. I never felt more outdated in my life… I still don’t have a MP3 player. 
Here is another example I found on Amazon forums:
Question: Best mp3 player for a 9 year old, what do you suggest?
Answer: I purchased a Samsung YP-T7J from Amazon.com last year for Christmas for my eight year old. I liked it because it isn’t so small she would forget she had it and it was easy to navigate for a child. Actually she showed me how to use it…lol.
What’s with kids (and/or kids’ parents) and electronic gadgets these days? Is the idea of having some free fun without battery powered devices becoming obsolete or something?
I am not sure if it’s a good trend (technological advancement) or a bad one (technological dependence), but whatever it is, it’s certainly much different than how things were when I was a kid, and it will certainly have some impact (again, I don’t know whether positive or negative) on the growth and development of future generations.
To put things into perspective, here are a few things my friends and I did in ancient times to “have fun” - when MP3 players were unheard of and computers were rare (or too expensive for our parents). Most activities were just plain free - and those which required some hardware, didn’t cost more than a few peanuts:
1. Skipped stones on water: Do people even remember this anymore? It involved throwing some flat-ish stones across a body of water and watching them bounce multiple times. We spent hours trying to experiment with different shapes and sizes of stones, and various throwing actions, to generate the maximum number of bounces.
By the way, according to a MSNBC report, the world record for this activity is held by Russell Byars who made a stone bounce 51 times!
2. Collected stamps, coins, comics, and all sorts of silly *collectible* stuff: Nothing I collected ever turned into anything valuable, but it sure kept me busy. Plus, except for a few bucks of initial parental contribution - and occasional raiding of my own pocket money, it didn’t cost anyone a fortune.
3. *Handwheeled* bicycle tires: I don’t know how to explain this, but *handwheeled* comes closest to what we used to do. We used to find trashed/damaged bicycle tires and then run around while rolling them alongside with our hands (or sometimes with short sticks). This was usually accompanied by weird sound effects from imaginary vehicles. 
4. Played with marbles: Again, loads of fun without the need to spend a lot of money. I remember playing with them ever since I was old enough to understand that marbles are not meant to be swallowed. Most marble games were extremely simple to play, but generally used to be very competitive.
5. Flew kites: Where we lived, almost every apartment/house had a flat roof open terrace. On dry, windy days, flying kites was one of the popular activities - among the young and the not-so-young. Kite fights, if you have ever heard of them, are awesome.
6. Played with spinning tops: I have played with all sorts of tops as a kid - my favorite ones being wooden tops which were spun with the help of a long thick string. It took quite a bit of practice to get the top spinning right. Years later, I found out that this simple toy is based on one of the most complex engineering concepts.
7. Made paper toys: This wasn’t really origami or anything … just a few simple folds to make things fly or float, but it was a lot of fun. Apart from the fun part, constructive activities like these allow a lot of scope for creativity - without burning a hole in your pocket.
8. Played hide and seek and outdoor chasing games that didn’t require a dime of hardware: There must be like infinite chasing and hiding/seeking games in existence, but I don’t see kids playing them anymore. Perhaps they like their video/computer games better.
Never felt the need for electronic devices as sources of entertainment - in the form of MP3 players or video games or whatever that was available (walkman, etc.) at the time. That explains why I felt like a caveman when I heard about a nine year old kid asking for a MP3 player.
I wonder what’s going to happen a few generations down the line - when all remaining memories of these old-fashioned frugal games will be wiped out. I guess there will be some sort of a Moore’s Law effect with regards to the ever decreasing age at which children start playing with expensive electronic gadgets.
Maybe we are looking at prams with iPod connections and infant-operated GPS units for our Baby Einstiens.
Feel free to share any particularly interesting, essentially non-hitech and inexpensive activity you indulged in as a kid. Maybe we can build a global library of such endangered (or already extinct) activities for future reference.
Image credits: discovermagazine.com, www.namibstamps.com, www.edwebproject.org, www.landofmarbles.com, www.kitelife.com, www.nwce.gov.uk, www.igniteseattle.com
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I used to go down to the park or even just the ditch at the end of our little street and dig through the gravel to find stones I thought were pretty. I spent hours finding stones and shells and arranging and rearranging and hauling them home much to my mother’s dismay.
We used to go outside and pretend we were characters from our favorite movie or TV show.
Our daughter has a CD player she got as a gift (she’s 7). It’s great when we go on long car rides. That said I don’t think I can spend money to get her an MP3 player. When you start with these gadgets so early what happens when they get older? I see so many kids with PSP game consoles. Those have to be costing around $200 with the game, no?
Super
I remember handwheeled bicycle tyres!! Apart from the things that you described, we also played tag with the stray dogs* (somehow I was so lucky to have escaped a dog-bite), walked on the abandoned railroad tracks nearby, played test cricket matches in our balcony with a homemade bat (those who don’t know Cricket, it is something like playing a baseball game in your backyard, with four players and no referee), climbed trees (and were stung by crows) or just simply roamed around.
*No animal was hurt during the game. Only humans.
I did most of these things as well, goes to show that kids in different countries have similar games. We also jumped rope and squares, played a number of games with a ball (not necessarily sports) and read. Climbing trees and skating in local ponds in winter or swimming in the lakes in summer was another common passtime. Also just hanging out and talking. I just imagine asking my mom to buy something expensive like an MP3 player (had it existed) - “Mom, I want X”, “Oh, please, go on wanting, have I ever forbidden you to want something?”. This was the usual response for my most outrageous “I want”.
Aside from being cheap, many of these things we did were also good for our health. A lot less fat kids in the past.
I grew up in the 70’s and most of our entertainment was pretty free or inexpensive. Some highlights:
1. Played games based on our favorite tv shows - I remember Star Trek was a good one that we played with both girls and boys
2. Played Jacks with my girlfriends
3. Got dressed up and put on plays
4. Board games (Sorry, Life, Monopoly, etc.)
5. jump rope
6. tag
7. hide and seek
8. capture the flag
9. hopscotch
10. Rode bikes
For solitary entertainment - I read books, listened to records on my record player, put together jigsaw puzzles, played with dolls, wrote stories and poems, collected coins and cat figurines, the list goes on.
Interesting. I find that the comparison you gave is like looking at apples and oranges. An MP3 player is more about providing some entertainment when a person is doing other things. Perhaps allowing the kid to listen to music while doing homework (and blocking out the chaos of a busy household), listening when on long plane or car trips, or simply being able to listen to what they want in a household that is otherwise driven crazy by their musical tastes.
I don’t think an MP3 player’s use is all that much different than what my parents had (head phones for their record player) or what I had (walk man). It is certainly a lot cooler and much more technical. And the inexpensive ones are not that much more expensive.
I do agree with your underlying sentiment though, that there are lots of non-technical things kids can do. And on top of that, there are a lot of non-technical, non-trendy, gifts that you can give that will stimulate a child’s imagination and creativity.
But yeah, I can totally see getting my child an MP3 player if there is a situational need for it like one of the ones I mentioned above.
Probably most of what you grew up is now considered dangerous. Running with a tire (must be toxic and used to be a hoop & stick in the 1800’s), throwing a paper airplane (could hit someone in the eye), a board game (how could you possibly play Monopoly without the electronic banker? kids might have to understand banking), riding a bicylce out of sight of parents (they might be kidnapped, hit by a car, fall off and scrape a knee), hide and seek (they might get into small enclosed spaces, be scratched by bushes, not be able to count to 10). However did we survive, mainly unscathed, by playing games with other kids, playing outdoors, getting exercise?? I truly feel sorry for most kids today - their every moment seems to scheduled and ruled by electronics.
I agree with Bellen that a lot of what we did when we were younger was ok to do then since there was a sense of safety and the push to go outside. Parents are too overprotective now, and wanting too much to please.
I hope when I have kids that we find like-minded people that won’t buy them a cellphone until they’re actually needed, will get them outside for more than just sports, will turn off the tv and video games, will avoid giving into trends (especially costly ones), and will let children be children. This is quickly looking like it may be too much to ask.
We did a lot of the same things: also built forts (on and above-ground, as well as in trees); made our dog do circuses with us; “explored” — often in places we weren’t supposed to be like the train tracks… We read books, colored pictures, made elaborate city “streets” for matchbox cars in the grass, colored with chalk on the sidewalk or in the street. When my family moved to a place on the water we used to go canoeing, walk along the beach (and often get stuck in the mud), dig clams or swim.
Today, my children do most of the same things… we have provided both of them with CD players (and now MP3s) in their rooms for years, so they can listen to music in their rooms and help drown out the ambient noise of the house. My children have far more homework than I ever did at their ages and it really helps them to have their own music while they study.
I used to collect stamps as a kid. I had a heap of albums (probably still do, and worth a bit).
I remember going into the city with my grandma and going to the stamp shop and buying any soccer stamps I could find.
This sounds a lot like a “Back in my day we walked 20 miles to school uphill, both ways in the snow…” speech. Back before your day, what did kids do for fun? Not much. They worked. A lot. Maybe had some sort of schooling until age ten, then off to a factory or to work on your parents farm. Things like marbles and kites were frivolous luxuries of the modern era, if they were available at all.
My point isn’t to be mean or anything- it’s just that we can go back ad infinitum via “Back in my day…” stories. When todays adults were children, their parents were probably telling the same kinds of stories. But games and cultural traditions don’t exist in a vacuum that can be plopped down in any random time frame. The world is an entirely different place for children today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. And we can say the same for 20 to 30 years previous to that. Perhaps Mp3 players and cellphones seem frivilous, but your parents probably had the same thoughts about your bikes and Hungry Hungry Hippos.
I must have been about 9 or 10 when I got my first walkman since that was about the time I discovered pop music. An MP3 player is just today’s version of a walkman so I don’t think I’ll have a problem with giving my kids one at that age. I will, of course, teach them to use it appropriately - when they’re doing homework, fine; but not at the dining table during dinner. I realize this will be a lot harder than I think it will be, but then again, I’m finding all of the balancing acts of parenting to be pretty challenging.
Mary: Of course, it’s a “back in those days..” speech
.. but a bit of nostalgia never hurts. It’s always interesting when I hear this kind of speech from my parents … makes me appreciate certain things that I would have otherwise taken for granted. 
It’s not to say that nine year kids shouldn’t get MP3 players … it’s just a commentary on the changing times - more like “A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney” style of commentary.
Send the kids outside - there is a ton of free entertainment out there that most kids today doesn’t even know exists. And I see 8 year olds with cellphones and it is quite ridiculous!
I find it crazy how younger kids are now getting cell phones, and they even have plans for them like disney.
I guess I am part of this internet, electronic revolution. Everything I do is online and computer based. It all started with Atari and Nintendo back in the good old days.
I think kids spend less time outdoors than they used to.
-Raymond
Golbguru,
It seems lifestyle inflation happens at all ages:-) I guess I’ll need to help my daughter learn the difference between a need and a want earlier. Being frugal (or old:-), an MP3 player would be in the want category for me.
There is also the fear factor these days. Many folks won’t let their kids play outside for fear of predators. We didn’t have this back in the day.
I was big on building stuff and making things- and my main project was always my Barbie house made out of cardboard boxes and whatever else I could configure.
It’s funny that my parents are complaining about our toys getting more complicated and now we are complaining that our children’s toys are.
Everything will always become more expensive, complicated, feature-rich as technology evolves so we just need to deal with it!
My brother and “boy cousins” used to ice skate on a small man-made (that is, shallow) pond, climb trees, caught frogs, made stuff out of sticks and stones and leaves and…
My girlfriends and I made perfume out of whatever flowers were in bloom, plus alcohol. We our perfumes in small discarded bottles, like what extracts come in. Some of them were actually pretty good. We had wild make-up sessions to imitate Twiggy and Cher. We sang air-microphone Top 40 songs. We looked at lots of things under a small microscope, collected stamps, made doll clothes out of fabric scraps. Made doll house furniture out of discarded boxes and cans. (a tuna can that’s stuffed and upholstered looks like a pretty hip ottoman)…
… in other words, we were building both skills and a creative mindset. If we were bored, we were told “go find something good to do”, not handed an expensive/electronic toy.
This background has stood me well, personally. I’ve renovated 3 houses, doing most of the work myself… a “can-do” attitude makes all the difference. I’ve learned masonry, fencing, wallpapering, carpentry, electrical and plumbing, etc. My mother and grandmother taught me to sew at an early age, plus how to cook and basic homemaking skills.
My 2 sons (ages 14 and 17) have like-wise learned a lot of skills by growing up in our home where things get done both matter-of-factly and creatively. Their teachers, neighbors, friend’s parents often remark on these abilities. They do have iPods… my oldest son saved his own money (and works part time) to buy his. My youngest son won a small iPod in a drawing. They like them, but are not constantly “plugged in”. So far, so good. And they know that being too plugged in limits relationships… that’s probably the best thing!
I just bought a winter jacket for my 6 year old daughter, and it has a built-in pocket for an Mp3 player…I was really surprised. My biggest concern about such devices for young children is that they can damage their hearing, and I am NOT one of those overprotective parents - my four children have a bunch of outside/nature experiences, they do play tag, ride bikes, and make paper airplanes, but they also like the gadgets their parents have. We parents are their biggest models and influence. They want to do what we do. My oldest (16) is a music lover and a musician, and LOVES his ipod. Yes, he also has a cell phone, which is very convenient (when you want to know when he’s due home for dinner, etc., and yes, it also helps keep him safe, and connected with his parents. I do try to steer my younger kids from the toys and gadgets that seem to steal their childhood, like Bratz dolls, and “little slut” clothing for Kindergarten age girls…
I have kids from 17 to 22 years old as well as two step-children ages 10 and 13.
I did allow them to have cell phones once they entered middle school because that was the age where they were able to go more places with friends alone or in small groups. However, so they would appreciate the cell phone priveleges…I made them pay 1/2 their cell phone bill by earning money either doing chores such as mowing the lawn, pulling weeds or doing a little laundry for me or even feeding neighbors (that we knew) pets while they were gone or mowing their lawns.
Once the kids were old enough to drive…I applied the same principles. I matched however much they were able to save to buy a first car. Then they eventually saved and worked their way up to nicer cars. If they kept their grades in school up and didn’t get into trouble, I paid for half their insurance.
They were able to ask for electronics, games, computer items, etc. However, they either needed to help earn part of the item or it needed to come out of their birthday or Christmas allowance.
I think its okay for kids to have electronics and digital devices but that its also okay to set some limits such as the amount of time they can hibernate in the house playing with them.
On nice sunny days….I make the kids play with friends, ride their bikes, or do something outside for at least an hour or two and limit the computer or inside gaming time to the same.
We have a lot of overweight kids these days and alot of kids who are not encouraged to get out there and do things. On the positive side…kids these days understand all of the new electronics and digital devices more than many adults. This is good because it helps them to gain skills that will ultimately be able to be used in the work world when they are older. Lets face it. We are living in a technologically advanced world these days and the more kids learn the more skills they will have.
My biggest thought here is that it is fine to allow children to have all of the new technology and items for entertainment and education that are out there….but let them take some pride in earning and saving for those items. Ultimately it will teach them skills for acquiring and taking care of things in the future. :o)
I personally think that MP3 players are better then IPods. Sandisk is a good MP3 player brand and they have them in 1 and 2 gigs.
You should be able to put it on any number of mp3 players. The songs will work as long as you remain a paying subscriber. You should do a free trial of the service first to make sure rhapsody works the way you want.
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