Handheld Electronics

All my boys have ds and i pod touch and I think the i pod touch is a better product. They don't really go near ds's anymore. Much more educational and analytical games. I snyc them all so only have to pay once for a game for all three i pods. With the ds they are always misplacing games. If they lose the ipod touches I can find thru gps app!

My kids love their Ipod touches. We got them for them when they were 9 and 11. We monitor. We set limits. I have to say I agree that this is a much better product for the money than a DS. Many, many games are FREE. Unless you want to buy a paid version with more bells and whistles, but my kids are perfectly content with free versions of Angry Birds or Temple Run or Virtual Families. The first year our older DD had hers, she wasn't much into music, but she "grew into" that this year, and now she loves it for the music too. Our old DS hasn't been picked up in ages. I think the DS products may be on the way out.

I would NOT get any type of DS. They are expensive to begin with, then you have to buy the games and then you have to keep track of the itty bitty games. My mom just bought an iPod touch for my kids to share (3,5,6)....I only let them have it if we are in the store or in a waiting room and I need them to be amused/quiet. You can only access the internet if there is wifi. In our house, wifi is password enabled and my kids don't know the password. Wifi is also not as readily available in all public places as you may think. The beauty to the iPod is that it is small (easy to store), very sturdy (buy a good cover and screen protector- my kids have dropped it many times and its fine), and you don't have to worry about losing games constantly. Also, there are a TON of free apps for kids and the ones that cost $$ are a fraction of the price of DS games. We got the iPod touch for $179.99 on amazon with free prime shipping.

ETA: Reading a comment below, I didn't know you could disable Safari. I never thought about it since it is preloaded when you buy it. Always learning something new! :)

I bought my 9 and 10 year old boys iPod Touches for Christmas. They LOVE them and were so worth the price. I only have to buy a game once, games are usually around $1-2, and I get to enjoy the games too because I have an iPhone. They also have cameras built in and can make videos, they can listen to music, and even text me and eachother.

I'd look into an iPod Touch. If you don't want her on the internet, you can just disable Safari (the web browser). I love the iPod Touches simply because they are very expandable (we can add lots to them) and I can control their access based on their responsibility.

For those moms who already have iPod Touches for their kiddoes, but don't know how...here's how you set restrictions:

Settings >> General >>Restrictions

At this point it will ask you to set a four digit PIN. You don't want your child knowing this PIN. And you don't want to forget it or you'll have to restore the iPod. Once a PIN is set, you'll see the applications that are "ON." If you don't want your child to use them, set them to "OFF." I suggest turning off Safari (if you don't want them accessing the internet browser. I also advise shutting off YouTube, iTunes, Ping, and Installing Apps. If you scroll down further, you can set restrictions on the kind content they can access. Be sure to disable In-App purchases. :-)

Get her the DSi -more game options than the DS3 and the screen is much easier on the eyes.

I have a DSi - I like it....I looked at the DS3, but really was not impressed with the 3d and found it really hard to look at - like I had to be at just a certain angle or it my eyes feel wonky. My son has an older DS that but plays many of his games on my DSi. :(

Game wise check out your local Gamestop - most of my son's and my DSi games are used from them...cheaper, tested, and have a return policy.

Get a used iPod touch. It can download game apps, and also does music/photos/videos which she is about to grow up into big-time. Just be sure to "trust but verify" all activity! Some of those game apps are sneaky about using real money instead of play money.

Just watch the 3d ones. There are all kinds of review that young children should avoid these.
My son has a ds. Not a dsi or anything like that, but we got him a used ds from gamestop. He is now 6, he got it when he was 5, so we didnt want o invest in something that would be a fad or he would break. We have had no problems with it, excpet he wants to take it to daycare......that was an upfront rule of ours..no daycare

My kids all have either a DS or a DSi...they are all great, but they play on their Kindle Fire's WAY more. My kids are 4, 6, and 8...so your's is not too young.

My daughter also got an ipod touch for her birthday last year and it is one of the best purchases ever. She is resonsible about online things and uses it mostly for games.

Hoenstly, I think the DS and DSi are goint to be obsolete in a few years. Several of our friends purchased Fire's for their 3rd graders too and those devices are hardly touched anymore. It's the new technology that is the hit.

We upgraded out DSIxls for 3DSs this Christmas. Don't know exactly how to explain this but best decision ever!!

One of the sad things about hand helds is that they are played in isolation. There is some Mi exchange thing that actually forces them to interact with other humans. Apparently they play the games together as well.

Dsi XL is the way to go. Try to find it in a bundle...which includes game typically. Call Best Buy...they had bundles at xmas time. As a tip though...buy a travel case that zips so she can keep all her games and pens organized. She will love it. My kids love the voice recording feature, and camera. One of their favorite games is Supermario Bros. 3DS is small and the 3D is not good for their eyes....

I'm loving the ipod for that. You don't have to give internet access. But you can buy all these games (either free or cheap, instead of the $35 ds games), many educational/brain puzzle/logic games on the ipod - plus it takes pictures, video, plays music and movies.

My parents bought my son a DS a few years ago (around age 6 or 7), but his school gave him an Ipod this year. My son is also about to turn 9 and he uses the IPOD all the time. The school loads it with learning aps and he loves it. He only uses his DS now, when he wants to play certain games with his friends. So, if you daughter is not hanging out with friends and playing games together, she might like an ipod better. The school did not enable the web access on the ipod and I did not enable it at home, so he doesn't have web access on the ipod. My son likes the games and he also likes the drawing pad. He actually does a LOT of sketches on the drawing pad and changes his wall paper every day, practically.

We are not allowed to load our own things onto the school's ipod. But, I sometimes load videos onto my ipod that I think my son will be interested in. On long road trips, it is great to have access to music and videos that he likes. The ipod definitely offers you more versatility.

Good luck,
L.

My son has a DSi and you can access the Internet on it. The XL and 3D versions are the same way.

I will say that the same game on the DSi is more money than the iTunes version. So while the handheld device might be cheaper, I think they get you with the price of the games.

So... take that for what it's worth...

We like the DSXL here at our house, the screen is a LOT bigger!

~I am not into anything 3D, I think it is a passing fad that will eventually fade!

My kids aged 7 and 10 both bought their own DS and most of their games. They both love their DS and it seems good quality. There are also learning games for them that you can buy. The games are not much of an issue because they each of their own case with places to put many games. I have heard the ipod touch is really cool, my kids get to use them at school.