Xbox or PS4 for 7 year old?

I think maybe you posted this in the wrong section.... this might be more of a "chit chat fun and games" topic.... I didn't see any inquiry about fitness and exercise at all...

I'm sure it doesn't matter if its about fitness or not. Just looking to get some insight from people he has come to trust...maybe. lol. As a gamer, steve2kay, i would say it depends on what kind of games he likes. Both are great systems with their quirks but it comes down to games and how much you want to spend. I'm going for a PS4 but I'm holding off until more games come out for it, which wont be until about springtime. also want all the bugs worked out too.

How about neigher, How about letting him earn it with Great grades and great decisions.

If you get him into games, you will never get him out of it.

Homework will start to go
School work will start to go
staying up very late.. etc.

If this post is about fitness and exercise then choose neither and give him/her something that will spark physical activity. Video games are contributing to childhood obesity.

By this logic reading books world also contribute to childhood delinquency. Should he avoid teaching the boy to read?

How about neigher, How about letting him earn it with Great grades and great decisions.

If you get him into games, you will never get him out of it.

Homework will start to go
School work will start to go
staying up very late.. etc.

Noooooo! Don't let him into games! They are Soooooo evil! They are totally the gateway drug to delinquency and a wasted life !!!

How do you know the kid hasn't earned it already?

Exactly. My 31 year old husband is a gamer and we have 5 different systems in our house. Gosh, it's awful - he holds a full time job (and is pretty successful at it), coaches high school sports, is a great dad and husband, does at least 50% of the housework, spends time with friends and family, and even plays with the dogs every day. Gaming has just ruined his life, I tell ya. It's a total nightmare.

How about neither? A 7 year old will likely be just as happy with a Wii, and the games tend to be more age appropriate. Xbox and PS4 both have great games, but most of their games are geared towards an older audience.

The Wii is cheaper, he'll have more options of age-appropriate games, and many of the games have multiplayer so you or his friend can play with him too. Get him an XBox or PS4 when he's older (and the price will drop on those too by then!)

How about neigher, How about letting him earn it with Great grades and great decisions.

If you get him into games, you will never get him out of it.

Homework will start to go
School work will start to go
staying up very late.. etc.

Looks like the fun police are in town!

FYI, my father introduced us to gaming from around the same age (on an Amstrad CPC464). My homework was done, I was in bed on time and I passed all my exams at school. I think that all comes under the topic 'general parenting' ;-)

Neither, for the same price you could get him a basketball hoop in the front yard. I have an Xbox, but I'm an adult, my kids don't use it, and for that matter, neither do I. I wouldn't get a kid a game console of any kind after spending some time with family over Christmas, my nephew is completely addicted, what a waste. There's a 19 year old across the street from me right now who literally spends more than half the day on those things, never had a girlfriend, not very athletic, never had a real job, sounds like a great way to have a 7 year old spend their time. Just this fathers opinion. My dad never bought me the latest game console, at the time I was really upset, now, I thank him for that.

Rigger

How about neigher, How about letting him earn it with Great grades and great decisions.

If you get him into games, you will never get him out of it.

Homework will start to go
School work will start to go
staying up very late.. etc.

Looks like the fun police are in town!

FYI, my father introduced us to gaming from around the same age (on an Amstrad CPC464). My homework was done, I was in bed on time and I passed all my exams at school. I think that all comes under the topic 'general parenting' ;-)

Exactly!

He's 7.. What great decisions and grades could he have done to earn $500 toy?

Show me 1 article that states, my child failed school because he/she spent too much time with a book.

I will show you a whole community, that when a child watches too much TV, plays too much video games, etc. .grades drop.

I'd blame the parents. My kid watches a good amount of TV and Games every day. However, EVERYDAY we sit down and have a from scratch dinner, do home work, and are in bed by 8:20 pm. In the morning we wake up at 6 have a healthy breakfast do a review page I print myself, do flash cards, and then she plays on her computer or watches her movies. She probably watches/games between 3-5 hours a day. If the parents aren't making time to help/make sure their kids are doing their homework it's on them.

*edit* We also make sure to read between 1-2 books day. Short books (kindergarten-2nd grade), but still it's about making the effort instead of just blaming the games/tv.

How about neigher, How about letting him earn it with Great grades and great decisions.

If you get him into games, you will never get him out of it.

Homework will start to go
School work will start to go
staying up very late.. etc.

Looks like the fun police are in town!

FYI, my father introduced us to gaming from around the same age (on an Amstrad CPC464). My homework was done, I was in bed on time and I passed all my exams at school. I think that all comes under the topic 'general parenting' ;-)

Exactly!

Ditto here. It's all about balance.

I don't know the difference between a xbox one, a PS4 or Nintendo and would have no clue what to buy a 7 year old any more. I just buy indie games off steam for 10$ a game. I just think its silly that people are flaming video games.
So here's a few examples of gamers who don't fall into the bad perception of this site. Take my gamer husband for example... He's been a gamer all his life... and now... he makes enough money working from home for me to be a stay at home mother, while developing games like Civ 5, and uses all the games he plays as work research. Really, he spends ALL his time involving games, and lives a low stress and happy life doing work he loves. Then there's Me, A gamer girl, Who met her husband though games, with talent for chemistry and a love of architecture. To the point that I use Sims 3 for designing and planing houses and am considering going into a architecture career to design houses for people instead of sims. For me as a child The only time I failed on my homework though all my schooling, was due to other factors, mostly stress of being teased at school (while I was a skinny 90 lb thing in Jr. High). Witch lead me to play video games... and eating a dozen doughnut holes and a chocolate non-filled long john every morning plus greasy Pizza hut Pizza frequently... I gained double my weight in just a few years, and weighed 180 in high school... but here's a question: Did the games make me fat or did stress over eating make me fat? Then there's my gamer brother, who is also a athletic cross-country runner... who had such bad hand-eye coordination as a child... that the doctors TOLD my parents to buy him a video game to improve it... Now he's served in the US NAVY, finished his duty, and is currently going to college while still serving in the Navy reserves.
Games are perfectly fine for kids.

^ Agreeing with kiyalynn on pretty much everything. I suppose it wasn't so much the game playing and inactivity that caused me to gain weight and not do homework when I was younger, but it was the depression and stress of middle school- I was teased very badly as well. I ate a lot and all of the wrong things and that's probably why I gained.

But games got me through it, and it helped me connect with great, long-lasting friends and helped me eventually find love. After my environment change from middle school to high school my grades began to soar and I graduated both high school and college with good GPAs.

Games are awesome, just be smart about how and what you let your kids play.

Wow.. I cant and dont understand how so many people think gaming was made from Satan himself..

People please understand. Parenting raises your child.. You as a parent you allow what influences your child at home with a topic like gaming.. If you allow your child to sit in front of a video game system for hours on end YOU are at fault not the system. No different if YOU as a parent allow your child to eat unhealthy everyday.

I have twin girls and granted they are only 1 but as a parent I limit the amount of TV, Toys. I supplement reading, music, dancing, learning books, flash cards etc. .
Regardless as a PARENT WE make the decisions that they should learn how to incorporate in their daily lives, and when you see it shifting its our jobs to try and get it back on track, that's why parenting never ends.

I totally agree that limits should be set, but when they are abused.. who is actually at fault.. Not the gaming system.

I also think the Wii is better suited for a child under 13 but none the less, if that same child has something like a PS4 the parent should be held accountable for the content being played on that system. You shouldn't have an underage child playing something like Call of Duty etc.

Educate yourselves on these systems and the content being played. Set appropriate times to play and maybe even get involved in the game play- you might enjoy the time with your child and the system which will give you better control also. it's all about balance and involvement.
.. And for those using the excuse that games corrupt and make delinquent kids.. WRONG!!
It's the parents that are at fault for letting that kid have no life other than sitting in front of a game for hours on end. Limits and variety people..