What age is right for your first console?

[miked]

A few days ago my daughter gave me the classic "Im bored" thing.

You cant play outside as its too cold? I understand that.

TV is boring? Yeah I understand.....

I thought about it for a sec and remembered that i have another Dreamcast in the closet. I hooked it up and she went nuts right after i showed her. I gave her Sonic Adventure 2, NES and Genesis emulator CD's and 2 spindles full of backups that JP1 gave me when I bought one of the Dreamcasts from him.

She is hooked, but not so much that she ignores her important stuff like homework and chores. It makes me happy that instead of the "fancy" DC games, she plays the NES emulator more than anything. Alot of Genny games too.

Anyway, she is 9. Does this seem like too early of an age to give her a console? So far she is being very responsible with it, even though she has her own TV in her room, as I havent caught her playing after bedtime yet.

I got an LCD TV and my 27" CRT went to my bedroom while the 20" CRT went to her. Might as well have her play some great DC games right? Right.....? Please help me justify my decision heh.

[classicgamer5]

Thats not too early, I got my SNES when I was 3. I would get her a Gamecube. Its only $30 at GameStop, and I haven't seen a little kid not like a Gamecube. Plus it has all kinds of games that little girls would like (Sonic, Animal Crossing, etc.). But if she likes the Dreamcast, thats cool too.

[Dylan]

Yeah, I've been playing since I was 5. I think what this really boils down to is whether or not she can use it responsibly, if her outside life goes unaffected then I don't think that you have anything to worry about.

[Linkdon]

I have A 4 year old on NES games, he loves them and can make it many levels on Mario. With 5 kids and I have been a gamer since 13, all my kids play games. My 14 year old makes straight A's and in her spare time beat Zelda on the Wii. She also has the time to be a cheerleader. The right games can be great for kids and help them learn. I still read them books and they watch TV but its never too early to let them enjoy a classic game!

[pepharytheworm]

I was Three and it was the Atari 2600. If you are worried supervise her and give a durable cheap system like the Genesis or NES. I would stay away from disc based system as kids just scratch the heck out of disc and never but them back in the cases.

[Curlypaul]

We got our eldest daughter a Gamecube when she was 7 and she loved it, like Classic Gamer said there are plenty of games that little girls will like - cutsey characters low, frustration levels etc.

I dont really think there is an age that is too young, kids of all ages need to be watched to make sure they have a healthy balance of daily activities.

[wakeup]

I think 9 is like the perfect age for the first console. Your child sounds very responsible. I really think it comes down to having the child understand how to judge the importance of things. You seem like someone who would know when to pull the plug if she mishandles her schedule.

[Hobie-wan]

Everybody has pretty much said what I was going to. So one more vote for everything sounds fine to me so far. Maybe just make copies or ISO images on your PC of the discs in case of accidents.

[lordofduct]

Everybody has pretty much said what I was going to. So one more vote for everything sounds fine to me so far. Maybe just make copies or ISO images on your PC of the discs in case of accidents.

second that!

I take care of my stuff and all, but I still have backups of all my stuff on my server. And I only play the backups so I don't damage the originals.

[Luke]

Too young to have a console?
No.

Too young to have her own TV?
Definitely.