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12th December 2023
11:43am GMT
A mum has revealed her shock at her daughter’s expensive Christmas wish list, which included an iPhone, an iPad and a laptop.
The 10-year-old had asked for thousands of pounds worth of gadgets, leaving her mum stressed about the financial cost of this, particularly as she said she is already paying approximately €270 for her daughter’s school trip.
The mother reached out to a fellow parent on TikTok, Hannah, who runs the Hannah Home Educates channel, for advice.
Hannah spoke to her own daughter to ask her what she thought about the other child’s Christmas list.
@hannahhomeeducates Replying to @UK mum life Kids are bombarded with Christmas adverts and unrealistic materialist content plus they have less time to free play, so their ideas of what they want/need have become unhinged ? personally I would get a second hand ipad and a nice case if I was getting a gadget as a Christmas gift- i use my phone every day for work and waited until I really needed it to order a new one (and that’s second hand too!) so a 10 year old might want a new phone but there we go! Again if you do get a child a new phone no judgement, they might be really into all the features and tech and that’s ok too- just don’t go into debt for Christmas. #christmasonabudget #christmasgiftideas #kidschristmasgifts #giftsforkids ♬ original sound - Hannah Home Educates
Hannah said: “My take on this is that it’s an extortionate amount of money for what she’s listed. It doesn’t sound like stuff a 10-year-old, if they weren’t surrounded by people who were also being shown this stuff, would naturally gravitate towards. An iPhone, an iPad, and a laptop – they all do the same thing basically.
“If that was me, there’s no way”, she shared, with Hannah’s daughter adding off-camera that there are “too many screens.”
Hannah said there was “nothing to play with” on her list, and her daughter suggested: “Get her toys.”
She then recommended some age-appropriate toys the mum could get instead of the tech products, including Brain Flakes, Magnatiles, Lego, clay sets, skipping ropes, a hula hoop, and a pedal go.
Hannah’s daughter also suggested the mum could buy get experiences such as tickets to a theme park or the theatre.
Hannah pointed out to the mum that 10-year-olds don’t really have any concept of money, and that it could perhaps be beneficial to sit down with her daughter and explain that it’s just not financially possible to buy everything on her list.
She advised that getting a second-hand device would be a cheaper alternative, adding that getting a good case and insurance on it would help.
Finally, she suggested that out of the three devices, she would recommend getting the iPad for her daughter, and an “old crap phone” if necessary.
In the comments, other parents offered their advice, agreeing that getting a new iPhone for a 10-year-old who has never owned a phone before was perhaps not a good idea.
One person said: “If she’s never had a phone, definitely not a brand-new phone.”
Another added: “An iPad does everything. No need for calls/texts at 10. iPad had messaging apps and chat in games. Laptops are more for high school work.”
This article originally appeared on Joe.co.uk.
