I purchased a Clip for my 6 1/2 yr old for Christmas. He’s all about music. Listens to my Creative Zen V all the time. I did a lot of research and thought the clip would be a great first MP3 player for him I got the 2GB for $40.00 which at the time I thought was a good deal. Well I picked up one of the black friday Fuze deals for $50.00 because, well, I just couldn’t resist. So now I have both. I know the Fuze is a much better player, but what about a 6 yr old using it?? My concernes are navigation and durability (screen breaking).
Could you share your thoughts on which you think would be easiest/best for him?
Is your son careless and trips a lot and drops things? If so, then the clip would be better. If he is more careful, then let him have his fuze, but be careful.
Dude, he’s 6. If you give him a Fuze now, what does he have to look forward to? But seriously, what’s wrong with the Clip that you’d wanna replace it with the Fuze? I mean, do what you want, your kid, your money, but I’d keep the Fuze for yourself, he should feel **bleep** lucky to have a Clip when he’s 6, haha.
Haha, yeah, I got my first cassette player at 8. I thought I was so cool, haha. Finally got a really basic CD player (no anti-skip, FF or RW) at 12, then a good one when I was 14. Got my PSP (for 20 bucks from a friend, ha) when I was 18, bought a card and used that for music for the past 2 years, till I finally bought my Fuze this past summer. Yeah, I know I’ve been a little behind the times, but I’m just saying you should space things out a bit, he’ll enjoy it more that way. Honestly, though, most of us had some form of portable music player when we were little, and mp3 players are pretty much all that are still around. And IMHO, it wasn’t until this year that you could get a good player, with good capacity, at a fair price. That’s why I waited so long to buy one. I would have got an Ipod years ago if they had decent space w/o a HDD, and didn’t cost half as much as a decent laptop. I’ll admit, the new Nano’s are finally not a bad deal, but thankfully by now I’ve developed just enough of an anti-Apple bent that I can see past their marketing, and that’s how I discovered that the Fuze is a better deal.
I know the Fuze is a much better player, but what about a 6 yr old using it?? My concernes are navigation and durability (screen breaking).
I wouldn’t say the Fuze is a much better player. The Fuze is basically a Clip with video support and removable storage. Otherwise they are basically the same in terms of features and sound quality.
I think the Clip would probably be better for a child. Even though the build quiality is nothing special, the Clip is light enough that dropping it usually won’t cause any serious damage. The Fuze is heavy enough that dropping on a hard suface could definitely crack or seriously scratch the case. Small hands would probably like using the Clip more as well.
I think when I was 6, I got a wooden train set. When I was probably 10 or so, I got the latest available technology; one of those crappy Japanese portable radios powered by a 9v battery and AM ONLY!
OK, so I’m an old f@rt. :smileyvery-happy:
I would think the new SlotMusic player would be more appropriate for a 6-yr. old child who is still a little clumsy, and prone to temper tantrums where it might get thrown down (or across the room) in frustration or disgust. Or get lost in the bottom of a toy box or under the bed somewhere. Having raised kids, I know things just ‘disappear’ in a child’s room. And the standard answer to the question, “What happened to it?” is of course . . . “I don’t know!”
At only $20, you could get a spare to give him (after he earns it, of course) if the original one gets broken or lost.
I wouldn’t even consider a Fuze for this age of child. It’s way too advanced for him. The Clip would even be a little much for this age, in my opinion. Can he even read yet? How’s he going to navigate the menus? But I’m not here to tell you what to give your child, or how to raise him. Just offering ideas and a different perspective.
Whichever one you decide on, DEFINTIELY get one of those silcone skins (if available) for it to protect it against obvious bumps & bruises and a plastic screen protector film. The silicone skins are soft and rubbery and may result in a ‘bounce’, rather than a ‘crack’ and an “Oh, NO!”
I would keep The Fuze for myself (or maybe stuff it in your spouse’s stocking).
It depends on how mature the 6 year old is. On average, a 6 year old girl is probably more mature than an average 6 year year old boy. I would suggest a player like the Shaker for a 6 year old, and not have the child using headphones. When the child is older, then perhaps they might be old enough to not play music too loud through headphones. I also worry about children not being able to hear the surroundings(when you call their name, or for older children if they are allowed to cross streets). Perhaps until a child is much older, you shouldn’t let him or her use an mp3 player outside the house, and especially not to take it to school.
Serioulsy, are you ripping Sesame Street or Alvin and the Chipmunks CDs?
How sophisticated are the music needs of a 6 year old?
The fuze will definitely get damaged or lost by a 6 year old. There ARE things you can do to mess these up. Pressing forward and back repeatedly and stuff like that will make it crash. I’ve had it happen.
also, you’re going to have to load and manage all the music. Weird files and file management will make these go haywire.
Also, let’s not forget that in the mind of a 6-year old, peanut butter and an mp3 player probably go together. Or the toilet, or the toaster…
Plus, it IS a bit weird that we all go around plugged into media all day long: Computers, TV, laptops, crackberries, DVD at home, DVD in the van, mp3 players…but a 6-year old plugged in with earphones? Somehow it just isn’t right…or perhaps safe, in some situations.
I think a Clip is appropriate. The Fuze has the types of bells & whistles the average 6 year-old will never need. As you stated, he isn’t using it for movies, and I doubt he’d need exandable memory. The Fuze just may unnecessarily complicate things because of its usability and its fragility.
Thanks everyone. I think you’re right. I’m going to sick with the clip. I guess I’ll ebay my black Friday purchase!
Just to answer your questions - He’s very advanced musically. He will listen to music on an 8 hr car trip over watching a dvd. He has an old 128 gb player that doesn’t hold enough music. We actally took my mp3 player with his headphones to his 6 yr check up at the dr’s and had him agree on the volume setting. He also has limited listening time - Never at home, mostly in the car so dh and I can have some quiet time! He’s all about Hanna Montana, the Jonas Brothers - Likes some of mine and dh’s music as well, Johnny Cleg, Led Zepplen. Pretty much anything with a beat. He told me I can get rid of all of his “baby” cd’s. He also plays the drum (been asked to perform at drum seminars) and guitar.
I remember when my folks had a foster child living with us. I was about 8 I guess. She was 16 and wicked cool. She turned me on to Led Zeppelin II. I went from Alvin and the Chipmunks to Whole Lotta Love in one fell swoop. Man, I couldn’t get enough of that Zep.
Sounds like you have a great child-and a talented one. Good for you. I’m sure some of it is just the way god made him and some is the way you have been parenting. I’m sure he’ll enjoy the clip. It has the same chip and sound quality as the Fuze.
For the love of Darwin, please do not buy a 6 y.o. a portable dap. Most 16 y.o. do not have enough common sense to listen to headphones at safe levels, let alone a kindergardener. If you ignore common sense, please give the kid some closed headphones so he won’t have to turn up the volume too loud and an impedance adapter so he won’t be able to.
I would buy a cheap MP-3 player to start out on and see how he does with it. I know my friend bought his 2 kids one of them cheap lil players in wally world. That has the USB plug built in to it and with in 1 month one of the player they broke the button for play and the other they cracked the screen. I know my 5 year old son will be getting my wifes old MP3 player that she paied 10 dollars for. If he does good with it. then later on we might give him my wifes old E260 and go from there.
TO answer your question I say no a fuze is to much money on What if he destroys it.
The Fuze is great for ease of use (at least in my opinion), but I already have a scratched screen. I’ll echo a few posts above and say base it on how careful the kid is.
