My kid wants a “tendo switch 2” for Xmas but I don’t think we’re ready to enter the video game world. Gamer peeps- What should I get her instead? She’s seven. Or should I get her a switch?

Question

Janet Wallace · Answer

Nintendo Switch: So, we bought our kid the Nintendo Switch during the pandemic when he was six. Waaaay earlier than we planned to, but, well, Covid. Here’s what we learned: there are many age-appropriate games for younger kids (we liked the Kirby games) AND Nintendo has excellent parental controls which my kid, now age 12, will point out that he is still very much subject to. He kind of rolls his eyes at all the parental controls but he is also so used to them that it’s not a big deal.

Also, my husband and I are also not gamer people so it was a little bit of a learning curve but we just bought games old school style (no internet access) when he was little.

Just my two cents!

Jess · Answer

Switch lite: We started with the lite version for ages 7-9. No online options and I felt like it was more gameboy color vibes than gaming. I got gentle games like stardew valley and animal crossing. I think it worked out for us and helped me get a grasp on my own boundaries so I was ready once age ten came and we got the switch two