A Question..yes another one :)

I'm aiming the actual question at our younger members but...would like everyone's comments in the end.

How many of you tell the time from a digital clock and do you know the difference between am and pm? I'm maybe not wording this correctly but...would you know quarter past one..half past..quarter to for example am/pm..as opposed to 1.15 or 13.15?

I'm only asking this because I got a phone call from my daughter-in-law today regarding my oldest grandson's birthday coming up in May and she asked for money to contriute to an i-pad (apparently that's all he wants)..I said I was going to buy him a watch for his 7th as that's what I'd done with both my own kids..she asked if it was a learners watch...I had no idea what that was because both my kids could tell the time from a standard watch by 7 years...by this I mean one with a big hand and a little hand ..you know..a normal watch? She said...well the clock in the school is digital and he really wants an i-pad so money would be good....how do you wrap money and how do you watch the expression on a child's face when opening something like that...he's turning 7!!...shouldn't he still be excited about ripping a pressy apart...Am I I just being old fashioned here? Thoughts guys..young and old..both appreciated??? I'm really quite sad about it right now...but would still like honest answers???

Speaking as a young person, I haven't worn a watch in 2 years. I am terrible on them, usually wearing out the strap in less than a year. I just use my cell phone now.

You must wear a cheap watch or a cheap strap at least :)

I too use my phone, but I could still tell you what time it is on a standard clock. I see the concern here, I don't see a watch as a bad gift, obviously he won't find it as great as a iPad because kids always want the next biggest thing because it's 'cool', but I feel like schools still do a good job at teaching kids how to tell time on a standard clock. Seven may seem like a young age to have an iPad but there are I'm sure several apps and such you could put on them to make it beneficial & a learning experience for him. They actually just recently started using them here in middle school.

My son is 23 and he always refused to wear a watch, as did his peers. It was deemed old fashioned at that time already (about 15 years ago). he only knows digital time, when I say "a quarter past one"he asks me whether I meant to say 1.15 PM. He has an phone for a watch.

I am old fashioned and love my golden Guess watch..costed me a fortune, but I love fashion statements:)

Thanks Temps...I really did feel I was being quite old in my thoughts..kids like to be cool..I do get that and we do not want our kids to feel out of place because they haven't got the latest stuff but..you also say schools teach the kids time...I taught my kids about time....I never depended on the schools to teach them. I just worry about this generation I guess...the last generation (and that will include you (no offence)) when I go through the check out and offer them, 35cents to round my order off they have no idea what change to give me and...that was just callculators that did that to them!

An IPad for a 7 year old is far to young if you ask me and very expensive

He should be getting trucks and such to at in a sand pit or something what do you give him for his 8th birthday a car ??

^^

Well said Nicko but...think both of us will be boo-hood here???

I just watch him ...you know and..he doesn't really know how to play as a 7 year old?...well a 7 year old back in the days when sticks etc...were a pandoras box for other things.

I'd agree that he's too young but just the way technology is advancing it doesn't surprise me he wants one. Give him something he needs.. not something he wants.

Well Temps...according to his mom he doesn't need or want a watch so....anyway I guess both sides of the coin have been talked about....still unsure...

There are many other options.. think of his hobbies and suchor are you really looking for something learning oriented?

He likes to draw and...really had this art case thing bought for him before I remembered about the watch thing and 7 year olds...guess I'll just bite the bullet and put some money in a card...I'll give him the art set for christmas I guess..

It's up to you I suppose.. you never know he may use a watch eventually. A gift is a gift :)

The only time I had trouble with time is when a friend from another country said it in a way I had never heard. The clock in my office is huge, and I guess old fashioned. I dont like the. Look of digital clocks. My husband wears a watch every day.. not digital. I don't, because they bother my wrist.

My nephew just turned seven and we bought him a nerf gun and some spiderman stuff.. and some transformer thing. His grandparents got him one of those Leapster Pads.. little handheld device that has only learning games on it.

Perhaps give him an art app for the iPad

OR instead of an expensive ipad, give him the latest kindle fire HD 8.9, half the price of ipad, lighter (helps to carry in small hands), and has the Amazon collection of books (better and cheaper library than itunes) and other aps suitable for younger readers. Wouldn't you want a kid to read at this age and play some games with the free apps. The ipad screen is more costly to replace once it breaks (av $100)...happenned with my son playing with it.
The Nook is OK, but lacks good connectivity.
ipad is the best, but for young minds too expensive as a toy. But if you are independently wealthy, go for it. Just my opinion :)

Oh Hellon, please stick with the watch. I am going on 22 years old and I feel like I was born in the wrong generation. I hate this technology crap and how its poisoning the brains of young ones.....My 3 year old Godson has an ipad and a Wii in his bedroom and it pisses me off. Every time I watch him I tell my girlfriend, don't bring that thing over, hes not going to play it around me. That is too young...

What I think it does it makes them spoiled and rude. Sorry for the bluntness...But I witness that EVERYWHERE I go...I see young kids and old for that matter, on their smartphones or Ipads in public settings while at lunch somewhere with someone...That is so rude to me. My mom yells at me for being on my phone when I'm at home sitting on the couch, to me that is different, I'm at home, I believe I can text someone while in the comfort of my own home lol...however, in the presense of family on holidays I dont like to be on it, when I'm at lunch or dinner in public I dont like to be on it....its really taking away communication and affecting people socially.

To be honest, I can read a clock, but I don't know the 13:00 hours..never learned that....but I think that is so important for kids to know stuff like that. We cant forgo teaching them common stuff such as telling time. Everything can't go digital or the world will just all go stupid.

I watched this really stupid movie called Idiocracy, it was so dumb, yet I watched the whole thing and it was about a man who volunteered to be put in this time capsule thing for one year to see how time changes and how he'd adapt to it, well they ended up forgetting about him and it was some 500 years later and the whole world was stupid....they thought they could "water" crops with Gaterade because it has "electrolytes" in it...dumb crap like that, but I got to thinking, seriously with the world going the way it is, and technology making people more lazy, I wouldn't be surprised if society ends up like that one day.

It really makes me mad that parents say stuff like, well he just wants an ipad or money..Well guess what? You can't get everything you want now can you? Get him the watch. Its crucial for him to know how to tell time.

*edit*

I'd also like to add that I dont think the Leapster learning things are bad, I just think hand held electronics should be a priviledge and not an every day toy. I love the leapster stuff I have seen it work for kids I nanny for, but that was not an every day thing, I taught them letters and numbers and shapes and colors, and they got to play on that for a half an hour or so every few days......it comes down to parents teaching their kids. If you don't want to teach them and you want to rely on technology, I say don't have children. Its really not fair to their knowledge, because I can't blame kids for the things they don't know, its the people who raise them and their teachers in school that are to blame.

I agree w/ you Chels, and my nephews aren't on it nonstop. They play outside (weather permitting) way more than they watch TV or play with the Leapster. They have developmental disabilities so that is actually a part of their homework. Flashcards and the "norm" in their special education at school doesn't keep their focus, but if they're playing a game themselves (they always want to do things themselves, very independent!) they focus really well. After dinner/before bed they are allowed to play it each 30 minutes a day -- no more.

Military time is something I didn't learn but just know. If you say 19:00 I have a hard time off the top of my head knowing what time it is, but I do know after thinking (and math, oh the horror!) that it's 7pm. I think. I'm AWFUL at it.

I agree that he should have something to open, and I think he's too young for an Ipad, but working with children, most of them are 3 or 4 and have Ipads, DS's, Xbox, its just too technology orientated these days.

I read both digital (usually use my phone) but the clock at work is a conventional one with the hands, yes, its chunky for them to read the numbers, and had coloured hands and numbers, so they understand quarter past and so forth, and my oldest nephews learnt the time easy enough with that

I think its a matter of choice and what they see as the norm, the only clocks in my house are either the digital one on the microwave, our phones and a roman numeral one on the wall.

Hellon, the best way to educate a child is to stay abreast of others, and give them modern competitive educational tools, not watches, toy trucks/guns or skateboards to break or be broken upon in no time (last a few months in boys hands).

We all have to keep up with the times. You will not need the X-box, the Wii or the Playstation (fast becoming old fashioned too!)...the android or itune ap stores have enough games (both educational and fun to both child and parent) to learn and enjoy. Plus, either the android tablet (kindlefire, Nook or microsoft or any brand) or ipad can also become your phone, videophone, encyclopedia, mathworkbook, and more. You will see what I mean when you get your own ipad. You will be hooked! I guarantee it. To a working adult or a stayhome parent it becomes your brain's knowledgebase, social and work station.
eg: On my ipad I use facetime to enjoy a face to face chat with my parents or friends in another country at a click of a button, call/ text friends and family without using cellphone minutes (if I want to).

Plus, the biggest asset of any of these is the Ereader software in all of them, so you buy books and read on them, learn play along piano (a free ap), listen and record music (both a iPod/mp3 or 4 player and karaoke player and sound recording studio with appropriate often free aps when at home, travelling/vacations without the inconvenience of carrying books, ipod and toys around. Most need only the wifi versions, but I use them with 3G/4G plans when travelling, to use Google maps (works as a GPS as well anywhere), calling (hands free without a blue tooth) with call aps (talkatone, google voice, skype, textit, etc), research nearby lodging, places to see, public transit info/maps, and more.

Don't listen to old fashioned ideas. You can always limit the playtime on the device and take them out to a park or other activities. Good parenting involves exposure to both the old and the new world conveniences. You have to be their teacher and friend at all times, not just a parent. Otherwise they will learn to hate you when they become 12-13.

Here is a link that compares the amzon kindle fire to nook and ipad.
http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/amazon-kindle-fire-hd/4505-3126_7-35437746.html

To be honest we were tought how to read the clock in school, I certainly remember it being that way for me. I do not wear a watch because it "could" turn into a risk at work, but I've got a digital one. I do think about getting a standard one because they can look quite neat. :)

I could tell the time in AM/PM or in the 24-hours version.. the only thing I have trouble with is how to express midnight like that, but that is simply because I never needed that in am/pm, still curious.. and I'm german after all so yeah.

I mean is quarter past midnight 00:15 am or is it 12:15 am? Lmao I really don't know.

^ Quarter past midnight. 00:15 hours, is the 24 hour format, indicating the start of the 1st hour where 15 minutes have elapsed. 12:15 am would be displayed in case of 12 hour format.

Everyone can interpret the 12 hour format. For 24 hour format, it is easy to read the time until noon. End of the first 12 hours. But for the remainder, it is X-12. Where X is the current time at a given instance and 12 is the number of hours.

Example - 14:00 hours.

X-12 = 14-12= 2 , meaning 2 pm.

Example - 20:00 hours.

X-12 = 20-12 = 8, meaning 8 pm.

AM = Ante meridiem or before midday

PM = Post meridiem or after midday

Quarter past 1 would simply be 1:15 pm in the after noon and 1:15 am after midnight. And 13:15 will always be 1:15 pm, the 13th hour from the period of 24 hours.

And as for the gift. An I-Pad?..I'm not sure. I-Pad may teach him to surf the internet, assuming that he's been cultivated with adequate curiosity of contemplating the world around him and not social networking, using Facebook or Twitter. Technology either makes a person really dumb or real smart. Being able to access Facebook - is equal to identifying a banana and stripping off the skin to eat it. Not good enough in this day of technical advancement. May be a musical instrument could help. Composing improves relative intelligence. Understanding the rhythm and notes. There are scales of tones to identify. Just present him with something that could increase his intelligence and not let him be another product in the assembly line. Heck even a gaming console would be better. It subconsciously cultivates the habit of trying more, as the levels get tougher. One may have to play the same levels tens of times to clear it. Oddly parents don't go for games it seems, never understanding the need for fantasy and how important it is to a budding intellect. An analog/digital watch would take only a few minutes to figure out. Not really a challenge.

Evolving is hard. For humans, it's survival of the techonologicalest. I know because I've had to buy a mobile phone AND join Facebook. Not that I use either very much.

Yeah yeah, kids should have a balanced real/virtual lifestyle. I don't know how it works. I don't want to.

Forget about what you SHOULD do, and give him what you want to give him. It is YOUR present, something that will remind him of you and of the family tradition, whether he appreciates it or not. What is the joy in gift giving if you don't like the gift you're giving? Totally pointless.
And a watch is still a great present for a kid. They love showing them off and feeling grown up. If he doesn't like it, it's a good life lesson in receiving crap you don't want and being polite and grateful anyway.

By the way, there is no such thing as 12am and 12pm. Interesting fact. Unless this has also become acceptable through convention now.

Thanks everyone for your responses..some different opinions here and it's interesting to see that most of the male members have gone for technology over old fashioned gifts...while most female members think a 7 year old is too young for and ipad....I wonder why that is?

I wasn't in this little ones life from day one so...I didn't have any influence over his earlier years but he doesn't seem to have much imagination. My two year old grandson and I go fishing with sticks and the leaves are the fishes, the tar is the water...we also play a lot of games with honky nuts...just things that are lying around but can become animated with a little imagination...

I think there is always room for timeless toys and imaginative free play. As a kid, I got tons of hours out of playing with things like dolls and stuffed animals, where I was the one producing the story.

On the other hand, a technological toy isn't bad just because it's technological. In fact, out of techy toys on the market now, an ipad might be one of the better ones. There are tons of artistic and educational apps out there, and any game that a kid enjoys (while sneakily teaching them things) is fine in my book. My mom (a special education therapist who works in early childhood) actually uses ipads a lot with toddlers, in her work. The kids like them, and they can help build hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, in addition to learning letters and numbers and stuff. (Your 7 year old will be past that, of course, but I expect there are older equivalents.)

But that's my opinion on the technology in general. In regards to your gift, I have to go with Abby. Give what you want to give - that's what a gift is.

(And yes, I can read an analog clock just fine, as can just about everyone over age 10 that I know. They still teach how to read one in my home district, starting in kindergarten. And I used to wear a watch - though I tend to break or lose them after a while, so I've kind of phased out of that in recent years. The last one I lost was spendy.)

All he wants is an iPad... Who's going to pay to get it fixed or replaced when it breaks? 7 year olds don't need individual gifts that cost more than ~$40. They're not responsible enough to care for things like iPads. One of his parents should get one for his or herself and let the kid play with it in moderation and under adult supervision if the iPad is going to come into their family at all.

Meh. I agree with Abby on this one. The gift is yours to give. You want to give him a watch - give him a watch then.

Well, if you mind readers haven't guessed what the parent's really want from grandma (in the child' name) then go figure :). Maybe grandma can figure this one out herself! She is smart :)
However, an ipad ( or its cheaper clones) is not a bad gift, for the whole family, grandma. Lasts a long time, combines games, ereader, portable movie theater on the go, my favorite encyclopedia /religion (Dr. Google), music, art, telephony, GPS, travel utilities and much more. Yes, they do not break that easy with protective cover and screen. $10-50 toys will last probably no more than 3-6 months in most boys hands. They like to take things apart, unlike girls with their dolls:). Plus, the fascination is gone in a few days (typical boys)! A watch...aha...will be lost or broken in no time as well. Very unlikely with an ipad...the parents will ensure its safety as well..they need it more than him! :).
Oh shucks I should have majored in psychology! :)

^^^^

Both mum and dad already have their own ipads so that's not the reason and....they were not asking me to buy one outright..just to give some money as a contribution towards it.

:( There goes my analysis. haha. At least it had a reasonable chance to be correct on a probability scale.
Just got shot in the arm! ahhhh...hurts. So sorry beautiful (and intelligent) ladies.

Buy him a watch, Hell I'll sell you a Citizen I bought from my son because he needed some money, brand new, radio powered, tach, chron, sunlight powered, never needs a battery, tells time in all time zones, Eli Manning Edition, unstoppable! This thing is like a F-35 and he would be impressed. It is to much watch for me, I prefer a plain jane face, numbered 1 through 12, with a night light. Timex takes a licken and keeps on ticken, although I do break a strap and malfunction them with all the magnetics encountered on a daily basis. Go watch Grammy!~

Perhaps, Hellon, you can give him a durable but inexpensive watch and contribute a bit more to the iPad, along with art apps.

I wouldn't do a thing regarding the iPad. Then again I don't feel kids should have them, so I wouldn't enable them.

My favorite toy as a kid was linkin' logs and etch-a-sketch. And my hula hoop. Kids aren't the same anymore. I won't even spend that kind of money for an iPad on myself, let alone a kidlet.

This is such an intersting topic as are some of the responses. I personally would go with a watch, with something cool on it like dinosaurs or starwars or whatever he's into, then he'd probably love to show it off to the world. And it would be a well chosen, useful gift.

I'm so against all the new technology that has been invading childrens minds, it's consuming them. Reading and art and imagination are slowly fading away because of it and our these next generations are going to be lazy as heck. But at the same time, kids are just keeping up with the 'times' and with what's hot. Like a few years ago, the wi came out and was like the coolest thing ever until the Xbox Connect compleltey left it in the dusk. As time moves, I'm sure his intrest will change. I wouldn't invest in the ipad unless he would genuinally appreciate it, because if he doesn't it would probably end up stuffed under his bed by September.

Another note: My parents bought my 14 year old sister an ipod touch and she rarley speaks to anyone anymore, her nose is always glued the ipod. It's sad really, what's becoming of things.

Parents have an iPad each? Doesn't sound like they need the money.

One Ipad was bought between them a year or so ago and the other was won in a raffle....my son works off shore and the prizes for said raffles tend to be slightly extravagant..bunch of guys with money and no beer to spend it on....pretty sure you now what that would be like? haha!

Thanks for all the contributions guys...I really appreciated your input.