Do you think 8 yrs old is too young?

It was just this month that I came to the reality check that is what having a child turning 8 is. October seems to be the month for birthdays. Apparently we all seem to get busy at the end of January/beginning of February. Last weekend the kid had a slumber party on Friday night and a costume birthday party Saturday night. Prior to this year (which, if you're keeping track is the second grade for our kid) when birthday parties came along you'd take the kid and stay for the duration of the party. I guess second grade is the delineating year. When you get to this age you take the kid, drop them off at the door, and BYE! Come pick them up at the designated ending time. ROCKIN! I am totally down with that. We are having our party this Saturday (oh and someone else is having a party on Friday that we are attending) with a slightly different lean though. We tend to invite the whole family, which includes the little kids in the family so most likely those parents will be staying. I don't care either way really as long as parents understand that when they are left in my care they will be under my rules. I'm strict and I believe in discipline. You don't know that then you don't know me well enough to leave your child in my loving care. See how that works? Yeah.

So this year is also a big turning point in presents. The kid has decided she wants a camera. She is very good when using my camera (the older one, not the Rebel, it's too heavy with the lenses on) so I'd love to get her a point and shoot. For her birthday though I think we'll get her toys. Christmas is when we'll go for the camera thing. Now mind you the hubby got a wild and crazy idea. If she wants a camera wouldn't she just adore video i.e. iPod nano? Which is where the question of do you think she's too young comes in. I asked her if she'd like something like that and showed her one of them at Costco. She was like "Oh yeah then I can download video off the internet!" and I was like "What?". Where the hell do they get these ideas in the second grade?

I initially thought 8 would be too young for a iPod. Then I thought a bit more about it. Why? I think she's old enough for a camera and the nano is about the same price and about as delicate. Plus it's Apple, she's going to have to get used to Apple stuff, it's a societal thing right? The more I think about it the better I am with it. Plus you know, we both have iPhones, this is like the Apple 'gateway drug'. A few more years and by the time she's in middle school she'll have something more kick ass than the iPhone. And we had what at her age, knickers? Mrs. Potato head? that we are even able to drive cars much less use our cell phones in this day and age is a mystery.....