Ipods are (relatively) fragile equipment. I wouldn't give that to a child, there's a high chance she could accidentally break it. Syncing it to Itunes on the computer and importing files could be rather confusing for a 9-year old. And finally speaking from my gut, I honestly don't think that a child that young could ever need an uber-expensive mp3 player. I hesitate to say it, but, "spoiled rotten" comes to mind.
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I know there's certain exceptions, but 9 years old is too young to have such a device. At the most, a Shuffle would suffice. I think the Shuffle and iTunes (with your supervision) is a good way to teach them at an early age about buying music.
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An ipod touch may be a little too much for a nine year old, why not start her out with an iPod Nano instead. My 7-year old uses my old 2nd gen ipod nano and it works perfectly for her. The newest gen also does video and has most of the functionality of the iPod Touch (for music and video).
Source(s):
7-year old daughter

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As a parent I would have to say it depends on the maturity of the child. Is she careful with her electronic devices? Does she take care of the things she already has? If she is a responsible child I think it should be okay. Just be aware that there will be other expenses for music downloads and such. Good luck!
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For a nine-year-old I would advocate starting with something a little more durable and a little less expensive. Even the most responsible kids are apt to lose things, and that's an expensive gadget to simply have disappear. For what you get, iPods are still fairly expensive, you're paying a lot for the look and branding. Check out products from SanDisk or Creative, they both have some good, more durable mp3 players that are less likely to scratch and aren't as restrictive in to usability as iPods.

A few years back I had a Creative Zen Micro, it was a good, functional mp3 player. It doesn't scratch up easily and it came in a whole bunch of great colors. I'd assume they're still making that or something similar.

I'd recommend something with flash memory as well. No moving parts means they'll fail less frequently. Besides, 8, 16 or 32 gb should be plenty of memory for a kid's musical library.
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While the question of individual maturity plays a large part in answering this - the 2nd question that should be posed is not an issue of "want" but rather of "need".

If we assume that she is mature & responsible enough for it, would it be a commensurate reward to how she has been this past year? In school? With you (her parents)? Gift should not be a freebie, IMO, they should reflect and guide a child into the direction of proper behavior (good grades, personal & social responsibility).

Otherwise like the previous poster said - you are just making more spoiled kids who will grow up to be spoiled adults.
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My sister-in-law is 10 and she has an iPod Touch. She loves it and takes very good care of it. If you do decide to get her one, I would definitely suggest buying a good protective case. Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GDU44C?ie=UTF8&tag=new-mom-shopping-list-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001GDU44C
Source(s):
My sister-in-law

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I have 3 kids (ages 9, 8 and 3). I love my kids to death but my 9 year old is not old enough to handle something like that. It is too much money for a child of that age.
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No. Instead, give her a $20 bill, and tell her if she wants one, she needs to figure out how to turn that $20 into the $200 needed for one. That way, she's still getting a gift of some sort, but she's also learning and honing her business skills. She seems like sharp kid, I'm sure she can do it!
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I wouldn't. Even if she's super responsible (which it sounds like she is), if she accidentally damaged it she would feel awful!
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No, she's too young for such an expensive gift.
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Sure! It wouldn't be a bad thing. I remember getting my first Walk-Man about that age. Yes, I just showed my age with that one.

Music is healthy for childrena dn iPods are very affordable so you won' be breaking the bank on something that she may scratch up or lose.
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yes
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You said you were worried more about the expense. If you can't afford to pay for it in cash right now, let her know. If she's as smart as she seems, she'll understand.
Source(s):
Financial prudence during these times.

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If you don't mine it getting stolen from your nine year old daughter then sure. The world we live into today isn't all nice. I guaranteed that.
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I would recommend that you offer her two choices, a Shuffle now or an iPod Touch later. She is a child that's been blessed by material wealth, there should be reinforcement about savings, interest and financial planning as well. She wants the best product without learning about good, better, best, which might mean in 2016, she might want a new BMW for her 16th birthday. :)
Source(s):
A BANK FOR CHILDREN AND ONLY CHILDREN:
http://www.yacenter.org/
MET LIFE:
http://www.metlife.com/Applications/Corporate/WPS/CDA/PageGenerator/0,4132,...

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This is of course ultimately completely up to you and your budget. I for one could not afford to give an iPod Touch to my son even if he asked. I also think they are rather expensive to be given to a child and even if your daughter is brilliant there is a lot about an iPod Touch she might not even use or grasp due to all the intricacies of what it can do.

Maybe save the idea for her 13th birthday? And in the meantime there are MP3 players better suited for children that are easier to use and less likely to break but still have the memory for hundreds of songs.

SanDisk sells great MP3 players and my five year old has one which he uses all the time all on his own without instruction. His is the Sansa Shaker, your daugher would probably want one a bit more advanced and for that I would recommend the SanDisk Sansa Fuze 2GB MP3 Player which you can get for under $70.
Source(s):
http://shop.bjs.com/SanDisk-Sansa-Fuze-2GB-MP3-Player-For-Teens_stcVVproduc...

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