My DD is 13. At 11 her list had similar items.

I would buy an older model iPhone. As far as setting expectations , I would not worry about it. It's the rare kid in my child's class at private school who is getting a new iPhone, almost all get a hand me down older model with understanding parent gets the updated model and kids get older model.

iPod touch is really a waste at this age. In another year or even sooner you will likely want her to have a full phone to make it easier on you for coordination, rides, so on.

Kids don't even know why the want or need a Mac book vs a cheap laptop. They just know it's a brand. Just buy a cheap pc laptop or dual pad/laptop if you think she wants one. She will still brag about getting it to her friends even if she grumbles a bit at home.

I would tell her that her wish list is great as a list of things to wish for, but it's unrealistic and she's not going to get any of those things for Christmas, so maybe she'd like to put together another wish list that is more realistic. If she refused to do that, I'd get her nothing and this Christmas would be a huge lesson about greed. And I wouldn't feel bad about it for one second, because she would have forced herself to learn this lesson the hard way.

Anonymous wrote:I wish apple would come out with a phone that allowed music, texts, and phone calls only. No internet, no apps.

Why bother with a Touch. It is everything an iPhone is without the phone. They can still get on social media, text, google all their sexual desires and more.

Once again, the previous posters have already pointed out the fact that it's the principal.
Even if it were free, I would never get my 11 year old an iPhone for her very first phone. How do they know she'll be responsible enough to take care of an iPhone without losing it or breaking it? I'm sorry, but no 11 year old needs an iPhone for their very first phone.
Here's a novelty.... how about give her something to strive for??
I know a lot of the kids in this area have a sense of entitlement, because their parents indulge their every whim (because God forbid they not have something that the whole school already has, they might die!).

The Touch IS a great compromise even if they can afford the iPhone, because based on the expensive items on her daughters list already, she seems to have very expensive taste & very high expectations... again, and she's only 11!. This is exactly how children become spoiled & entitled (I'm definitely not calling your daughter spoiled or entitled, OP).

If the OP starts to indulge her every whim with such extravagance at such a young age, the lists will only continue to grow in size & nature and will only grow more & more extravagant. Just because she wants an iPhone, doesn't necessarily mean that getting her one is the best idea (no matter how much it cost!)

Start her with the Touch, make sure she's responsible enough to take care of that first (i.e.; doesn't lose it, doesn't break it, keeps it charged, etc), yes she'll be slightly disappointed, but think of how much more excited she'll be when she finally DOES get it & she's not expecting it (she's expecting it now).
She will appreciate it so much more if she has to wait a little, rather than if you just indulged her by slapping an iPhone right in her hand (just because she asked for it). Especially if you didn't make her either work for it, sweat for it, pay for it or pray for it. Longing & striving builds character

Like the old saying goes "Easy come, easy go". When you're given something too easily, it doesn't have as much meaning to you & you cant possibly appreciate it as much.

Trust me mom, you'll be better off starting her with a Touch, or an android or whatever different phone & then upgrading from there., but if you start her with an iPhone first, there's nowhere to go but to the next, more expensive iPhone when she wants a new one. Give yourselves a buffer, start her off with something with less of a status.

I wish apple would come out with a phone that allowed music, texts, and phone calls only. No internet, no apps.

Why bother with a Touch. It is everything an iPhone is without the phone. They can still get on social media, text, google all their sexual desires and more.

Since it sounds like you're already getting her a substitute phone, maybe you could also substitute one of the shinier Chromebooks for a Macbook (which an 11 year old doesn't need). You can get one for the same price as the iPod touch and do a lot more with it.

Anonymous wrote:I think an iPod touch would be a perfect gift for your daughter, as it's a perfect compromise on getting her a little of what she wants, but not everything she asked for (plus, It teaches her that a compromise is much better than getting a no).

The iPod Touch got all the same bells & whistles of an iPhone, with the exception that it can't make calls (but you're getting her a phone anyway). Even if you didn't get her the phone, the iPod touch has FaceTime & text messaging so you can still always reach her. It also has the music storage of an iPod, plus she can load all the same games & apps from the App Store that an iPhone can (Musical.y, Snapchat, Bitmoji, etc) AND the iPod touch has got the HD camera which takes video too.

The iPod Touch is a LOT cheaper than the iPhone ($175 - $200) &!it can be her only big gift, with some cute stocking stuffers like those chokers that we used to wear in the 90's that they all LOVE so much now (I only pray that they keep the Aqua Net in the 90's, lol).

https://www.walmart.com/ip/46088108?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227033819564&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=70648976792&wl4=pla-87898264617&wl5=9007781&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=46088108&wl13=&veh=sem

+1

I agree, get her the Touch. Don't get her an iPhone as her first phone, she won't appreciate it as much if it's just given to her.

For the previous poster, ALL phones have GPS tracking now even Android do.
The carriers also do tracking themselves too, like Sprint has a family tracker.

My mom would have gotten me an iPhone so she could track me with the GPS. The iphone 5 is cheaper than a touch.

Anonymous wrote:I think an iPod touch would be a perfect gift for your daughter, as it's a perfect compromise on getting her a little of what she wants, but not everything she asked for (plus, It teaches her that a compromise is much better than getting a no).

The iPod Touch got all the same bells & whistles of an iPhone, with the exception that it can't make calls (but you're getting her a phone anyway). Even if you didn't get her the phone, the iPod touch has FaceTime & text messaging so you can still always reach her. It also has the music storage of an iPod, plus she can load all the same games & apps from the App Store that an iPhone can (Musical.y, Snapchat, Bitmoji, etc) AND the iPod touch has got the HD camera which takes video too.

The iPod Touch is a LOT cheaper than the iPhone ($175 - $200) &!it can be her only big gift, with some cute stocking stuffers like those chokers that we used to wear in the 90's that they all LOVE so much now (I only pray that they keep the Aqua Net in the 90's, lol).

https://www.walmart.com/ip/46088108?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227033819564&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=70648976792&wl4=pla-87898264617&wl5=9007781&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=46088108&wl13=&veh=sem

+++ 1, THIS!

I wouldn't get my 11 year old an iPhone as her first phone it were FREE! It's not the cost, it's the principal... you're setting an expectation.

Would YOUR parents have gotten you an iPhone for your first phone when you were 11?? Mine definitely wouldn't have.

If I'm buying her an iPhone at 11, what's she going to want at 13?? What will she expect at 16?? And I don't even want think about 18...

Buying her an iPhone at 11 as her very fist phone sets a high precedent...a very expensive precedent. That's how a child becomes entitled, they ask for it, they get it & never have to work for it or move up to it.

I absolutely agree with this PP, definitely get her the iPod Touch & then move up to the iPhone for her next birthday or Christmas or whenever YOU are ready to give it to her. It gives her something to hope for.

I wouldn't start her off with something as lavish as an iPhone (yes, even a 5 is lavish for an 11 year old's first phone) because there's nowhere to go from there but a much more expensive iPhone. However, going from an iPod Touch to an iPhone 5 or 6 is the next logical purchase when you're ready to get it for her.

By buying her an iPhone 5 as her first phone, you're automatically setting the expectation in her mind that she'll be getting the more expensive one next. However, by starting her off with the iPod Touch, she'll appreciate it a lot more when you do buy her the iPhone... ANY iPhone (yes, even a 5). She definitely won't appreciate the iPhone as much if you start her off with it.
You want her to have something to strive for, or you can attach getting that next as some kind of reward (ie; get all A's or B's on your report card & we'll get you the iPhone next, etc).

Walmart has some iPhone 5's that are $150. By the time you buy a cheap phone and touch its the same price. I still have a 5 and it works fine.

I'd get you a new computer and pass down your old one (or tablet).

I would talk to her and say she needs a more reasonable list.

Thanks, that looks like a good option for us.

I think an iPod touch would be a perfect gift for your daughter, as it's a perfect compromise on getting her a little of what she wants, but not everything she asked for (plus, It teaches her that a compromise is much better than getting a no).

The iPod Touch got all the same bells & whistles of an iPhone, with the exception that it can't make calls (but you're getting her a phone anyway). Even if you didn't get her the phone, the iPod touch has FaceTime & text messaging so you can still always reach her. It also has the music storage of an iPod, plus she can load all the same games & apps from the App Store that an iPhone can (Musical.y, Snapchat, Bitmoji, etc) AND the iPod touch has got the HD camera which takes video too.

The iPod Touch is a LOT cheaper than the iPhone ($175 - $200) &!it can be her only big gift, with some cute stocking stuffers like those chokers that we used to wear in the 90's that they all LOVE so much now (I only pray that they keep the Aqua Net in the 90's, lol).

https://www.walmart.com/ip/46088108?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227033819564&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=70648976792&wl4=pla-87898264617&wl5=9007781&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=46088108&wl13=&veh=sem

I would try to figure out why she wants those things. If she wants something where she can go online and text her friends (and you are comfortable with that), then maybe an iPad mini or kindle fire? Or if she wants a word processor to do homework, there are cheap laptops for that purpose for a few hundred, if that's in your budget. Kids often want a cannon to kill a fly, because they saw a cannon advertised and not a fly swatter.

At 11 I think you can simply say that those are unrealistic choices and ask her for a different list.

What does she like?

Scrapping booking supplies: sticker maker, special scissors, paper

Instax mini 8 camera

She wants an Iphone 7 (not happening- substituting cheapest smart phone ATT has- $49), Hoover or hoverboard- uhm no, AND SOM TYPE OF MacBook WHATEVER (OVER $1000?!).
What can I get for her that will make her happy? No way no how spending that kind of money on an 11 year old. Any ideas?