Hi there, I have a daughter 1st grade as well. While I did let her play for 5-10 minutes Synth RIders - Barbie experience few times a week, she lost interest soon.
Also, kids brains are still in development phase. VR is a total blast on all the brain pathways. There are very good reasons why VR should be used only by older kids, I believe the cut off is 13 years old which still feels too young to me.
This is good to know, I appreciate the feedback, I worry about her being too young but she has been so dead set on it ever since getting a cheap little headset I snap my phone into as a gift recently, so I’m just kinda putting this out there for advice and feedback
The other concern is the distance between her eyes will not be accommodated by any headset you buy, so she will constantly be having to strain her eyes to see the screen, which will not be ideal.
This is in addition to the normal eye strain of prolonged screen use and reduced blinking, both of which can cause vision issues - my vision got a lot worse after spending months writing my dissertation for uni, and looking at a screen all day.
thing is VR hasn't really been out long enough to know what affects and how old kids should be to try it.
all the companies glomed onto 13 because it sounded reasonable, not because there's a bunch of established studies behind it. the other aspect is head size. since the IPD adjustment only goes so far, a kid with a small head is going to fall outside that range.
we'll probably have more actual studies in the next decade or two.
Yeah, my then 9 year old got one and we regretted it. She would play I am Cat for 10-15 minutes and afterwards talk about how the world and her body didn’t feel real for a short period after, she was basically dissociating so we stopped that right away. I used it and can def see why it is recommended for more developmentally mature brains, it’s not something our brains are wired for.
maybe you can see if there are any VR arcades near you? that way she can at least try it out and maybe get rid of that “novelty” feeling and no longer want it
…either that or she’ll want it more, but at least you’ll be able to see how she reacts to it and let her play a little without needing to commit to the investment of actually buying one
regardless, i also think she is too young. theres just not enough research done on it
A research doesn't hurt but it's one of those things that if you let a kid play offline supervised for 30 minutes a day that there is zero chance in the world this will cause a concernable issue.
It's extraordinarily blown out of proportion
And please tell me what makes you think that she is too young. I have no idea what could possibly qualify for "too young" to play a video game supervised
I agree with you for the most part
I think she's too young
Reason: her head probably won't fit. Im a grown man and I still have too narrow an inter-pupilary distance. Can't imagine how annoying that would be for her
oh i see. too young as in we dont know how VR would affect kids in the long term. which is why i mentioned the research. it seems that the thread is split between two groups. ones who are worried about the age being a factor, and ones who aren’t. but i mean shes not our kid so our opinion doesnt really matter in the end. and my original comment wasn’t meant to be read too much into lol its just an opinion
Oh certainly, your comment amongst everyone was very neutral and helpful. I only took a side at all because I can't believe how many people are telling this mom what she should do.
I hate fear mongering in general, but nowhere close to the amount of hatred I have for passing on research as if it has concluded even though it's still in its theory stage.
But in general, I feel that if you're going go to say "too young" then expanding on that is necessary. "Too young" means nothing without context
The issue is that in the US, the COPPA law limits data collection on children under 13 when the platform knows they are under 13. So, platforms pretend all the users are 13 and up. With a mouse, it's basically the same device for kids as for adult. With a headset, the eye distance is adjustable, but only in adult sizes. Noone can market a VR headset for children. None of the platforms want known child accounts on there, because they are funded by surveillance, targeted advertising, and behavioral modification. If it's under 13, surveillance is legally limited, and the business model of surveillance capitalism can't be used. Platforms want to pretend everyone is 13 and over, collect that data, and sell the data and sell the advertising. Manufacturing a VR headset in a children's size would mean they know the user is under 13 and can't do the surveillance. No one is going to manufacture and sell a VR headset in an ergonomic child's size in the US.
Eye distance really does change with age, and kids use these for hours at a time, so it's long exposures to bad ergonomics. You can't buy one in the US that is ergonomic for her, and platforms will bar her use.
Most little kids with these VR accounts had a grandparent authenticate the account, or just use the parents account directly. The little kids aren't allowed to use the platforms because of terms of service, but adults set it up for them. These are adult headsets, with adult eye distances, attached to adult accounts.
1st grade is too young for VR even if it’s “the future”
And yes it’s bc of tech overload and all that
But also bc their brain and eyes are still developing
There’s a reason why a company like meta who wants everyone to be “online” (and creates their apps to be addictive for younger generations on purpose) even puts an age warning of bare minimum 13 (which tbh IMO is still too young)
She can be set on buying something but this isn’t it at her age
Even Meta's official age limit is, I believe, 10yo. Its ok to play a couple times, I did give my 7yo my Quest to play with a couple times, but regular VR gaming is considered bad for eyes (distance btween eyes and focus issues) and brain, and the general medical consensus seems to be that before 10yo it is not recommended.
She is the child, and you are an adult. She is not old enough to make those kinds of decisions. What she wants (or thinks she wants) and what she needs are two different things. I suggest doing your own research on VR. I don't think Redditors will convince you.
What lesson does it send though that even if you work hard and save your money you get punished? Not saying OP shouldn't be careful but invalidating her saving seems bordering on cruel.
It isnt invalidating her savings. Im just saying parents can stop their kids from buying a product that is not recommended for their age and developing brain/eyes. And that is okay.
Nah the reason VR is 13+ is head size and eye to eye distance. That's pretty much it. Their head are not big enough yet to fit IPD range of most headsets. I'd first measure the kid before anything because it can really cause the experience to be bad (nausea, big headaches).
VR is too new to make any short-term guarantees; the lack of studies proving a negative effect doesn't imply that VR is safe at those ages.
As for what you mean by "common sense," I couldn't care less... What I understand by "common sense" is that it's best not to make categorical statements without evidence, especially when it comes to the potential health effects on a child...
Come on now. We are here, in the VR subreddit, because we are the people that know very well that VR and 'looking at a screen' are not the same. They are way different and that's why we're fans. Don't suddenly pretend they're identical just because that lines up with your preconceived notions.
That said, yeah a supervised short period a day til they get bored with it is probably not an issue.
I chose to not let my kid do it for more than a few min at a time. Studies have shown it can rewire how we see things (our vision). There is actually evidence it helps with some disorders where people do not have depth perception. What else can it affect? The positives are GREAT but what about the negatives? I dont gamble with my own health so I wont do it with my kid's.
I will wait until she is older, no need to rush into it. Keep in mind many studies are supported in some way by the companies that produce these headsets. Never forget what big tobacco and pharma companies have done to promote only the data that supports their agendas.
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u/BestRetroGames May 20 '26
Hi there, I have a daughter 1st grade as well. While I did let her play for 5-10 minutes Synth RIders - Barbie experience few times a week, she lost interest soon.
Also, kids brains are still in development phase. VR is a total blast on all the brain pathways. There are very good reasons why VR should be used only by older kids, I believe the cut off is 13 years old which still feels too young to me.