iPads, TVs Top Kids, Teens Wish List This Year

What are the top gifts on children’s holiday wish list this year? One word: Electronics. Children between the ages of six to 12 years of age, and teens aged 13 years or older, universally asked for this year’s hottest devices, according to a recent survey by The Nielsen Co.

No surprise, the gadget that young children want above all else this year is the tablet category killer: The iPad. Nielsen said a whopping 31% of American children aged six to 12 polled said they were interested in buying the popular Apple device in the next six months (the survey was conducted in October). Tied for second place was a computer (29%) and another hot Apple product, the iTouch (29%).

Gaming consoles also made the Top 10 for young kids, including the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS, the Sony PlayStation 3 and PS3 Slim. Surprisingly, the Nintendo Wii didn’t make the Top 10 most-desired list. (The most likely reason all of these systems aren’t among the top most-wanted items is that the kids already have them.)

Older children have a somewhat different set of priorities, with computers (20%) being the most-wanted device this year. Televisions and smartphones were tied for second place. The iPad also rounded out the Top 5, along with a Blu-Ray player. Gaming consoles and smartphones, most notable the iPhone, were much farther down the list of desired devices for older kids. E-Readers almost made the Top 5 for teens, while younger kids put the devices low on their must-have list.

Help a fellow physician out — what’s on your kids’ most-wanted holiday-shopping list this year? Please include the age of the child in the comment section, along with the name of the gift.