I refuse to let either of my girls to use the dvd player. They choose a dvd and I set it up and turn it on for them. Too many dvds were getting scratched and I found it easiest to just avoid the issue altogether by banning their handling of the equipment. It does sometimes annoy me that I have to drop everything to put a dvd on for them when they are both capable of doing it themselves but its not worth the expense of replacing endless discs and the crying that goes on when a favourite dvd doesn't work anymore. I don't know if I've helped you make a decision either way but that's my reasoning for the refusal.