Buying and downloading music to an old iPod

Yes, it is. Have you tried?

Use iTunes (on a Windows PC or older Mac*) and go the the Store option from iTunes' top bar menu. (I'm not familiar with newer Apple Macs, but in theory, there will be a method.)

* Mac computers:

• • using OS Mojave (10:14) or earlier, use iTunes
  • using OS Catalina (10:15) or later, use Music (I think)

Note that if you have a subscription to Apple Music, or you have Apple Music (the app), Apple TV or Apple Devices installed, using purchased music is not possible, but also of no use on older iPods.

Having purchased music, download it to your iTunes Library and then add it to your iPod. I recommend using Sync to manage your iPod.

Don't forget that you can also buy digital music from other sources too. If you do, you will have to specifically download that purchase to your computer and then add it to your iTunes Library. Once you've done that, continue as you would for any other music in your library.

If your children have a smartphone (either iPhone or Android), you can add music to them. In the case of an iPhone, use iTunes and treat it just like an iPod. In the case of an Android phone, do a Google search for non-Apple solutions.

If your children do not have a smartphone, consider buying an MP3 player. Again, an online search, for MP3 player, will provide useful results.

Just to make you aware, a non-Apple MP3 player cannot use the iTunes programme for management of the player. Most of these players can make use of the drag-and-drop method of adding music to them.