Tablet for children
November 2, 2022 4:28 AM
What to consider when getting a tablet for our child's use. We're in the UK and are happy buying something we won't need to upgrade or change for five years (if we can get away with it). We're most familiar with Apple products. Do you have specific suggestions on sizes, models, specs and accessories? I imagine there are robust screen guards?
I think it's time to buy a tablet for our 19 month year old. We don't use a lot of screens for her leisure but now and again we play a nature programme or cartoons on our laptops. As a result she's started carrying the laptops around and treating them as hers. It's probably time to get her something she can focus on.
Obviously we don't want to pay for features/capacity we won't use. What spec is best? Accessories? We're happy with second hand or new. I imagine it needs to run streaming apps, maybe a few games in time.
Also open to people saying 'don't do this, you are opening the gates of screen hell, beware!'
We are both 'everything in moderation' people so she shouldn't pick up bad habits from us, but advice on screentime guidelines also welcome.
I think it's time to buy a tablet for our 19 month year old. We don't use a lot of screens for her leisure but now and again we play a nature programme or cartoons on our laptops. As a result she's started carrying the laptops around and treating them as hers. It's probably time to get her something she can focus on.
Obviously we don't want to pay for features/capacity we won't use. What spec is best? Accessories? We're happy with second hand or new. I imagine it needs to run streaming apps, maybe a few games in time.
Also open to people saying 'don't do this, you are opening the gates of screen hell, beware!'
We are both 'everything in moderation' people so she shouldn't pick up bad habits from us, but advice on screentime guidelines also welcome.
We bought our kids full size iPads, not the minis, a couple of years ago when they were on sale after Thanksgiving. And we put them in a rubber case. I think getting a good protective case will be important no matter what device you buy.
A mini iPad might be easier for child to hold but I don’t regret choice of an Apple product.
The Apple family set-up has a lot of great features for restricting apps and usage. It’s really been easy to set time limits and what not.
posted by MadMadam at 6:37 AM on November 2, 2022
A mini iPad might be easier for child to hold but I don’t regret choice of an Apple product.
The Apple family set-up has a lot of great features for restricting apps and usage. It’s really been easy to set time limits and what not.
posted by MadMadam at 6:37 AM on November 2, 2022
If your child is already getting screen time, I don't think there is harm in giving them a dedicated device. As MadMadam points out, this will let you curate the content and restrict access using controls like Apple's Screen Time or the equivalent on Android.
I would caution you against buying a device with the lowest possible memory capacity. I've done this a couple of times when I decided, "I only need this for one specific purpose. no need to pay for more than minimal storage." Big mistake. Needs change, and it's good to have some spare memory. I can't tell you how much time I spent sweating to squeeze a movie onto an old iPad before a car trip. So whatever you buy, give yourself some storage headroom, even if the kid doesn't need it now.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:12 AM on November 2, 2022
I would caution you against buying a device with the lowest possible memory capacity. I've done this a couple of times when I decided, "I only need this for one specific purpose. no need to pay for more than minimal storage." Big mistake. Needs change, and it's good to have some spare memory. I can't tell you how much time I spent sweating to squeeze a movie onto an old iPad before a car trip. So whatever you buy, give yourself some storage headroom, even if the kid doesn't need it now.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:12 AM on November 2, 2022
I find that the "no/not too much screen time for kids!" group is actually an unholy coalition of overly restrictive parents who aren't doing their kids any favors and perfectly normal people putting a bit too much emphasis and focus on hard screen time limits when simply putting in the work to make sure their kids have multiple interests and interesting lives will accomplish the same thing.
A five year life span is a lot to ask for a tablet. If that's a hard ask, I'd say iPad is definitely the way to go, whichever size your kids find comfortable. Even then, it will be a pretty cranky, laggy device by the time year five rolls around. You can add Apple Care, too, which takes out some stress if/when your kid damages the device.
I would tell you though within a couple of years, your kid is going to be far more proficient at tablets than you could ever dream. As long as you stay with the same OS, you can easily switch them to a different device in a few years as an upgrade/refresh and they won't lose a step. So the five year plan might not need to be a huge concern.
Given that, I wouldn't rule out Android devices, because it's entirely possible to get an Android tablet in 2022 that your kid will find terrific for substantially less than the cost of an iPad. You can then get them a newer one in a few years for similar total cost.
The only thing I would absolutely take a pass on is the cheap Amazon Kindle tablets. They work great and are a solid value, so I don't begrudge anyone who says they can be a good choice. There is even an Amazon service where you can subscribe and your tyke gets unlimited access to a broad range of kiddie apps, games, books, and videos, so that really can be a savings. On a budget, they certainly can be a top option. They're also so cheap, it reduces the "what if they lose it?" stress immensely.
But the ad experience is more pervasive in a way I find distasteful and would not want for me kid if my budget allowed to go with a non-Amazon device. Also, the app ecosystems for Apple and Android are broader. A kid above the age of 5 or 6 is going to be rapidly unimpressed with free kiddie apps and will just want to play Candy Crush like their friends.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:19 AM on November 2, 2022
A five year life span is a lot to ask for a tablet. If that's a hard ask, I'd say iPad is definitely the way to go, whichever size your kids find comfortable. Even then, it will be a pretty cranky, laggy device by the time year five rolls around. You can add Apple Care, too, which takes out some stress if/when your kid damages the device.
I would tell you though within a couple of years, your kid is going to be far more proficient at tablets than you could ever dream. As long as you stay with the same OS, you can easily switch them to a different device in a few years as an upgrade/refresh and they won't lose a step. So the five year plan might not need to be a huge concern.
Given that, I wouldn't rule out Android devices, because it's entirely possible to get an Android tablet in 2022 that your kid will find terrific for substantially less than the cost of an iPad. You can then get them a newer one in a few years for similar total cost.
The only thing I would absolutely take a pass on is the cheap Amazon Kindle tablets. They work great and are a solid value, so I don't begrudge anyone who says they can be a good choice. There is even an Amazon service where you can subscribe and your tyke gets unlimited access to a broad range of kiddie apps, games, books, and videos, so that really can be a savings. On a budget, they certainly can be a top option. They're also so cheap, it reduces the "what if they lose it?" stress immensely.
But the ad experience is more pervasive in a way I find distasteful and would not want for me kid if my budget allowed to go with a non-Amazon device. Also, the app ecosystems for Apple and Android are broader. A kid above the age of 5 or 6 is going to be rapidly unimpressed with free kiddie apps and will just want to play Candy Crush like their friends.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:19 AM on November 2, 2022
We have a Kindle Fire. Positives:
It's cheap.
It's robust, comes in a thick soft plastic case.
It broke shortly before the one-year return period and they immediately sent out a replacement.
It has good parental controls. You can set individual time limits for web, apps, video etc. You can specify a certain amount of reading time before they do other stuff. You can change the controls remotely from your amazon account, so if the kid misbehaves you can pull out your phone and threaten to shorten their app time right now.
Negatives:
It's limited to the Amazon app store, so many of the good apps and games are unavailable.
After a year if you want to keep access to the content it rolls onto a monthly fee.
However our child was about 6 years old when we got it, I don't know what works best for a younger child.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 7:28 AM on November 2, 2022
It's cheap.
It's robust, comes in a thick soft plastic case.
It broke shortly before the one-year return period and they immediately sent out a replacement.
It has good parental controls. You can set individual time limits for web, apps, video etc. You can specify a certain amount of reading time before they do other stuff. You can change the controls remotely from your amazon account, so if the kid misbehaves you can pull out your phone and threaten to shorten their app time right now.
Negatives:
It's limited to the Amazon app store, so many of the good apps and games are unavailable.
After a year if you want to keep access to the content it rolls onto a monthly fee.
However our child was about 6 years old when we got it, I don't know what works best for a younger child.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 7:28 AM on November 2, 2022
I think five years is more than reasonable for an Apple product. My wife still uses her first generation iPad mini which (I had to look it up) was released ten years ago today. She pretty much browses the web and watches videos on it, and we're starting to run into some apps that won't update, but the device itself is still fine other than some reduced battery capacity.
posted by The Monster at the End of this Thread at 7:48 AM on November 2, 2022
posted by The Monster at the End of this Thread at 7:48 AM on November 2, 2022
We bought our kids ipads and kindles when they were pretty young. If you are considering kindles, give them that first, because kindles are seriously inferior to an ipad, and even a 2 year old knows that.
My kid bit her ipad once and cracked the screen, because she is a kid.
Screen repair now is $250, which is a pretty high expense from the apple store.
I think my younger daughter got a bit addicted (my older did not) and so we took it away at 9 years old. She basically didn't want to do anything else when she got home, even though she was in school and activities, and occasionally did active things on it, like drawing or reading.
My older definitely got into annoying youtubers, so be sure to block commenting, and any material you don't want to explain to a young kid.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:50 AM on November 2, 2022
My kid bit her ipad once and cracked the screen, because she is a kid.
Screen repair now is $250, which is a pretty high expense from the apple store.
I think my younger daughter got a bit addicted (my older did not) and so we took it away at 9 years old. She basically didn't want to do anything else when she got home, even though she was in school and activities, and occasionally did active things on it, like drawing or reading.
My older definitely got into annoying youtubers, so be sure to block commenting, and any material you don't want to explain to a young kid.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:50 AM on November 2, 2022
We have a kid's Fire tablet. I got it because the libraries were locked down and we needed a ready source of reading material. It does provide that, but really intense material can be mixed right in with benign things, so I have to keep up on monitoring its offerings. It can however be dropped (in its provided case), bounce a couple of times, and be totally fine. And it tolerates minor spills, sand, and general grubbiness without issue. It also fills up quickly with unspecified "misc" files nobody on the entire Internet can figure out how to delete without rooting it, limits even the parents' ability to share content like family photos, randomly deletes things one has downloaded into the kid profile (probably having to do with the gigabytes-large "misc" issue), and doesn't play at all well with books, apps, or many websites from outside the Amazon ecosystem. And a lot of their apps are commercial garbage toddler crack, and I assume the videos are too, and your only options are turning access to those categories off entirely or maintaining constant vigilance to "remove unwanted items" because there is no "only the items I've approved" when it comes to Kids+ content.
So yeah. For an 19mo, I would definitely tend to characterize Kids+ as "the gates of screen hell." If you don't use Kids+, it'll limit what you can add in weird ways (or mean you're using an adult profile, which is difficult to lock down satisfactorily and does things like splash up ads for violent movies even if you've expressed no interest in them), but the tablet itself is certainly robust enough and the warranty is solid while it lasts. Now that my kid is older though, this thread is making me think that next time maybe an iPad wouldn't be the worst route to take even though we don't otherwise have Apple products.
posted by teremala at 8:11 AM on November 2, 2022
So yeah. For an 19mo, I would definitely tend to characterize Kids+ as "the gates of screen hell." If you don't use Kids+, it'll limit what you can add in weird ways (or mean you're using an adult profile, which is difficult to lock down satisfactorily and does things like splash up ads for violent movies even if you've expressed no interest in them), but the tablet itself is certainly robust enough and the warranty is solid while it lasts. Now that my kid is older though, this thread is making me think that next time maybe an iPad wouldn't be the worst route to take even though we don't otherwise have Apple products.
posted by teremala at 8:11 AM on November 2, 2022
Because you are open to the question-- why exactly does a 19 month old need an ipad? I don't see any reason why not to keep watching on the laptops and just enforcing the (reasonable) boundary that these devices are for grown-ups to use on their own or with kids, not on her own. There's little useful content that a 19 month old (in my opinion) can use on their own dedicated device. And it can set up for habits that are really hard to change. Not to mention they are crazy expensive!
My older kids share a tablet, and use it for school stuff and watching some television, esp. on trips. We also really like the Epic books app and a few others as well. So I'm not anti-device. I am just appalled at how much their peers are on theirs. There's a reason so many people who developed these technologies don't let their own kids have them.
Not judging anyone at all, as everyone knows their situation and family best, and I know I'm old-fashioned -- but just ask why a toddler needs this several-hundred dollar device and whether you can delay it a bit.
posted by heavenknows at 8:23 AM on November 2, 2022
My older kids share a tablet, and use it for school stuff and watching some television, esp. on trips. We also really like the Epic books app and a few others as well. So I'm not anti-device. I am just appalled at how much their peers are on theirs. There's a reason so many people who developed these technologies don't let their own kids have them.
Not judging anyone at all, as everyone knows their situation and family best, and I know I'm old-fashioned -- but just ask why a toddler needs this several-hundred dollar device and whether you can delay it a bit.
posted by heavenknows at 8:23 AM on November 2, 2022
My godson and his little brother have old ipads, in heavy duty protective cases. As far as I can tell they are very clear on the fact that they are not allowed to use their mother's device. They are also very clear on the fact that the devices can be taken away and are not available at all times. To the best of my knowledge, they have not managed to break them yet despite the odd accident....yay t heavy duty protective cases. The devices were used/hand me downs when adults in the wider family wanted to upgrade. I would not really buy a toddler a new ipad.
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:51 AM on November 2, 2022
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:51 AM on November 2, 2022
I would advise buying an iPad for you/the family, not making it "the kid's"
It makes it more clear that this is something you have control over, and not something that is theirs to use as they please (assuming you don't want it to be theirs to use as they please eg unlimited use?)
My kiddo is now 5 and I am very glad that we don't need a ruggedized case and we all treat it as something we get out for use and put away when done, not leave it laying around to be picked up whenever on a whim.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:17 AM on November 2, 2022
It makes it more clear that this is something you have control over, and not something that is theirs to use as they please (assuming you don't want it to be theirs to use as they please eg unlimited use?)
My kiddo is now 5 and I am very glad that we don't need a ruggedized case and we all treat it as something we get out for use and put away when done, not leave it laying around to be picked up whenever on a whim.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:17 AM on November 2, 2022
You want an ipad mini with a thick protective case along the lines of this (if you search amazon for "ipad mini case kids" you'll see many options).
posted by Nickel at 9:44 AM on November 2, 2022
posted by Nickel at 9:44 AM on November 2, 2022
iPad + AppleCare (which does have a per-incident fee for accidental damage but it’s definitely cheaper than replacing the whole thing every time) + a good heavy duty case.
I’d probably go with iPad mini or iPad Air. iPad (no suffix) is going to be the weakest of the bunch in terms of longevity on the OS/software side. And echoing the recommendation to go one step up from the base configuration in terms of storage, especially as a long-term investment.
posted by tubedogg at 12:06 PM on November 2, 2022
I’d probably go with iPad mini or iPad Air. iPad (no suffix) is going to be the weakest of the bunch in terms of longevity on the OS/software side. And echoing the recommendation to go one step up from the base configuration in terms of storage, especially as a long-term investment.
posted by tubedogg at 12:06 PM on November 2, 2022
We have used all three of them (Kindle, Android, ipad mini).
I far prefer the iPad mini as it's been very easy to restrict problem issues in the Android and improved performance over the Kindle has been nice. I like that it's very easy to just do content restrictions. I have the Google kid restrictions too but they are not as intuitive or user friendly and I can't login to my kids email from my phone for changes that I need to make on that level. It's great if the child is older but a toddler doesn't need to worry about their account being mixed up with the parent's one.
Kindle was cheap so earlier in his life not worrying about breaking a $300 device was a benefit. He is six now so we got an iPad mini in a rubber case for kids. I wouldn't bother with a better device until your child is using it more independently.
If you don't mind only installing subscription content it's less of an issue. We tried the android tablet without paying for any content and that didn't work out well. (Ads were intrusive and promoted his interest in crappy content with no educational value but high interest based on bot activity for example. I have an Ad blocker now but I imagine a lot of the apps just won't work if you've got the ads blocked.)
I'd probably start with a Kindle with the kids account and upgrade to an iPad once the child outgrows the Kindle or it starts acting crazy because it is a POS then upgrade. I got the iPad mini because it goes with the Osmo learning device which we have used with some success.
posted by crunchy potato at 12:19 PM on November 2, 2022
I far prefer the iPad mini as it's been very easy to restrict problem issues in the Android and improved performance over the Kindle has been nice. I like that it's very easy to just do content restrictions. I have the Google kid restrictions too but they are not as intuitive or user friendly and I can't login to my kids email from my phone for changes that I need to make on that level. It's great if the child is older but a toddler doesn't need to worry about their account being mixed up with the parent's one.
Kindle was cheap so earlier in his life not worrying about breaking a $300 device was a benefit. He is six now so we got an iPad mini in a rubber case for kids. I wouldn't bother with a better device until your child is using it more independently.
If you don't mind only installing subscription content it's less of an issue. We tried the android tablet without paying for any content and that didn't work out well. (Ads were intrusive and promoted his interest in crappy content with no educational value but high interest based on bot activity for example. I have an Ad blocker now but I imagine a lot of the apps just won't work if you've got the ads blocked.)
I'd probably start with a Kindle with the kids account and upgrade to an iPad once the child outgrows the Kindle or it starts acting crazy because it is a POS then upgrade. I got the iPad mini because it goes with the Osmo learning device which we have used with some success.
posted by crunchy potato at 12:19 PM on November 2, 2022
Honestly the only justification I can see for kiddo having their own device is if you want to prevent your device from being broken. If that's the case and you just want her to have something laptop-ish to carry around, I would go with the Leapfrog 2-in-1 LeapTop Touch. Or even just a broken old device with no battery just to carry around.
It's also okay to say "That's mommy's laptop. It needs to stay on the desk. Do you want to do X?" It's not a double standard for you to have your own devices and a 1 year old to not have one.
posted by jessica fletcher did it at 12:58 PM on November 2, 2022
It's also okay to say "That's mommy's laptop. It needs to stay on the desk. Do you want to do X?" It's not a double standard for you to have your own devices and a 1 year old to not have one.
posted by jessica fletcher did it at 12:58 PM on November 2, 2022
I saw that u/TheophileEscargot listed the pros and cons of Kindle Fire. We use Kindle Fires for kids, and all of those cons can be eliminated by altering the Fire OS using Fire Toolbox.
The best thing about Kindles are that they are cheap.
posted by WizKid at 6:07 PM on November 2, 2022
The best thing about Kindles are that they are cheap.
posted by WizKid at 6:07 PM on November 2, 2022
Such good advice here, all from welcome perspectives, so thank you.
Yes, the reason I am adverse to using my laptop is that it's my only work device. I don't use mine for watching content, but my wife does use hers for that purpose. We could possibly use hers as an entertainment laptop... but we'll see what she says about that!
We do have a TV but don't use it much. We could try to use it more, but our flat is small and so having the option to watch something on a portable device is useful if the main room is busy.
At the moment, the nineteen-month year old probably has 30 mins of screen time every other day, or every three days. I definitely recognise that she loves this time and I do want to give her more of it, which is motivating my question.
None of us have working tablets, and we're not used to using them in our lives, so these answers have been particularly helpful in conceptualising introducing one.
posted by einekleine at 12:40 AM on November 3, 2022
Yes, the reason I am adverse to using my laptop is that it's my only work device. I don't use mine for watching content, but my wife does use hers for that purpose. We could possibly use hers as an entertainment laptop... but we'll see what she says about that!
We do have a TV but don't use it much. We could try to use it more, but our flat is small and so having the option to watch something on a portable device is useful if the main room is busy.
At the moment, the nineteen-month year old probably has 30 mins of screen time every other day, or every three days. I definitely recognise that she loves this time and I do want to give her more of it, which is motivating my question.
None of us have working tablets, and we're not used to using them in our lives, so these answers have been particularly helpful in conceptualising introducing one.
posted by einekleine at 12:40 AM on November 3, 2022
I got my son an amazon fire. They are fine, but get frustrating fast.
My main irritation is that from my adult account I dont get full admin rights to my kids account. I added a fun stop motion app for my son, only to realise that the videos were literally inaccessible, outside of the app itself, meaning I couldnt back them up or share them in any way.
I will say though that it is totally possible to add google play to amazon fire, there are guides you can find, a few steps to walk through but it does work!
posted by Cannon Fodder at 2:51 AM on November 3, 2022
My main irritation is that from my adult account I dont get full admin rights to my kids account. I added a fun stop motion app for my son, only to realise that the videos were literally inaccessible, outside of the app itself, meaning I couldnt back them up or share them in any way.
I will say though that it is totally possible to add google play to amazon fire, there are guides you can find, a few steps to walk through but it does work!
posted by Cannon Fodder at 2:51 AM on November 3, 2022
>More general tablet/kid tip: Whatever you get, immediately download "pbs kids" apps for games and video. So much great content for free, and so much less worry about pre-screening for appropriate content. (And start supporting PBS if you can!)
Also, in case it's of any interest, iPad will have tons of awesome music eduction apps for when they are a bit older, as well as professional quality music apps, that are either much worse or absent on other platforms.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:51 AM on November 3, 2022
Also, in case it's of any interest, iPad will have tons of awesome music eduction apps for when they are a bit older, as well as professional quality music apps, that are either much worse or absent on other platforms.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:51 AM on November 3, 2022
We bought the Kindle Fire 7” version when it was on sale at Amazon and added a 128GB microSD card (for content) and a big rubber case that has a carry handle and can act as a stand. An equivalent iPad may have been much nicer but, at that age, wouldn’t be appreciated - especially the cost.
You can get Google Play installed (and access to a tonne of apps in the play store) if you’re capable of following about 8 steps. This means you aren’t limited to the Amazon store.
For apps we have YouTube kids, Plex (for home content), Otto (music), all the CBeebies apps, Nova video (offline video), iplayer kids and peppa world. The microSD had their favourite film and TV shows.
If I were to do it again then I’d probably buy the 8” version, which isn’t that much more.
I never bothered with the Amazon kids stuff and, instead, just locked down the kindle and hid all the apps I could. Those that I couldn’t hide were dumped in an “other” folder in the “home” tab which the kids never looked in.
Our eldest started leaning towards my iPad when she was about five - so you’ll get a good number of years out of the thing.
posted by mr_silver at 1:28 AM on November 6, 2022
You can get Google Play installed (and access to a tonne of apps in the play store) if you’re capable of following about 8 steps. This means you aren’t limited to the Amazon store.
For apps we have YouTube kids, Plex (for home content), Otto (music), all the CBeebies apps, Nova video (offline video), iplayer kids and peppa world. The microSD had their favourite film and TV shows.
If I were to do it again then I’d probably buy the 8” version, which isn’t that much more.
I never bothered with the Amazon kids stuff and, instead, just locked down the kindle and hid all the apps I could. Those that I couldn’t hide were dumped in an “other” folder in the “home” tab which the kids never looked in.
Our eldest started leaning towards my iPad when she was about five - so you’ll get a good number of years out of the thing.
posted by mr_silver at 1:28 AM on November 6, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
UK guidelines on screen time are less than 2 hours per day for all children, with some no screen days each week. American guidelines are stricter, but these have apparently been criticised by Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health as not being based on strong evidence. Reference: NCT. Screen time would include time watching any TVs in the house, using your phones (for example, when you're out somewhere) as well as any tablet use.
FWIW, I think it's probably more important that you give your child a range of playing experiences that help them develop rather than the exact amount of time spent on any one kind of activity.
posted by plonkee at 5:18 AM on November 2, 2022