Kids and tablets

[nrvna76]

What do people think about tablets for kids? My third child will be born soon and since my oldest stole my iPad I find myself wondering if I'm going to have to buy and maintain 3 tablets or take the iPad away from my 3 year old (which will not go over well haha) if I do get three it will most likely be kindles but it just seems crazy to do that..

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Well my sisters kids have had tablets since one was 7 and one was 4 (ipad mini and a kindle fire). Second hand ipad minis are fairly cheap and if you use a lot of apple products you'll be able to put all the apps you have on each one at no extra cost under your own account.

For young kids amazon do a kindle fire for kids with a built in package (first year) that gives a complete suite of apps TV and films etc for kids with their own secure interface.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=knidle+for+kids

 

[MacLove1986]

Children should not have tablets. They should be outside playing or reading a real book

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Children should not have tablets. They should be outside playing or reading a real book

Oh don't be so obviously provincial.

In this day and age getting your kids used to technology, is just giving them a head start in a technologically advanced world. Should their use be monitored and limited?? Of course... does this mean they shouldn't have them and that they aren't an important part of modern development??? Well I don't think so ...

 

[millerj123]

My boys each have their own iPads, after I never got to use mine. We have a shared Kindle that only my wife gets to use. Screen time is a big concern, because they'd rather watch youtube than much else. After dinner, if their homework is done, they can play until "electronics off" time which is at least 1 hour before bedtime. There's no way having only one would work in that 1-2 hour period.

 

[Tomorrow]

Children should not have tablets. They should be outside playing or reading a real book

I agree with this. Make them play outside until the gas lights come on, then they can come in and read by the light of a kerosene lamp. Then after their lessons the next day they can stay after and help the school marm clean the blackboards and empty the ashes out of the wood burning stove before they come home and do it all over again.

Can't go letting them get used to such advances as electricity and running water, they might get spoiled.

[/sarcasm]

 

[nrvna76]

I understand people's thought of not having portable devices for their kids but that's much harder to implement in real life.. I just realized I asked a similar question a while ago on this forum. I think I'm gonna have to do it but keeping 3 iPads charged and maintained seems like a chore. Thanks for the replies.

 

[MacLove1986]

It's really not that hard, I'm 27 and think children younger than 12 should not have access to computers or tablets for anything but school work. Technology isn't making this generation of children smarter, it makes it so they don't have to think, if they can't figure out a math problem, instead of thinking they can just use google to get the answer. No cell phones till at least 16, if you can't keep track of your own kids without them having a phone then you're doing it wrong. I think technology has made children and adults spoiled pouty brats that can barely figure out 2+2 let alone saying thank you or please.

 

[nrvna76]

It's really not that hard, I'm 27 and think children younger than 12 should not have access to computers or tablets for anything but school work. Technology isn't making this generation of children smarter, it makes it so they don't have to think, if they can't figure out a math problem, instead of thinking they can just use google to get the answer. No cell phones till at least 16, if you can't keep track of your own kids without them having a phone then you're doing it wrong. I think technology has made children and adults spoiled pouty brats that can barely figure out 2+2 let alone saying thank you or please.

Do you have kids?

 

[wesk702]

Do you have kids?

Obviously not

 

[snowmoon]

I'm watching the sales this season for either iPad Air 2 or mini 4 for my two children. Sure, games and YouTube are popular, but they both use duolingo, khan academy, reflex math, and other education apps regularity as well. It will be good to finally get them individual units so they stop stealing mine and my wife's.

 

[nrvna76]

I was honestly leaning towards the kindle kids version since it's only $100 but we already have a lot of educational apps on iOS that we wouldn't have. So I may scour for iPad mini 2 deals on Black Friday. Haven't decided yet.

 

[kupkakez]

It's really not that hard, I'm 27 and think children younger than 12 should not have access to computers or tablets for anything but school work. Technology isn't making this generation of children smarter, it makes it so they don't have to think, if they can't figure out a math problem, instead of thinking they can just use google to get the answer. No cell phones till at least 16, if you can't keep track of your own kids without them having a phone then you're doing it wrong. I think technology has made children and adults spoiled pouty brats that can barely figure out 2+2 let alone saying thank you or please.

I disagree with this. I'm the same age, got my first computer in kindergarten, played Nintendo and had a cell phone by 13. In the real world if you can't figure out a math problem are you really not going to Google it nowadays? Nothing wrong with kids having access to tech young.

I don't have kids but if I did I absolutely would give them a tablet to play with/learn with. I turned out just fine despite being surrounded with it at a young age.

 

[321estrellas]

I don't mind kids using tablets. My 1.5yo daughter takes my iPad all the time. I didn't teach her but she knows how to navigate by swiping through pages, and she always goes to the Youtube or Photos app. We have kiddie learning apps on it but she never seems to go for them, haha.

BUT there is a time and place for kids playing with tablets (which shouldn't be much time at all), and what really bugs me is when kids are occupied with the tablet in public places like restaurants. It's a very common thing to see where I live. It will not help them be social with family or friends. To me, it's no different than an adult staring at their phone during the entire dinner. Put the darn phone/tablet down for an hour or two and talk to real people!