# Best tablets for kids??



## cannpope (Nov 7, 2012)

I need opinions (if anyone has them) on a good tablet for a 4 year old.  I plan on getting my son one for Christmas, but am stumped as to which one to get.  There are SO many to choose from.   Prefer that it has some parental controls on it.

THANKS


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## Rwsphotos (Nov 7, 2012)

It will really depends on what you want your child to be able to do with it as to which is best.  Personally for that age I like the Child Pad and I  believe it comes with parent control options. Want to say it's mid priced not I pad expensive but not excessively cheap.


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## jhodges10 (Nov 7, 2012)

I doubt this will be of any help but I have a 1st generation iPad that my 2 1/2 yr old loves to play with. I don't know about parental controls since he doesn't know nough to gt on the net. He does however know how to turn it on and pick the app he wants to play with. You could probably find a used one pretty cheap but I will warn you that iPads have advanced enough already that there are kids apps that won't work on mine.


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## sm4him (Nov 7, 2012)

WOW. The world sure has changed since my kids were 2 1/2 or 4 years old!! I can't imagine having been willing to give my toddler an electronic device. 
I feel old. 

EDIT: I should mention, the list of options for electronic devices was pretty limited when my kids were that age. Not as limited as when *I* was that age, though, lol. My kids are constantly amazed by the things that I am OLDER than...


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## jhodges10 (Nov 7, 2012)

sm4him said:
			
		

> WOW. The world sure has changed since my kids were 2 1/2 or 4 years old!! I can't imagine having been willing to give my toddler an electronic device.
> I feel old.



He knows way more than his grammie and she would admit as much. Just like most other things it has to be moderated. He only gets to play with the iPad a little at a time and only when he's being good.


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## ghache (Nov 7, 2012)

any tablet will do, these young kids are way more capable of learning these technologies than we think.

my godson was playing on his father ipad way before he could even take a dump on a toilet...


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## Rwsphotos (Nov 7, 2012)

ghache said:
			
		

> any tablet will do, these young kids are way more capable of learning these technologies than we think.
> 
> my godson was playing on his father ipad way before he could even take a dump on a toilet...



Not really any will do.  And yes kids are way more capable of learning them.  Like mentioned some of the older tablets and some of the cheaper ones may not run certain apps.  And not all have good parental controls.  But there are plenty to choose that will fit the bill.


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## Rwsphotos (Nov 7, 2012)

sm4him said:
			
		

> WOW. The world sure has changed since my kids were 2 1/2 or 4 years old!! I can't imagine having been willing to give my toddler an electronic device.
> I feel old.
> 
> EDIT: I should mention, the list of options for electronic devices was pretty limited when my kids were that age. Not as limited as when *I* was that age, though, lol. My kids are constantly amazed by the things that I am OLDER than...



Lol I know right! Some of the devices i remember could serve as museum prices lol.  Hadn't planned on my almost 4 year old playing with my tablet but we found its good for his fine motor skills soo guess what?  Looks like he may need one of his own lol.


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## jhodges10 (Nov 7, 2012)

Toshiba makes a laptop for kids. It's basically built like one of their tough books so it's nearly indestructible. From what I've read it has good enough specs to be useful to adults as well. That may be a bit further down the road though.


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## cannpope (Nov 8, 2012)

Thanks for all your help!  My son plays on my mom's ipad quite often and has requested an ipad from Santa.  He will get a tablet, but the ipad is a little over budget for a 4yr old.  LOL...It's amazing to watch him manuever through the ipad.   It's almost like he was born knowing what to do.


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## swoosh (Nov 8, 2012)

cannpope said:


> Thanks for all your help!  My son plays on my mom's ipad quite often and has requested an ipad from Santa.  He will get a tablet, but the ipad is a little over budget for a 4yr old.  LOL...It's amazing to watch him manuever through the ipad.   It's almost like he was born knowing what to do.


Get the iPad so you can steal it from him when it's his bedtime. :thumbup:

EDIT: Actually, I just recently entertained the idea of selling my new iPad if you're interested in buying a used one. It has barely been used. I bought it for college because I thought it was going to save me money on textbooks but there aren't many available. I don't used it anymore, I use my MacBook Pro instead. It's in mint condition (I'm a freak when it comes to treating my stuff with care) and has the warranty. Bought from Apple itself; first time owner. I even have a smart cover which I can add. I have the original box, charger, etc, etc. 

PM me if you're interested. 

I would put all money towards the Fuji X100.


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## swoosh (Nov 9, 2012)

Let me know if you got my message, cannpope. I sent it from my phone so I'm not sure if it actually sent.


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## kathyt (Nov 9, 2012)

My son loves the iPad.  He is almost 4.  I think it is extremely educational and worth every penny.  It will also last for a long time.


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## CCericola (Nov 9, 2012)

Leapster also makes a "Tablet" if you want to go that way. My 2 year old has my first gen ipad in airplane mode so no browsing but she can work her learning apps. Play music and I can upload videos for her for long trips.


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## JSER (Nov 9, 2012)

at 4 get him a life, a foortball and fresh air


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## jhodges10 (Nov 9, 2012)

JSER said:
			
		

> at 4 get him a life, a foortball and fresh air



I'm sure I speak for everyone that's posted when I say thanks for that parenting gem. BTW you misspelled football genius.


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## swoosh (Nov 9, 2012)

kathythorson said:


> My son loves the iPad.  He is almost 4.  I think it is extremely educational and worth every penny.  It will also last for a long time.


I babysit my girlfriend's cousin (who is 4 too, or 4 and a 1/2 as he likes to say lol) and he loves the iPad. I wish I could keep mine AND get a camera.


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## Jusstin (May 16, 2014)

You can buy cheap tablet on which he can learn and also play games.


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## table1349 (May 16, 2014)

FYI.  The thread is old enough that the kid is probably in Junior High by now.


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## Scatterbrained (May 16, 2014)

Both of my girls (3 and 4) have Kindle Fire HD tablets.   Amazon has a program called "free time", which locks the tablet into a "kids internet".  They can only access child oriented apps and games.  Meanwhile we use the HDMI port to stream Netflix and Amazon prime movies when we're on the road, as well as at home.  My wife and I also use them to read with.  With screen protectors and Otterbox covers they're pretty tough.


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## minicoop1985 (May 19, 2014)

My son (almost 3) has a Leapfrog LeapPad2WifiAcronymsLettersLotsofthingswithoutspaces or whatever it's called. He's dropped it, beaten it into submission, and just plain abused it since Christmas, but it's still working just fine. The rechargeable batteries are a HUGE plus. He likes it, and that's all that matters, really.


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## runnah (May 19, 2014)




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## Designer (May 19, 2014)

Kindle and iPad at ages 3 & 2.


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## bribrius (May 19, 2014)

LeapFrog LeapPad Ultra Learning Tablet - Walmart.com

got one of my kids something like this last year. Good for learning, hard to break and he walks around taking photos with it he loves it. Mistake I made is I didn't buy the entire kit at once so I had to go back and pick up some stuff to go with it.


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## bribrius (May 19, 2014)

minicoop1985 said:


> My son (almost 3) has a Leapfrog LeapPad2WifiAcronymsLettersLotsofthingswithoutspaces or whatever it's called. He's dropped it, beaten it into submission, and just plain abused it since Christmas, but it's still working just fine. The rechargeable batteries are a HUGE plus. He likes it, and that's all that matters, really.


similar to my thoughts.


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## robbins.photo (May 19, 2014)

Best tablet for kids?

World Christmas Activity Pads with Crayons - Oriental Trading

There ya go.


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## runnah (May 19, 2014)




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## bribrius (May 19, 2014)

Scatterbrained said:


> Both of my girls (3 and 4) have Kindle Fire HD tablets. Amazon has a program called "free time", which locks the tablet into a "kids internet". They can only access child oriented apps and games. Meanwhile we use the HDMI port to stream Netflix and Amazon prime movies when we're on the road, as well as at home. My wife and I also use them to read with. With screen protectors and Otterbox covers they're pretty tough.


Forgive my ignorance. How are these streaming when you are on the road, wifi hotspots?
Curious, we have one of those factory in car dvd systems, which I thought was a good idea when I bought the car but it really has led to a lot of ruined dvds kicking around the car I think they play Frisbee with them.


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## Scatterbrained (May 19, 2014)

bribrius said:


> Scatterbrained said:
> 
> 
> > Both of my girls (3 and 4) have Kindle Fire HD tablets. Amazon has a program called "free time", which locks the tablet into a "kids internet". They can only access child oriented apps and games. Meanwhile we use the HDMI port to stream Netflix and Amazon prime movies when we're on the road, as well as at home. My wife and I also use them to read with. With screen protectors and Otterbox covers they're pretty tough.
> ...



By "on the road" I simply mean when we're not at home.    We spend about 4 weeks a year at Disney World, and probably at least another 4 traveling for conferences/training etc.  The timeshares often don't have the channels my kids are used to, like Sprout, PBSKids, and Disney Jr., so streaming content via Amazon and Netfix serves the purpose instead; while allowing them to watch without commercials .  For example, my wife had a two month long radiologic pathology training conference over the winter.  I would take the girls up on the weekends to visit, but with all the snow and nasty weather we were pretty much stuck in the hotel.  There was no DVD player in the hotel so without the ability to stream movies and shows, as well as the games/puzzles/apps, we would have gone insane. 

    I do have a wifi hotspot that I bring along so we can tap into the internet when we need to, but we usually just download the apps and games from freetime to the tablets so they have plenty to keep them busy.   

In the car we have a rear seat DVD player as well. I have no issues with loose DVDs though, as the girls aren't allowed to handle them.  The DVD player is mounted in the ceiling and usually my wife or I will change the movies when needed and we just keep them in a CD binder.


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## manicmike (May 19, 2014)

bribrius said:


> Scatterbrained said:
> 
> 
> > Both of my girls (3 and 4) have Kindle Fire HD tablets. Amazon has a program called "free time", which locks the tablet into a "kids internet". They can only access child oriented apps and games. Meanwhile we use the HDMI port to stream Netflix and Amazon prime movies when we're on the road, as well as at home. My wife and I also use them to read with. With screen protectors and Otterbox covers they're pretty tough.
> ...



I'm guessing mobile hotspot like the ones you can get from Verizon.


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## Scatterbrained (May 19, 2014)

runnah said:


> View attachment 74270


My kids get plenty of that.  The tablets are for when that isn't available.  

It's responses like that however that tell us parents who the people are without kids.


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## runnah (May 19, 2014)

Scatterbrained said:


> It's responses like that however that tell us parents who the people are without kids.



I have a kid. He is outside every time he gets the chance. So am I but he isn't stuck at work all day.


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## Scatterbrained (May 19, 2014)

runnah said:


> Scatterbrained said:
> 
> 
> > It's responses like that however that tell us parents who the people are without kids.
> ...



...and when he's not outside?  It's raining, or the sun has set, or he's sick, or dinner and the bath are done and it's time almost time for bed?  Or you just can't be outside with him? (leaving my girls outside alone here is quite a bad idea, mainly because people treat our residential street like a drag strip, despite the blind curve that leads to our driveway) Or maybe you're not at home and you need your kid to sit still?      There are plenty of times the tablet comes in handy, as I'm sure my parents thought nintendo was handy when me and my brother were growing up, especially during our "monsoon" season here.    That doesn't mean my kids live on it either though.  





Around my house our yard gets like this about an hour and a half or so before sunset. . . . . . 







Ahhhh, the joys of being surrounded by water. . . . . once the bugs come out it's time to head back inside.


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## mmaria (May 19, 2014)

I'm a parent too and I have my opinion also, as every other parent... and I don't like easily flammable threads... just saying


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## table1349 (May 19, 2014)

Best tablet for kids...






Best table for parents of kids......


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## runnah (May 19, 2014)

Scatterbrained said:


> ...and when he's not outside?  It's raining, or the sun has set, or he's sick, or dinner and the bath are done and it's time almost time for bed?



He plays with his toys or brings a book. He will watch pixar when he is sick.

We do have a portable DVD player that we use for trips to NY (7.5 hrs drive).


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## minicoop1985 (May 19, 2014)

gryphonslair99 said:


> Best tablet for kids...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I tried to be offended, but it's just too true...

As for the outdoors thing, he rarely gets to use it. It's only for long car rides where he gets restless (he's almost 3-asking him to watch out the window is pointless) or when I go to the photo lab/printing and framing shop, etc and need him to be entertained in a spot where he, again, would be bored and get restless. It's not out that often, really, but when it is, he really, really likes it and uses it as a hammer occasionally.


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## bribrius (May 19, 2014)

Maybe like everything else. Balance. toys, board games, our kids get highlight magazine for the puzzles (and they love getting them in the mail and waiting for them), online games. Even the plastic trucks from the big box store we have balanced off making some wooden toys ourself. Also buy the put together kits of little machines to put together with them. 12 volt cars (i had pics of one of them on here i think they have four of them now its a regular parking lot) All kinds of books. Balls to play with. Kids are a lot of upkeep!! Tv can be good too, but another one of those things that requires balance. shoot, give a kid a waterhose and some buckets they can play in the mud for half the day (just watch the water usage). we also use the hose and play "wash off outside toys" once in a while and go through cleaning the outside toy stuff. Rope swing. Gone through numerous swing sets. Trips to park, beach anywhere. All about balance.
Not every parent has this kind of time either, life is hectic, which is understood. kids are a LOT of work.
jmo


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## CCericola (May 19, 2014)

There is plenty of room for outdoor activities and technology. Anyway. We upgraded my daughter's ipad with a data plan so she can stream movies anytime. Works great on long trips and rainy days. Now I also recommend the Kindle fire. My husband got one and it holds a much better charge than the iPad.


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