What age for a tablet ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s no reason for a little kid to have a tablet. It’s all for the convenience of the parents. I say this as someone who will let my 3 year old use my phone to watch shows on plane rides (we don’t have a tablet).

Do you really think it’s superior to use a phone over a tablet? The entire reason we got a tablet for travel is because of safety. Kid has no ability to see ads that may be scary or inappropriate, can’t click anything or navigate to inappropriate content or images by accident. It is idiotic to give a small child a device with internet access, even just for a few minutes.

DP but yes, it is a superior because it communicates to the child that this is a very occasional thing where they are borrowing a parent's device for a temporary use. And it's really easy to monitor a 3 yr old using a phone to watch a show on an airplane -- you are sitting right next to them. When I used to do this, the phone wouldn't even be on wifi -- we'd just connect to the plane's in flight entertainment and limit it to the kid's programming, which is very easy.

Buying a small child a dedicated tablet communicates to them that they have an entitlement to access that screen. After all, it is "theirs." I would delay that as long as possible.

Our kid's first dedicated screen was a Kindle (regular kindle, not a kindle fire, with parental locks and not connected to internet without our permission) at age 8 which she used to read books we downloaded for her at home and while traveling. And she was very proprietary about that screen. It was "hers." Which was fine because it was a perfectly appropriate screen use for that age.

Whe won't get a phone or tablet of her own until high school. She's currently 11 and we do sometimes hear about how other kids have them but mostly she is okay with our rules. We do allow her access to a WhatsApp group via one of our devices so she can participate in a text conversation with friends, but this group is monitored by almost all the parents in the group and she only has access when we give it to her. Usually the access is scheduled so that all the kids are on at once and can chat and there's a designated end time. So no reason for her to have her own device yet.

NP. We never had that problem. My kid has dedicated tablet but we just told her "this is only for travel" and that was the end of it. She uses it twice a year or so and then it goes back in the drawer. You can't monitor a kid's phone usage while driving and we don't have any other tablets so it made sense.

You can put a phone in guided access and limit it to the video you select easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s no reason for a little kid to have a tablet. It’s all for the convenience of the parents. I say this as someone who will let my 3 year old use my phone to watch shows on plane rides (we don’t have a tablet).

Do you really think it’s superior to use a phone over a tablet? The entire reason we got a tablet for travel is because of safety. Kid has no ability to see ads that may be scary or inappropriate, can’t click anything or navigate to inappropriate content or images by accident. It is idiotic to give a small child a device with internet access, even just for a few minutes.

DP but yes, it is a superior because it communicates to the child that this is a very occasional thing where they are borrowing a parent's device for a temporary use. And it's really easy to monitor a 3 yr old using a phone to watch a show on an airplane -- you are sitting right next to them. When I used to do this, the phone wouldn't even be on wifi -- we'd just connect to the plane's in flight entertainment and limit it to the kid's programming, which is very easy.

Buying a small child a dedicated tablet communicates to them that they have an entitlement to access that screen. After all, it is "theirs." I would delay that as long as possible.

Our kid's first dedicated screen was a Kindle (regular kindle, not a kindle fire, with parental locks and not connected to internet without our permission) at age 8 which she used to read books we downloaded for her at home and while traveling. And she was very proprietary about that screen. It was "hers." Which was fine because it was a perfectly appropriate screen use for that age.

Whe won't get a phone or tablet of her own until high school. She's currently 11 and we do sometimes hear about how other kids have them but mostly she is okay with our rules. We do allow her access to a WhatsApp group via one of our devices so she can participate in a text conversation with friends, but this group is monitored by almost all the parents in the group and she only has access when we give it to her. Usually the access is scheduled so that all the kids are on at once and can chat and there's a designated end time. So no reason for her to have her own device yet.

I still think this is silly. What if you also want to watch a show on the plane? Again, I don’t understand why people are so black and white about screens/tablets. Our kid’s has nothing on it except a few shows we hand picked and downloaded. No Amazon kids subscription, no games, no YouTube kids. Why would I want to hold a phone for her and watch a tiny screen on the plane when I can give her an appropriately sized, safe device while I watch my own show for 30 min on a plane? Sounds like you are just cheap and pretending there are benefits to not having a dedicated device for this activity.

Even just scrolling through movie choices or the main Amazon/Netflix Home Screen to get to children’s content often shows images of horror movies. This was what prompted us to get a tablet. Total control and safety and no danger of even seconds of exposure to scary stuff. For some reason horror movies have become so ubiquitous on all platforms, and we found this was the only way to keep kids totally safe.

DP. It’s not silly, it’s intentional. What’s silly is you can’t seem to understand why people would have different rules than you.

I also hate how these cheap and crappy tablets are marketed as kid/family items. Every prime day, Amazon is shoving them down our throats. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s no reason for a little kid to have a tablet. It’s all for the convenience of the parents. I say this as someone who will let my 3 year old use my phone to watch shows on plane rides (we don’t have a tablet).

Do you really think it’s superior to use a phone over a tablet? The entire reason we got a tablet for travel is because of safety. Kid has no ability to see ads that may be scary or inappropriate, can’t click anything or navigate to inappropriate content or images by accident. It is idiotic to give a small child a device with internet access, even just for a few minutes.

DP but yes, it is a superior because it communicates to the child that this is a very occasional thing where they are borrowing a parent's device for a temporary use. And it's really easy to monitor a 3 yr old using a phone to watch a show on an airplane -- you are sitting right next to them. When I used to do this, the phone wouldn't even be on wifi -- we'd just connect to the plane's in flight entertainment and limit it to the kid's programming, which is very easy.

Buying a small child a dedicated tablet communicates to them that they have an entitlement to access that screen. After all, it is "theirs." I would delay that as long as possible.

Our kid's first dedicated screen was a Kindle (regular kindle, not a kindle fire, with parental locks and not connected to internet without our permission) at age 8 which she used to read books we downloaded for her at home and while traveling. And she was very proprietary about that screen. It was "hers." Which was fine because it was a perfectly appropriate screen use for that age.

Whe won't get a phone or tablet of her own until high school. She's currently 11 and we do sometimes hear about how other kids have them but mostly she is okay with our rules. We do allow her access to a WhatsApp group via one of our devices so she can participate in a text conversation with friends, but this group is monitored by almost all the parents in the group and she only has access when we give it to her. Usually the access is scheduled so that all the kids are on at once and can chat and there's a designated end time. So no reason for her to have her own device yet.

I still think this is silly. What if you also want to watch a show on the plane? Again, I don’t understand why people are so black and white about screens/tablets. Our kid’s has nothing on it except a few shows we hand picked and downloaded. No Amazon kids subscription, no games, no YouTube kids. Why would I want to hold a phone for her and watch a tiny screen on the plane when I can give her an appropriately sized, safe device while I watch my own show for 30 min on a plane? Sounds like you are just cheap and pretending there are benefits to not having a dedicated device for this activity.

Even just scrolling through movie choices or the main Amazon/Netflix Home Screen to get to children’s content often shows images of horror movies. This was what prompted us to get a tablet. Total control and safety and no danger of even seconds of exposure to scary stuff. For some reason horror movies have become so ubiquitous on all platforms, and we found this was the only way to keep kids totally safe.

DP. It’s not silly, it’s intentional. What’s silly is you can’t seem to understand why people would have different rules than you.

I also hate how these cheap and crappy tablets are marketed as kid/family items. Every prime day, Amazon is shoving them down our throats. No thanks.

But their rules aren’t different from mine, that’s my point. I understand the no screens ever people. I don’t understand the people who allow TV for travel but refuse to buy a convenient, safe device for this purpose just so they can’t pretend they are on a moral high ground.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s no reason for a little kid to have a tablet. It’s all for the convenience of the parents. I say this as someone who will let my 3 year old use my phone to watch shows on plane rides (we don’t have a tablet).

Do you really think it’s superior to use a phone over a tablet? The entire reason we got a tablet for travel is because of safety. Kid has no ability to see ads that may be scary or inappropriate, can’t click anything or navigate to inappropriate content or images by accident. It is idiotic to give a small child a device with internet access, even just for a few minutes.

DP but yes, it is a superior because it communicates to the child that this is a very occasional thing where they are borrowing a parent's device for a temporary use. And it's really easy to monitor a 3 yr old using a phone to watch a show on an airplane -- you are sitting right next to them. When I used to do this, the phone wouldn't even be on wifi -- we'd just connect to the plane's in flight entertainment and limit it to the kid's programming, which is very easy.

Buying a small child a dedicated tablet communicates to them that they have an entitlement to access that screen. After all, it is "theirs." I would delay that as long as possible.

Our kid's first dedicated screen was a Kindle (regular kindle, not a kindle fire, with parental locks and not connected to internet without our permission) at age 8 which she used to read books we downloaded for her at home and while traveling. And she was very proprietary about that screen. It was "hers." Which was fine because it was a perfectly appropriate screen use for that age.

Whe won't get a phone or tablet of her own until high school. She's currently 11 and we do sometimes hear about how other kids have them but mostly she is okay with our rules. We do allow her access to a WhatsApp group via one of our devices so she can participate in a text conversation with friends, but this group is monitored by almost all the parents in the group and she only has access when we give it to her. Usually the access is scheduled so that all the kids are on at once and can chat and there's a designated end time. So no reason for her to have her own device yet.

I still think this is silly. What if you also want to watch a show on the plane? Again, I don’t understand why people are so black and white about screens/tablets. Our kid’s has nothing on it except a few shows we hand picked and downloaded. No Amazon kids subscription, no games, no YouTube kids. Why would I want to hold a phone for her and watch a tiny screen on the plane when I can give her an appropriately sized, safe device while I watch my own show for 30 min on a plane? Sounds like you are just cheap and pretending there are benefits to not having a dedicated device for this activity.

Even just scrolling through movie choices or the main Amazon/Netflix Home Screen to get to children’s content often shows images of horror movies. This was what prompted us to get a tablet. Total control and safety and no danger of even seconds of exposure to scary stuff. For some reason horror movies have become so ubiquitous on all platforms, and we found this was the only way to keep kids totally safe.

DP. It’s not silly, it’s intentional. What’s silly is you can’t seem to understand why people would have different rules than you.

I also hate how these cheap and crappy tablets are marketed as kid/family items. Every prime day, Amazon is shoving them down our throats. No thanks.

But their rules aren’t different from mine, that’s my point. I understand the no screens ever people. I don’t understand the people who allow TV for travel but refuse to buy a convenient, safe device for this purpose just so they can’t pretend they are on a moral high ground.

Yes, it does seem like the explanations on this thread do not make sense to you.

[Anonymous]

On airplane flights, we all use the seat back video screen. We put our DD's into kids mode. And no, we do not fly Spirit or whatever, so yes, there is a seat back screen. DD does not have a tablet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think tablets are that bad - 2 years old is fine. What IS bad is using a tablet while eating. You need to be mindful while eating to not overeat. Enjoy your food. Converse with the people at the table. Screen time while eating is how you get fat. It's a bad habit.

Well, then, you are an idiot. Try doing some research.

The WHO says 2 years old is fine for one hour a day of screen time. It’s a shame that you are someone’s parent or you’re just an indecent troll

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely do not get one until at least the teen years. I am an elementary school teacher. The really smart kids are from families that don’t allow technology at home. I can always tell which kids spend too much time staring at screens and which kids don’t. This is one of the most important parenting decisions you will ever make. Schools are starting to turn away from screens for elementary learning.

My pediatrician made a similar comment about being able to recognize the differences between kids who have limited access to screens and those who do not.

I want to hear more about this...

[robertrlijah1]

Great

[Anonymous]

Get an educational Leapfrog instead

[Anonymous]

We got a family one when the kids were little and used it when we needed portable emergency entertainment.

When that one got old, we got a new family one and the then 9 year old claimed the old one. She couldn't do much on it.

We inherited 2 more in recent years so the 11 and 13 year old both kind of have ones they use but they are all family tablets. Both have their own phones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On airplane flights, we all use the seat back video screen. We put our DD's into kids mode. And no, we do not fly Spirit or whatever, so yes, there is a seat back screen. DD does not have a tablet.

These are going away. Lots of planes, even on major carriers, don't have screens anymore. They just have a little bracket to hold your phone or tablet and streaming movies by wifi.

My kids got the cheap Kindle Fire tablets when they were 3 and 5 yo for a plane trip. They watch them for an hour or so on weekend mornings for cartoons and then on airplanes and very long road trips. They're really no big deal. I'd bet that lots of of the folks on here who are anti-tablets have kids who get significantly more screen time.

[Anonymous]

Definitely shouldn’t even be in this age group - as old as possible, 14?
I know schools give them out in middle school, but they have guardrails on them - just go with one of those, no need for another

[Anonymous]

At some point in elementary school once you get tired of them always using yours.

[Anonymous]

I probably won't ever get my 2.5 yo one. We'll probably go straight to a smartphone at 11/12. And that phone will just have messaging, GPS, and calling features. More access given gradually as they get older.

[Anonymous]

My kids are 8 and 11 and they share a tablet that they only use on weekends.