thundersweet Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Both of my children are asking for tablets from Santa. What??? Or if not a tablet, at least an iPod Touch. My 10 year old in particular would like a Kindle Fire or Nook. I am not sure this is a good idea. What about Internet safety? Do these things have any type of parental controls? Not so much worried about them purchasing music or books as much as I am concerned about what their little eyes may come across. My 10 year old came upon so bad content on YouTube. She is nt allowed on YouTube anymore. Do your kids have e readers or iPods? I am thinking my kids are too young. I would love for them to have something for music and audiobooks but not sure what to do. I did purchase them some little cheap mp3 players and I can't even download audiobooks to it from audible.com. They do like them for the music. But, they are super cheap. I am willing to replace them but with what?? Thanks, Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker Martin Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I don't think I'd be willing to give kids that age personal devices that connect to the Internet. However, I would consider a dedicated MP3 player like a Sansa or regular iPod. I would also consider a Kindle Touch. The regular Kindle has a web browser, but it's not one I can see someone using apart from necessity. Pretty clunky, something I consider a feature not a bug. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 My dd9 has taken over my I-pad. I want it back. My Christmas present will be to get dd9 her own tablet-- the Kindle Fire seems to have what dd uses my I-pad for and I like the price (compared to another I-pad. DD has never openly 'roamed' the internet. She is good about checking with DH or me (or her college-aged sisters) before she goes to a new site or watches a YouTube video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Probably an iPod Touch. My 4 and 7 year old's have had theirs for about 2 years now. They are more portable than a tablet. When heading out the door, I toss the kids Touches into my bag. Plus, I feel like they are more protected. I have a heavy duty silicone case that my kids Touches are in and they have been dropped numerous times and have never broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 With either an iPad or an iPod Touch kids can take pictures and movies & edit them right then & there pretty simply. I am certain that, and some of the quirky, fun apps they've seen relatives using, is what is drawing my boys to these devices. I still can't decide which I'm getting, but it will be something with a camera and iMovie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleWMN Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 DD10 is getting an itouch from her grandparents for Christmas. I've opened it to load on some apps and set the parental controls. For instance, I turned off the ability to watch YouTube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Yes. My 9 y.o. has an ipod touch, and my little boys regularly use it as well as our Nook Color and ipad. They all are very specific about what they want to play/read and don't try and go on the internet~doing that would interfere with the time they are allotted, so they wouldn't waste the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 both my 3 yrs old and 7 years old has one inherited from their Dad's cell phone and old ipod. My 3 years using it a lot playing the app. I think it is much cheaper compare to leapster those type thing if you consider the game costs. For my 7 years old. I also feel the apps he play are a lot cheaper than DSi. so I will say yes to ipod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 If I had the money, I'd buy the girls a Kindle Fire to share. They would never be using it unsupervised anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Would you buy a tablet or iPod touch for a 7 and 10 year olds?Yes, we would, since we did. We bought our 7 and 9 yos iPads for Christmas.Both of my children are asking for tablets from Santa. What??? Or if not a tablet, at least an iPod Touch. My 10 year old in particular would like a Kindle Fire or Nook. I am not sure this is a good idea. What about Internet safety? Do these things have any type of parental controls?iPads and iPod Touch have parental controls. For instance, you can turn off the web browser and the ability to use apps beyond certain age ratings and you can prevent any purchases. With a Kindle Fire, you have no parental controls that I can find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 no. I wouldn't buy them for a 16 yo either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Yes! I ordered the Kindle Fire for my kids, but after reading reviews and chatting with the Amazon people I returned them. They have very littlemin the way of parental controls. My kids will be getting iPod touches instead. They are very much like iPads, and I can turn off youtube, the internet, app purchasing, and basically make it self contained. The system controls are password protected, so as long as they do not have the password, they cannot get into trouble. The touch only has wifi too with no option to get 3G, and I like that. Our wifi is off most of the time, so even with a password it would be hard to get online. My kids are 6-11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 DS5 and DS8 will get an iPod touch for this Christmas. Love all of the educational Apps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Queen Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 No iPods We are having more than enough screen time already. My kids go on Starfall.com and watch a cartoon movie daily. That is about 2 hours a day of screen time. That's 14 hours a week. That is an entire day a week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 No. They do not need to have another method for screentime at their fingertips at that age (jmho). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 No. Why? Too young to have internet access; very expensive; easily breakable; will be outdated before they can make full use of it; young kids won't appreciate it; internet connection; sets unrealistic expectations (for our family) about gifts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelbe5 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 We all have iPod Touches and my dh has an iPhone. There are many educational apps that may be downloaded, some free, some pay for. My children have music and audiobooks on their devices. The children have 2nd generation Touches which do not have a camera. Mine does, as does my husband's iPhone. We purchased refurbished devices for the kids from Apple. There are parental controls which will give you peace of mind regarding the Internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Queen Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 In real life, I have seen parents let their children get electronics. The children used them very often and cut back on talking, listening, noticing their surroundings, going places, sleeping etc. The moms enjoyed having quiet children who didn't make any messes. Still, the moms felt guilty because they knew it wasn't best for their children. They tried to limit screen time, but it was hard to enforce, especially for portable devices. The moms didn't have the backbone to take away the electronics. I know we, as a society, are excited about screens, but I hope this is just a faze and we tone it down in the future. I can't go in a waiting room, lobby or restaurant without watching TV, now. They even have them in some stores at the check out lines. Whether it is news, or a movie, it is often not appropriate for little kids and I don't like my little ones watching it. Notice how many people watch it. Most do. The ones that don't are probably playing on their cell phones. My daughter is in an after-school program to learn to dance. I enrolled her for the dance instruction, and also hoping she would socialize with the other kids. When the kids wait for class they have a PG-13 movie playing for them and my daughter told me a 5 year old has a fancier cell phone than I do. What in the world? So, no. No screens to add on top of all the other screens. My kids can't have cell phones, video game systems, lap tops, nor any similar things. We all share the desk top. Maybe I will allow an e-reader for reading classic books, but only if it can't be used to surf the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 If I could afford itouches, I would get one for all three of my littles. I have been very impressed with the itouches and the iPad. I like how you can put games on them without cartridges. I like that you can use any book reader. I like you can put movies on them. But I do wish Apple would come out with a device that was the size of a Nook. It would be more portable. I like the itouches, but they are not good for reading. I like the iPad, but the are not easily portable for dc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel in FL Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Yes, my 5yo has an ipod touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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