Kindle Fire for Kids= Overkill?

[Paige]

I'm thinking of getting my kids a kindle fire for Christmas. I want it for a reader instead of the other one because it has color. These kids are spoiled. They already have an ipod touch that they love. They use it for games, videos in the car, e-mail, and as a camera. I try not to let them on it during the day. They don't read on it because the screen is small and it's annoying. Would a Kindle Fire be too much if they already have an ipod touch? I'd like them to use it for reading (they don't really like reading and I'm trying to encourage it), I like all the free and cheap books you can get with it and how easy it is. I have a regular kindle and love it even though I have an iphone. I also think maybe they can get a stylus and use it to do some of their school work instead of our regular computer. Does anyone know if Dreambox works on it?

 

If your children have a kindle fire do they love it? How old do you think the minimum age for them to actually use it would be?

[laf919]

I can't speak to the Kindle Fire, but we got my now 9 year old daughter a kindle for Christmas last year. She loves to read anyway, but really loves her Kindle. It has been a very worthwhile investment here. I do think that many kids are attracted to the technology and while we might want them to fall in love with reading an actual hardcover book, reading is what is really important. So, if it helps them read more, might be worth it.

[JudoMom]

We got each of the boys a Kindle Fire last year for Christmas. They are used daily for reading, apps, checking email, etc. My youngest had just turned 6 last Christmas when he got his.

[Farrar]

Depends on your meaning of too much. It's obviously not a necessity. No device is, and they already have an amusement device for trips and so forth. But it's a useful tool and many kids have multiple devices these days (my two share a fire, a ds and an old iPod touch) and if you can afford it, then I don't think it's too much. This is our world now and kids have to learn the practice of using these complex tools/entertainments in moderation and responsibly - though how you do that many vary from how approach it.

[Mandamom]

I can't speak to the Kindle Fire, but we got my now 9 year old daughter a kindle for Christmas last year. She loves to read anyway, but really loves her Kindle. It has been a very worthwhile investment here. I do think that many kids are attracted to the technology and while we might want them to fall in love with reading an actual hardcover book, reading is what is really important. So, if it helps them read more, might be worth it.

 

Are there a lot of kindle books for kids (7th grade reading level)?

 

thanks,

[Paige]

Are there a lot of kindle books for kids (7th grade reading level)?

 

thanks,

 

Yes! Just about any paper book can be purchased for the kindle now and almost all of the old classics are free.

 

By too much or overkill, I guess I was thinking too redundant? I wouldn't want to replace the ipod touches with the kindle because I want to get use and our money's worth out of both of them. I would want them both to be useful for different things and I can't tell if it is really different enough that it wouldn't just be a flashy bigger ipod touch. With my kindle, it's just for reading because I vastly prefer the e-ink. the kindle fire doesn't have e-ink (right?) so how is it better or different other than size?

[chiguirre]

 

With my kindle, it's just for reading because I vastly prefer the e-ink. the kindle fire doesn't have e-ink (right?) so how is it better or different other than size?

 

The Fire is a tablet, so you can access the internet, download apps, watch videos and read on it. It's not as good as an e-ink Kindle for reading because it's backlit. If you only want them to read on it, get a regular Kindle reader and skip the Fire. If you want to get a small, well-designed tablet for cheap, get the Fire. I have both for me and love them both, but they've got different uses.

[Farrar]

 

Yes! Just about any paper book can be purchased for the kindle now and almost all of the old classics are free.

 

 

 

Actually, no, it's just not true that just about any paper book can be bought for Kindle. The number of children's books that are out in ebook has been somewhat disappointing to me. It's improving - and quickly. I made this list of books that I was foiled in getting for Kindle before a monthlong trip less than a year ago. In the months since then, more than half of the books I listed issued Kindle editions and others, such as Ella Enchanted, are scheduled to come out soon. But some of them - for example, Homer Price and Pippi Longstocking, still aren't as far as I know.

 

This is not meant to be an argument against the Kindle or ereaders - within the next five years, I'm sure it will be just about any book. And as of now, it's any new book, many older books and just about any pre-1914 book you would actually want for free (because of copyright laws). So it's still worth it - even if there are still a number of great books not available in Kindle editions.

[Corraleno]

My 10 yo has a Kindle Fire HD and an old iPod nano. The iPod just has music, so she uses the Kindle for reading, audiobooks, apps, and watching videos. I set up her account so she doesn't have internet access, and she only has 30 minutes/day of app time, but reading & audiobooks are unlimited. One of the nice things about the Fire HD is that some books have linked Kindle & audiobooks, so you can listen to the audio while the text is highlighted on the screen.

 

Jackie

[LMD]

 

The Fire is a tablet, so you can access the internet, download apps, watch videos and read on it. It's not as good as an e-ink Kindle for reading because it's backlit. If you only want them to read on it, get a regular Kindle reader and skip the Fire. If you want to get a small, well-designed tablet for cheap, get the Fire. I have both for me and love them both, but they've got different uses.

 

 

It was important to me to get the e-ink, I don't want my kid's eyes strained from too much back light. I also preferred that they not be able to have open access to the internet, yes they can turn on the wifi and go to the amazon store (though they're not allowed to) but they can't surf, it's strictly for reading. The black and white only did bother me a little, I'll admit, especially when I'm looking at books for new readers, however it hasn't bothered my children. My MIL just bought my older two a kindle touch for christmas each, they're thrilled.

[MeaganS]

 

Actually, no, it's just not true that just about any paper book can be bought for Kindle. The number of children's books that are out in ebook has been somewhat disappointing to me. It's improving - and quickly. I made this list of books that I was foiled in getting for Kindle before a monthlong trip less than a year ago. In the months since then, more than half of the books I listed issued Kindle editions and others, such as Ella Enchanted, are scheduled to come out soon. But some of them - for example, Homer Price and Pippi Longstocking, still aren't as far as I know.

 

This is not meant to be an argument against the Kindle or ereaders - within the next five years, I'm sure it will be just about any book. And as of now, it's any new book, many older books and just about any pre-1914 book you would actually want for free (because of copyright laws). So it's still worth it - even if there are still a number of great books not available in Kindle editions.

 

Ella Enchanted is on Amazon listed as available for $4.99, just so you know. :)

[blondeviolin]

If you want to encourage reading, I'd aim for a regular e-ink kindle. The lure of apps, video and Internet on the fire might not encourage much reading.

 

FWIW, both my older two kids LOVE to use my kindle touch. My 5yo is an emergent reader. The 6yo is fluent. They both find books that they enjoy on there. (And my 5yo doesn't care that the pictures are black and white. It's novel enough that he's reading ON A DEVICE!)

[AdventureMoms]

If you want to encourage reading, I'd aim for a regular e-ink kindle. The lure of apps, video and Internet on the fire might not encourage much reading.

 

FWIW, both my older two kids LOVE to use my kindle touch. My 5yo is an emergent reader. The 6yo is fluent. They both find books that they enjoy on there. (And my 5yo doesn't care that the pictures are black and white. It's novel enough that he's reading ON A DEVICE!)

 

My 4yo (pre-reader) and 2yo's love to look at books on the regular e-ink kindle. If the primary purpose of the device is for reading, I'd get that. The fire doesn't have e-ink and does have a lot of other fancy stuff - games, internet, etc - that seem distracting. My sitter has a fire, and when the kids see hers, they want to play games. When they see mine (e-ink) they want to read a book. None of them care about the pics in b&w. We still do regular picture books,, of course, but it's nice to have the kindle in my diaper bag when we get stuck somewhere or have to wait for an appointment or something - I can pull it out and have a whole stack of books for reading.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I did get a kindle fire hd for ds over the paperwhite since the kindle fire hd has the "immersion" capability where one can listen to audiobook at same time as e-book. This I think would be great for classic books like "The Hobbit." I am interested in the paperwhite but it will not let you listen to audiobooks so we chose the kindle fire hd.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

If you want to encourage reading, I'd aim for a regular e-ink kindle. The lure of apps, video and Internet on the fire might not encourage much reading.

 

FWIW, both my older two kids LOVE to use my kindle touch. My 5yo is an emergent reader. The 6yo is fluent. They both find books that they enjoy on there. (And my 5yo doesn't care that the pictures are black and white. It's novel enough that he's reading ON A DEVICE!)

 

 

Apparently with the KIndle fire, there are parental controls to limit game time and internet:)

[Farrar]

 

Ella Enchanted is on Amazon listed as available for $4.99, just so you know. :)

 

Yeah, I looked. It's not out yet - but we went ahead and read it earlier, just not on our trip and I actually owned it in paperback already. Actually, though, I should amend my comment - it's still less than half of the books that I was looking for at that time that are out for Kindle as yet (or coming out in a couple weeks like Ella Enchanted). You still can't get any Moomintroll books on Kindle. So sad.

[Hunter]

The Kindle Fire is surprisingly heavy, making it harder to hold.

 

Some people believe tablets to be show off devices and there are some places where some of us are reluctant to display them.

 

Downloads require a hotspot or computer hook up.

 

Now that I have a nice cell phone, I wish I had a regular kindle, instead of the Fire. I got the Fire before my cell phone as it was light enough to take to a hotspot, even if I had to walk a long way, and run a bunch or errands on foot. Now it's redundant though, and heavy and has low battery life and strains my eyes.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

The Kindle Fire is surprisingly heavy, making it harder to hold.

 

Some people believe tablets to be show off devices and there are some places where some of us are reluctant to display them.

 

Downloads require a hotspot or computer hook up.

 

Now that I have a nice cell phone, I wish I had a regular kindle, instead of the Fire. I got the Fire before my cell phone as it was light enough to take to a hotspot, even if I had to walk a long way, and run a bunch or errands on foot. Now it's redundant though, and heavy and has low battery life and strains my eyes.

 

Do you have the new 7" Kindle Fire HD? That is very light in comparison to our larger 10" tablet.

[vonfirmath]

 

Yes! Just about any paper book can be purchased for the kindle now and almost all of the old classics are free.

 

By too much or overkill, I guess I was thinking too redundant? I wouldn't want to replace the ipod touches with the kindle because I want to get use and our money's worth out of both of them. I would want them both to be useful for different things and I can't tell if it is really different enough that it wouldn't just be a flashy bigger ipod touch. With my kindle, it's just for reading because I vastly prefer the e-ink. the kindle fire doesn't have e-ink (right?) so how is it better or different other than size?

 

I don't have a Kindle fire, but I do have the now-$69 Kindle. And an ipod Touch. I think they BOTH get their money's worth even though I no longer read Kindle books on the Touch now that I have my Kindle. its just SO much easier to read on the Kindle.

 

(I originally wanted to get a Fire because of the color aspect but I couldn't afford it. So I figured I'd do the $79 and see how much it got used. and I was amazed to discover the quality of the black and white images on the Kindle -- my son still enjoys reading picture books, both with me nad on his own, on the Kindle even though they are not in color! It's unique and special.)

 

My ipod Touch gets used for email, calendar, shopping lists, addresses, games, and reading forums.

[Mommee & Baba]

We just purchased all three of our kids Kindle Fire's for Christmas. I know they all will LOVE them as they are ALWAYS and FOREVER asking to play games on my iPad. I'm just tired of sharing...as awful as that sounds!! So dh & I spoke about maybe handheld gaming sytems for our 2 gamers, but that left our oldest dd out of that category since she likes to draw and read, but not big into games that aren't educational. We've decided on the Kindle Fire for each of them as they can read from them, play games, educational use, netflix, listen to music, & skype their cousins. I find this to be very useful in our home.

 

My children are almost 4, 7.5, & 9. They are all well aware of how to handle an iPad and know the rules of usage as well as caring for a tablet so I didn't hesistate to think they could handle a Fire.

 

It was the best use of $477 and the kids haven't a CLUE they are getting their own tablet each!! :hurray: Thanks to my mother-in-law!

[Hunter]

 

Do you have the new 7" Kindle Fire HD? That is very light in comparison to our larger 10" tablet.

 

 

I have a 1st generation 7". It's lighter than an iPad, but heavier than a regular kindle. I don't know, but I expect an iPad to be heavy, but everyone that picks up my Kindle Fire is surprised how heavy it is compared to how it looks, and compared to a regular Kindle.

[SevenDaisies]

 

 

The Fire is a tablet, so you can access the internet, download apps, watch videos and read on it. It's not as good as an e-ink Kindle for reading because it's backlit. If you only want them to read on it, get a regular Kindle reader and skip the Fire. If you want to get a small, well-designed tablet for cheap, get the Fire. I have both for me and love them both, but they've got different uses.

 

I agree. If it is just for reading, get the e-ink. I use my tablet for surfing and reading PDFs. I use my e-ink kindle for reading books.

[SevenDaisies]

I did get a kindle fire hd for ds over the paperwhite since the kindle fire hd has the "immersion" capability where one can listen to audiobook at same time as e-book. This I think would be great for classic books like "The Hobbit." I am interested in the paperwhite but it will not let you listen to audiobooks so we chose the kindle fire hd.

 

 

This was one of the most disappointing aspects of the paperwhite, especially for those who had this feature on previous kindles. This was the reason I kept my kindle keyboard, and gave the paperwhite to dd. I am hoping the next version of the paperwhite has audio. I still love the e-ink for reading books.

[Plateau Mama]

When considering Kindles last year a I talked to a friend who's boys had gotten them. I asked if they used them. He told me this "they have read more than ever and things they would have never read before, but the thing I love about it is all they can do is read. They can't play games, surf th web etc."

 

My MIL wanted to get my kids Fires last year and I told her no. I got them each a Kindle Touch and they love them. It pushed my 10 yo to read big books that he wouldn't have touched before simply because he thought they were too long.

 

My kids each have a touch (purchased by grandma instead of the Fire) and use those all the time. They also use their Kmdles daily. I still feel with the fire (especially for my boy) it would have been a gaming device and not a reading device.

[stripe]

\

My MIL wanted to get my kids Fires last year and I told her no. I got them each a Kindle Touch and they love them. It pushed my 10 yo to read big books that he wouldn't have touched before simply because he thought they were too long.

They are definitely nice to address two problems with physical books: the font size (too small) and a heavy/awkward book.

[LMD]

When considering Kindles last year a I talked to a friend who's boys had gotten them. I asked if they used them. He told me this "they have read more than ever and things they would have never read before, but the thing I love about it is all they can do is read. They can't play games, surf th web etc."

 

My MIL wanted to get my kids Fires last year and I told her no. I got them each a Kindle Touch and they love them. It pushed my 10 yo to read big books that he wouldn't have touched before simply because he thought they were too long.

 

My kids each have a touch (purchased by grandma instead of the Fire) and use those all the time. They also use their Kmdles daily. I still feel with the fire (especially for my boy) it would have been a gaming device and not a reading device.

 

I agree with you. It would be far too tempting to just play a quick game before reading, they'd never get to the book (if they're anything like their mother!).

[Shawna in North CA]

The Fire is a tablet, so you can access the internet, download apps, watch videos and read on it. It's not as good as an e-ink Kindle for reading because it's backlit. If you only want them to read on it, get a regular Kindle reader and skip the Fire. If you want to get a small, well-designed tablet for cheap, get the Fire. I have both for me and love them both, but they've got different uses.

 

I agree.

 

We chose the Kindle, not the Kindle Fire, because quite honestly, I don't want my kids playing games, downloading apps, doing Facebook and email in the bedrooms (our desktop computer allows them to do that just fine in a more public location) etc. That's also why we don't have an Ipod touch, or an Ipad. Its too much for me to manage, and way, way, way to addicting for my kids. We've intentionally chosen not to bring gaming systems into our home, and the tablet is just way too close.

 

I prefer more single use devices...ipod for listening to audio books and music, Kindle for reading, a computer for doing computer stuff.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

 

I have a 1st generation 7". It's lighter than an iPad, but heavier than a regular kindle. I don't know, but I expect an iPad to be heavy, but everyone that picks up my Kindle Fire is surprised how heavy it is compared to how it looks, and compared to a regular Kindle.

 

 

If I am not mistaken the new Kindle Fire HD 7" is much lighter than the first one since we looked at both of them when each came out.

[BrookValley.]

 

The Fire is a tablet, so you can access the internet, download apps, watch videos and read on it. It's not as good as an e-ink Kindle for reading because it's backlit. If you only want them to read on it, get a regular Kindle reader and skip the Fire. If you want to get a small, well-designed tablet for cheap, get the Fire. I have both for me and love them both, but they've got different uses.

 

 

This. They are two different things, really. My husband offered to buy me a Kindle Fire for Christmas this year, but I said no thanks; I have a perfectly good Kindle keyboard. I wouldn't read on the Fire because it is backlit. I would use it as a tablet, and I don't need a tablet. I have an iPhone and we have a family laptop. I can listen to audiobooks on my Kindle or my iPhone. I can use the internet on the laptop. I can play with apps on my phone. I saw no reason for the Kindle Fire.

 

In our house we wouldn't buy that kind of thing for a kiddo, anyway, but I realize we probably view gadgetry a bit differently than most (we do very little TV, no video games, etc. Kiddo gets to use the laptop and our iPhones for stuff, but it is limited. The grandparents wanted to buy one of those tablets made for younger kids and we firmly said no. So you may want to take my opinion with a grain of salt, because there's no way I'd be considering a tablet for child in the first place).

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I agree with you. It would be far too tempting to just play a quick game before reading, they'd never get to the book (if they're anything like their mother!).

 

This is very true but we plan on locking down our kindle fire before we give it to ds :laugh: That should prevent any issues.

 

Now if they had a kindle paperwhite with the same audio quality (it has no audio) as the kindle fire hd and immersion capability, then I would definitely have chosen the paperwhite. Since we chose the kindle fire, we will lock it down ;)

[Paige]

Thanks for all the input. I am going to get them the kindle keyboard instead. It isn't as flashy but I feel better about not having to police the apps and internet with it. I think when they are older we may get them a real tablet or something that would allow normal word processing and less limits on the types of apps and programs it could use. I really wanted the kindle fire for the color but I just downloaded a bunch of free and cheap kids' books for mine and let them try it and they didn't complain about the lack of color. I can take some of the money saved with the price difference and get them something else to go with it. Part of me thinks if I wait a year amazon will come out with an e-ink color reader and I'll be kicking myself, but there will always be something new.