Runningmom80 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 And what age did they get their own? I'm having inner turmoil between the bibliophile and environmentalist in me. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petepie2 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I think my DD was 8 yrs old when she got hers. It's just a basic Kindle. My DS is going to get one next month for his 8th birthday. I love how we can get older books for free, and even for the stuff I buy, I can put it on all our kindles. This summer I'm going to have both of them read SOTW 1 on their kindles. So the book doesn't have to be shared! I also like how they can look up the definition to words easily on the kindle. ETA, I don't think 8 yrs old is the magic age for an e-reader, but both of them reached the reading level required to read the free older books around that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I bought one recently for my 9 yr old, when I realized that most of the books she needed for literature were free or really cheap, but were $5 or more in paperback. It ended up having another bonus-many of the journals she reads are in .pdf, which we can print to the Kindle. She has the $49 on sale basic one. She can also read library books on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 This is exactly why I'm contemplating it, all of the literature I have planned for next year is either free or .99 for kindle. It would save so much money in the long run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Yes. I hate clutter and I tend to read and donate books. It drives me crazy to have kids' books and I am just counting down to when I can get rid of them. Yeah. I'm kinda weird. My daughter thinks I am super weird. She prefers real books to her Kindle, but the Kindle is super convenient for school (public school). In our house, we have my Kindle, my daughter has one, and my 7 year old son has one. He started using it last summer, just after he turned 7 (it had been my older son's, but he pretty much never used it). I have a Fire as do all four of my kids. I do not read on mine, but all the kids do. We got the kids' Fires last January/February because we were going to be spending a month in Ireland. Very useful for travel. My oldest has used his Fire in school (when he was homeschooled) for immersion reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Dd1 got hers for Christmas. She was 8.5, and it's just a plain kindle. I got it during that time when they were giving $60 coupons for them, so I paid $9 for it. I got it mostly because she has worked SO hard at reading, doing vision therapy, and lots and lots of remedial learning, I felt like it would be a good encouragement for her. I still buy a lot of paper books, because I buy them second hand. It's been great for her to have when she's reading a series...I may have found the first couple at a thrift shop, and she can get the rest on her kindle as she reads them. It's been the best $9 I've spent for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 No. But note mine are teenagers. They prefer to read on their phones rather than having separate devices. If I had kids young enough to not need phones, I'd sure get them Kindles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 My kids have a kindle fire 8.9" hdx before they turn 8 and 9. They also have an ipad 2 and an ipad 3 when they were released in 2011 and 2012. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 No. They don't want one. My daughter, who reads all the time, prefers a book in hand. However, I think that I will get them one each anyway. I think she (the one who really opposes it) will love it once she has one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Mine don't yet, but my oldest probably will in the next year or two when she is reading at a level that they will be useful. I currently have a Paperwhite that I love and it will be very easy to add them to my account and share books (like the set of 10 Boxcar Children books I got for like $2 a year ago). I will be getting her a Paperwhite because of all the features (dictionary look up, built in booklight, etc.) Also Kindle FreeTime which means I can give her access only to certain books and can track exactly what she is reading and for how long. Also, I love checking out ebooks from the library a lot more than regular books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanM Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Mine got kindles when they were 13 and 11 years old. The real motivation to buy the kindles was because we were going to be traveling, and we didn't want to have to pack a huge pile of books for the trip. My younger ds (now 12) uses his pretty often, mostly for library books. We've put lots of free (older) books on the kindles, and I think it's a great resource. They prefer reading e-ink on the kindle to reading on a computer screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soapy Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Mine have iPad minis with the apps for books. My parents bought them for the kids when they were 5, which was a little too early for book purposes. They're almost 7 now and they still don't really use them for reading. Most of the time they would rather have the paper copy of the book. They're just getting to chapter books though, and I would think that would be a more appropriate age for reading one a device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 We've had Kindles for quite awhile, but e-books were not as plentiful back then as they are now. DD had a Kindle when she was 4 years, but there weren't that many books available for her back then. The library didn't have that many for us to borrow. Four years later, she reads mainly on the Kindle because we prefer large font. We still borrow books, but they are usually science books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehp Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 None. My oldest will be 7 next month and isn't reading super fluently yet. I don't envision getting kindles anytime soon, either. I love books and the feel of a book in my hand. We have the library at our fingertips and I use it!!! (So as not to collect a bunch of random books.) My dad gave me a kindle fire a few years ago; it is okay but I still prefer regular books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 My 12 year old got a Fire for her birthday/Christmas present. She doesn't have a phone, so this is her only "device." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Both of mine have a basic old kindle for reading, Kindle 2 I think. They have many free to download books on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MASHomeschooler Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Yes, mine got/get a basic one when they are able to read chapter books. Very handy for all the reasons mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Yes, they all have kindles. My oldest three got them for Christmas three years ago when the prices had come down. My boys, ages 6 and 9 share a kindle and a kindle fire locked into Freetime. I have a kindle keyboard and a paperwhite that I rotate between because the paperwhite is hard on my eyes. They became a necessity and a cost saver with so many avid readers and limited space. We already have thousands of books in the house and have no more room for pleasure books. I get physical books for anything school related because most curriculum books go through all five children (TOG especially). All the kindles are on one account so that they can share books, which is possible now that they have upgraded the parental controls. We still use the library extensively and are beginning to see more kids books available to us on overdrive through our public library. I prefer kindle because it is limited to just books. I think as soon as they are able to read fluently with some independence then they are old enough for a kindle. Here it isn't uncommon to find three or four of the kids sprawled out on the couch reading from theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmeblue Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 DD#1 just recently got my old Kindle Fire. Reason: so she can play DragonBox and coloring apps without stealing my tablet from me. ;) Also, I received a new tablet. She reads on it some, but not that often. Though she can read chapter books, picture books are more on her interest level, and the ones I've seen for Kindle often have formatting issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 My oldest got a Kindle Paperwhite when he was 8. He uses it all the time. It allows him to read at night in the van. Our libraries both have Overdrive with different lists of books, so there is plenty to read for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 We have a Kindle; it's not strictly 12yo DD's, but she's the only one who really uses it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypatia. Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 My 9 year old just took over my old Kindle 2 last weekend. Right now he's reading some Star Wars novels from the library, we'll use it for other literature too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlamom2ansnm Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 My kids have kindle readers (NOT the fire), but they honestly still prefer paper books. It's handy for library books when we don't make it to the library, and it makes it *fun* for them to read, but they still gravitate toward paper books (or dead tree books as they are referred to in the ebook world lol). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Yes. He has a bottom of the line Nook Simple Touch that I can easily replace if it gets broken. He takes very good care of it, he just isn't that into it yet. 8 would have been a better age for the shock and awe birthday present aspect of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I'm seriously thinking of buying a cheap kindle for my daughter. I've never seen anyone eat up books at the speed she does. Currently, I download books for her that are OOP and copyright free and her let read them from mine. I would set it so that I had to be on in order to access the internet. Also, I would buy the ad-free one - I was, frankly, shocked at the ads that came on my Kindle. I thought Amazon knew how to target advertising, but instead of things I would ever consider buying, I got ads for racy books and TV shows. Don't want my daughter to get those ads... Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3byzaz Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 We love our Kindles. I have a Fire HD and so do my boys (to share). My youngest listens to Odyssey on it all the time. I decided I wanted a Paperwhite once I began reading all the time...better for at baseball games and much better at night. I love it!!! I prefer the Kindle for their literature cuz they can't lose the book (had a lot of trouble with this), can't damage a library book or pay fines for them when they don't make it back in time (had even more trouble with this) and they will be available for subsequent children when they get there. My older two actually read on their laptop's though. I have had to "lock" them down with more protection than I thought...the fire's. Ugh!!! But, since then it's been fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I love my devices, BUT...I'm getting more and more FREAKED out by how it easy it is for Amazon to update my books or just delete them. I had a bunch of free and cheap Whispersync sets that just disappeared form my account. And other books just updated and changed. I've turned off automatic update, but Amazon can still override that. I bought an NIV Bible audio book and now realize that I cannot purchase a matching Kindle Bible, because all the Kindle NIV Bibles have been updated, often even when the product description still says it's the older version. Just–UGH! I really don't like how little control I have over my Kindle account. All this tech is great for library books, but not so good for curricula, and God forbid scripture memorizaton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mum2Seven Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Each of my children has a Kindle Fire HD with their textbooks on it. With 7 children, it has saved us TONS of room on the bookshelves! I love how there are lots of educational games to reinforce what they are learning. My youngest just turned 2 a few days ago, and she uses my iPad simply because it's easier for her to use than the KFHD. My youngest with her own KFHD was 4 and reading beginning readers on hers at that time, she has had hers for 2 years and it is still in great condition. My 13-year-old is harder on his than she is! Another great thing about it is that they can play a game for a little while after finishing classwork and chores... great incentive!! I do believe that, even though it requires a little more money upfront, over the past few years it has saved us a ton of money on educational materials!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I love my devices, BUT...I'm getting more and more FREAKED out by how it easy it is for Amazon to update my books or just delete them. I had a bunch of free and cheap Whispersync sets that just disappeared form my account. And other books just updated and changed. I've turned off automatic update, but Amazon can still override that. I bought an NIV Bible audio book and now realize that I cannot purchase a matching Kindle Bible, because all the Kindle NIV Bibles have been updated, often even when the product description still says it's the older version. Just–UGH! I really don't like how little control I have over my Kindle account. All this tech is great for library books, but not so good for curricula, and God forbid scripture memorizaton. Just a heads up that Nook isn't an improvement. I consider my own and my 80 year old father's eReaders to be adaptive devices because of our vision issues, but will be paying a fair price for hardware that is owned by me instead of being suckered into a "content delivery device" for advertising corporate products as soon as I can afford to. This is beyond my own technical abilities, but might help you: http://www.turnkeylinux.org/blog/kindle-root https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHoPgXb-JNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundAbout Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 And what age did they get their own? I'm having inner turmoil between the bibliophile and environmentalist in me. :laugh: I started my son reading on a Kindle when he was 6, mostly because the print size is adjustable. Most books that are at his reading level have small print and spacing, and poor formatting. His eyes would give out long before his ability (the same reason I prefer to read off a Kindle actually). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Just a heads up that Nook isn't an improvement. I consider my own and my 80 year old father's eReaders to be adaptive devices because of our vision issues, but will be paying a fair price for hardware that is owned by me instead of being suckered into a "content delivery device" for advertising corporate products as soon as I can afford to. This is beyond my own technical abilities, but might help you: http://www.turnkeylinux.org/blog/kindle-root I'm not smart enough to keep ahead of these big boys. The life of these devices is short before they break or become incompatible. Then the new ones are created to get past anything the little people have come up with. I just give up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 I love my devices, BUT...I'm getting more and more FREAKED out by how it easy it is for Amazon to update my books or just delete them. I had a bunch of free and cheap Whispersync sets that just disappeared form my account. And other books just updated and changed. I've turned off automatic update, but Amazon can still override that. I bought an NIV Bible audio book and now realize that I cannot purchase a matching Kindle Bible, because all the Kindle NIV Bibles have been updated, often even when the product description still says it's the older version. Just–UGH! I really don't like how little control I have over my Kindle account. All this tech is great for library books, but not so good for curricula, and God forbid scripture memorizaton. That is really frustrating, and I wasn't aware that happened. Definitely something to consider! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 No because we have plenty of books and a good library. We are minimalists when it comes to screens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 We are too scout, that's part of my resistance to the idea. No game systems and very little computer time. I would get the strictly e-reader one, which I'm convincing myself is better. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 No, but we have two iPads with kindle apps and other downloaded books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 No. Because I don't have one yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 My eldest started with a Nook. He was 7-8 yo. DD got one around 6-7 yo. Both still read physical books about 50% of the time, but our e readers are used heavily. I have a kindle fire and a Nook, and DH has a basic kindle. I would like to switch the kids over to kindles, as I love autodeliver and hate having to deal with cables! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warneral Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 mine each saved up for ipad minis so they have Kindle on there. It is very convenient when we are each reading the same book because I only need to purchase one copy and we can read at our own pace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Yes, my kids were 10, 9, and 7 when they got Kindles. All of them have basic kindles. I just got my dd a replacement on sale for $49, after her old kindle froze up (and the warranty had ended). My 12yo would prefer to read on her iPod, but I don't want her reading off a backlit screen, so I'm pushing her to get back into the habit of using the Kindle. My dd4 may get her own Kindle once she is a fluent reader and wants to read the kinds of books that are available for the Kindle. For now, I feel strongly that she needs the physical experience of turning pages and looking at beautiful illustrations. My reasons for getting them Kindles: -they don't take up valuable shelf space--I need those shelves for reference books, picture books, and anything that doesn't lend itself to ebook formatting -multiple people can read the same book at once -portability--we can school on the go without breaking my back -Many books are free or very cheap--I requested the boys' Kindles when we started using AO, and my spending on books was dramatically reduced. -instant gratification ;) DS has asked to buy Kindle books with his allowance and I feel like a magic genie getting those books to his Kindle in 30 seconds. -print size. younger ds likes to have huge print so he can track across lines more easily I do like paper books. A lot. But the pros of Kindles outweigh the cons for me on most books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 No, nobody here has one. Does anyone know if they are harmful to the eyes? Or could they be easier on the eyes than actual books (which are not always read in perfect lighting)? My youngest reads constantly (paper books) and it's made her nearsighted. Maybe a kindle type product would do less damage. But electronics scare me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Almost. After learning to read, our kids have to earn 1,000 points on book adventure and they can get their own library card. After that, I told my oldest if she reached 5,000 points, I told her I'd buy her a plain jane kindle. She could have had it a while ago, but she wasn't very motivated to log on to book adventure. Lol She reads on my kindle occasionally. It's good for her because she can't freak over the length of the book AND she can make the text larger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 My in-laws bought kindles for my older two children 2 christmasses ago, they were 7 and 5. They use them all the time and love them. They are just plain ones, e-ink so easy on the eyes. My DD particularly LOVES listening to audiobooks on them, and we've got a few really cheap with the amazon whispersync deals, paying $0.99 for the book then getting the audible version for $2 ish. She's listened to her favourite books literally dozens of times, titles like Alice in Wonderland, The Light Princess, Anne of Green Gables, What Katy Did, Wizard of Oz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear23 Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 My kids are 9,10 and 14 and all have their own Kindle Fires. We can travel up to 40 minutes to a place so it's nice to let them watch a movie or show during the trips. The teen uses it as her TV now. We have Netflix and Amazon Prime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I picked one up for DS when he was in 5th grade. His Kindle is basic, no longer produced, and came with the text to speech option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 No, nobody here has one. Does anyone know if they are harmful to the eyes? Or could they be easier on the eyes than actual books (which are not always read in perfect lighting)? My youngest reads constantly (paper books) and it's made her nearsighted. Maybe a kindle type product would do less damage. But electronics scare me.... It's like reading on paper. Paperwhite has lights along either the top or bottom or both (not sure, I don't have one) so you can read in low light. Regular Kindles have to have an external light just like a paper book. Fires hurt my eyes to read on them too long, but other people (most people) don't have the same issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Electronic ink is very gentle on the eyes. The font is also adjustable, which greatly reduces eye strain, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basketcase Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Nope. We have a house full of books. I love the real text and the artwork and the visceral joy of a book. I do read on the iPad occasionally, and we own a very old kindle. But they don't do it for me or my kids. In fact, I'm thrilled that my husband has just offered to make me a little free library (www.littlefreelibrary.org) so we can share our love of books with the neighborhood. I'd recommend having your kids read some things on a PC or phone or whatever you've got before buying a kindle. That way you'll know if they enjoy the electronic option. Also to be considered: Internet access. For our family, I'm strongly opposed to the kids having any Internet-enabled devices of their own for some time to come. (Oldest is 10.) Our computer and iPad are password protected and monitored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehp Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 This is a little off-topic but does anyone know if there's a way to edit or block books that you don't want to see on the kindle fire??? I have been appalled at the 'free' or lower-cost books that I can scroll through that are, well, "inappropriate" is a nice word. My children aren't going to get their hands on that device at all until I can figure out how to prevent them from getting an eyeful of some corset-bursting nonsense (or worse). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 My 11 and 9 yo got the $49 specials for Christmas. They were an unbelievable hit. I was afraid they wouldn't use them, but they use them every day, carry them along when we go out, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 We just bought a Kindle Fire for the immersion reading. We haven't used it for anything besides that yet, as we have iDevices for those purposes. I'd like to keep the Fire for reading only. Before now, DS has had a regular Kindle - which we bought because of the adjustable font size. He's working hard in vision therapy, like another poster's child, but the larger font size makes it so he can read longer without stress. The advantages I see are less paper (which isn't applicable to us, because we have loads of books here already); less space (again, doesn't apply); adjustable font size so it's easier on the eyes (that's what sold us); and if you opt for the Fire - immersion reading (which may not be needed, depending on your child's eyes/reading level). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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