Squawky Acres Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 For Christmas, I would like to get some sort of a tablet for my children (ages 4-8) to share, but don't know very much about technology gifts for kids. I do not want them to have access to the internet, but would like them to be able to play learning games, shoot movies, take pictures, and listen to audiobooks and memory work mp3s. It would be a bonus if they could also do Minecraft, as my 7-year-old is dying to have it, but not necessary. Does anything do all of this for a reasonable price, or do I really need two devices: maybe a LeapPad for the 4-year-old's learning games and simple photo apps and a Kindle or similar for the audiobooks and Minecraft? I should add that I have an iPod and iPad that I use with them for school (for video and audio), but I feel those devices are too expensive to turn over to the kids unsupervised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 I would go with a Kindle. It will do everything you want it to. We got our kids (4 and 7 at the time) Kindle Fires last year and they still use them a lot. The year before that grandparents bought them LeapPads, (without consulting us!) and they didn't really have staying power. Plus, even though it is less expensive, all the games and stuff are $15-$20. Apps are cheap compared to that! I have an old iPad that is several years old and has been used extensively and dropped outside and on the tile floor numerous times- the key to that is a really good case. I have a Griffin Survivor. It has really protected it through a LOT! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Not leap pad!!!! Dd1 has an innotab (basically the same thing) and she has out grown most of the games at age 7 (well will be in 13 days). Dh and I plan on getting dd1 a netbook (I have a laptop that I let her use when not doing schoolwork, but so much of her practice stuff for school is online so it makes more sense just get her her own laptop/netbook we will just get some sort of Internet safety thing though she's not proficient at actual Internet use yet) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 I'd get a kindle or 2. Probably the new kindle 7s that are $50. You can get a good case to childproof it. Apps are cheaper than the games on leap pads and I think you can download the same one on 2 kindles and only pay for them once? I know you can with iOS but I would stay away from iPads. Too expensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Kindle Fire of some sort. Yes, you buy the game and it is shared in your amazon cloud with all your amazon devices. You can buy the pocket version of Minecraft for less than $10. Unfortunately, if something goes wrong with your kindle and it does a hard reboot (factory reset), your kids lose all the worlds they have built. Ask me how I know that... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 LeapPads have always been a huge hit in our house (since my 17yo was a little one! Pre-screens!) Still, we expanded into multiple other tablets because no single one meets every one of our needs. We don't currently have a working LeapPad in the house, and I'm considering one for the nearly-5yo this Christmas. All the kids rotate Kindles, iPads/Pods, laptops, etc., but I still find the Leap Pad games to have the best combination of entertainment and education for the 4-7 range. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Not a Leap Pad but a Leapster perhaps? It was by far the most used toy in our house by both our girls when they were young. Lasted many years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyMommy Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 We love our Kindle Fires. My kids got them 2 Christmases ago. We sprung for the $50 Otterbox cases and they have been completely worth it. 2 years and no problems, we don't let them abuse them, but they are kids and have gotten dropped and knocked off tables on occasion. One thing I love about the Kindle is I have an audible account, so if I buy them an audiobook from there and the accompanying Kindle book (usually discounted if you already have the audio book) the program will highlight the text as it's being read aloud to the child. They love that and I really think it helps their word recognition. I would skip the Kindle Freetime app for kids. I found I couldn't control it enough to make it worth my while. I just keep the wifi off and the tablets in airplane mode unless I'm downloading something, they couldn't get on our wifi without the (long and complicated) password so I don't worry about it to much. There are probably parental controls that can do that as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 We have both Kindle Fires and LeapPads. Once we got the Fires, the LeapPads became the toy no one wanted. My first choice would be an iPad, my second a Fire, and the final would be a LeapPad. They are fine for what they are, but I think Fires have far more versatility. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squawky Acres Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Thank you so much for the responses! It seems that the LeapPads may be good for very young children, but have a lot of limitations. I do heavily use Audible, so that is good to hear that the Kindle works well with those audio books. I have heard that for Minecraft, I should really just download it to the PC, as that version is better. I have highly-sensitive, dramatic children who would just about die if a device had to reboot and lost all the worlds they built. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 I have heard that for Minecraft, I should really just download it to the PC, as that version is better. I have highly-sensitive, dramatic children who would just about die if a device had to reboot and lost all the worlds they built. Yes. I should have realized the worlds didn't save somewhere in the "cloud," but somehow I hadn't realized before the catastrophe. I understand the PC version is better too - and I should do the same (now). I was just saying because the pocket edition has been a good way for my kids to play it a bit and learn about it. On the Kindle the time is automatically limited and it is easy to restrict, unlike a full PC. I liked that as a way to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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