At what age...

[Mommyof1]

At what age did you allow your child to have an ipad (any tablet really) of their own?

[bettyandbob]

My DD got one when she bought it herself at 16.

 

At that point it wasn't about me allowing it because an almost adult in my house can work and spend the way they want (with a couple exceptions).

[EKS]

The older one didn't get one until he was in college.  The younger one got one when he was maybe 13.  He doesn't use it much because there are so many screens to choose from around here.  Ugh.

[Lanny]

DD will be 17 this month. She has a Huawei Tablet.  Your question only applies to Tablets, but she also has a Motorola Smart phone and 2 Windows computers

[MEmama]

We have a multitude of screens. DS14 has no interest or need for a private one; there would literally be no point.

 

In our family, we don't "allow" or "not allow". We just do what makes sense, KWIM?

[BarbecueMom]

I'm 34 and still don't have one, let alone the kids.

[alisoncooks]

My girls got their tablets last Christmas, at 8 and 10. They have refurbished iPad minis, and they were gifts from the grandparents.

 

However, since my girls are younger they don't have complete freedom with the devices. The iPad's stay in our living area; games/apps/websites are pre-approved; YouTube is limited to a mommy-made playlist. They do use the iPads daily but are (loosely) timed.

[wendyroo]

Peter got a kindle for his 8th birthday.  We have it locked down like Fort Knox so that all he has access to are audio books and ebooks.

 

All the kids have carefully controlled access to family-owned iPads and android tablets, but I am in no hurry for them to own their own.

 

Wendy

[Carrie12345]

"Allowed" and "own" are both fluid concepts over here.

 

When my youngest two were preschool and toddler aged, they were the primary users of a particular iPad.  We called it "theirs", but it ain't like they bought and paid for it, or that any other family members couldn't use it!  (Dh bought it for himself, gave it to me when he upgraded, and I just didn't have much use for it myself.)

 

My daughters received Kindle Fires for Christmas when they were maybe 12 and 13... ish. Could have been 11 and 12. It had gotten to be way too much for everyone to share and keep up with school stuff.

 

I can't even guess when my 19yo got his first as a gift, not from us.  He's a techno freak who does EVERYTHING digitally. I'm not sure he remembers what paper is.

[Elizabeth86]

We are getting the boys a tablet for Christmas. Ages 4 and 6. We probably shouldnt, but...whatever. Not an ipad though. Some tablet from Amazon, I dont know what it is dh knows. They dont much out of kid tablets vtech and ds leapad is broken.

[73349]

No plans. (DS is 9.) I let him use my laptop when needed.

[Arctic Bunny]

9 and 6, maybe? I wanted mine back.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

I'm not anti-device. There weren't iPads when my kids were small. We had a Pixter, and a small game boy advance that had a few Dora episode cartridges and a game or two.

 

As long as you pay attention, monitor use, and can afford it, any age is fine. Just stick to age appropriate content and guidelines.

[DawnM]

Hmmm.....let me think.  Oldest had my old ipad 2 to himself after I got the 3, so probably age 12?  Middle got one around the same age.  Youngest had one earlier, maybe 9 or 10, because we got a free one when we switched to AT&T, it is an android tablet.

 

Now the older two barely use theirs and I should just sell them.  They primarily use their phones for travel stuff outside the home and they each have their own computers in their rooms to play games and do their school work on (they are 19 and 17.)

 

Youngest just uses the desktop in the office since we need to share and he doesn't need a computer yet.

 

We don't have severe limits on screen time.  We just haven't needed to.  All boys are honor roll students, work hard, would much prefer hanging out with friends to being on the computer, etc....but they are probably on the computers more than many on this forum.  Heck, my oldest is going to work in the gaming industry.......

[SereneHome]

Well, my IL's got my 7yr old one for his bday.  Yes, there was a HUGE fight between my husband and I.  No, 7yr old is not using it most of the time.  Yes, I am still fuming over it 7 months later.

 

Unfortunately, my children are not able to self regulate, so I just got another "can I please...."  all.the.time.

 

 

[fraidycat]

When the grandparents started buying them as a gifts. I think DD was around 11 when she got hers. A couple years later DS got one - I think he was 9ish.

[historically accurate]

Oldest bought herself a Kindle Fire when she was 10 or 11 with money won from a contest. She won a Kindle Fire from the summer reading program just a couple months later; that one became a "house" owned tablet. Oldest is 15 and also owns a laptop (purchased used by her a couple of years ago), a desktop (built by her and DH just a few months ago), a Raspberry Pi (Christmas present), and just recently got a smartphone.

 

Middle just won a Kindle Fire from a different summer reading program at 12 years old. With this win, the "house" owned Kindle went to my 10 year old so they all have one now.

 

DH works in computers and occasionally brings home older tablets from work that the company is getting rid of. We have an old iPad and an Android tablet hanging around here for use by anyone. DH has an Android tablet that he bought. I have an Android tablet I won in a sweepstakes, but my brother is currently borrowing it for the use of an audiobook app. 

 

Out of all of the tablets (9ish?) here, DH bought his, and oldest dd paid for a small part of one. All others were winnings. 

[JudoMom]

The boys each got a 1st generation Fire for Christmas when they came out, so they were ages 6-12 when they got their first tablet devices.

[Pawz4me]

Tablets weren't around when ours were young. They each had their own computers at around four. At 18 and 21 they have no interest in tablets. They do everything on their laptops or phones and both say they just don't think they'd use a tablet much.

[gardenmom5]

when they could buy it themselves - or needed it for school.  (re:college.  at that point, it was a laptop)

[OrganicJen]

My 15 year old is allowed to use my devices under supervision when needed which is rare, he doesn't have access to anything that can get on the internet of his own.

[Arcadia]

My DS12 first iPad was the iPad 2 which came out in 2011, so when he was 6 years old. My DS11 first iPad was the iPad 3 also when he was 6 years old. My kids were playing with my iPod Touch when oldest was in kindergarten.

[SKL]

My kids have never had a tablet (nor have I), but they got a DS when they were 5, a cheap laptop at 9, and cheap cell phones at 10.

 

In principle I'm a "less is more" mom, and if I can't find a good reason to buy something, it doesn't get bought by me (other than a few silly things to round out the major birthday or Christmas gifts).  For the most part, while they have aunties that spoil them rotten, the aunties have left the electronics to me for the most part.  :)

 

We've just never felt a need for a tablet.  By the time it mad sense for the kids to have that much technology, it might as well have been a laptop.

 

I know tablets are used as learning tools, and I have nothing against that.  But we didn't need that.  My kids learned to read using books and (for one of them) flash cards.  Beginning math via hands-on experiences and verbal mental math (later adding workbooks).  So I have no experience with them learning on a tablet - maybe it is better, I dunno.

Edited October 2, 2017 by SKL

[nixpix5]

We have a family ipad the kids use to practice their songs for musical theater, we use the MUS app when not at home for the blocks, and we use it for audio books. It stays in our homeschool room and comes out for one of those 3 reasons. They are 6,6, and 8. I would consider getting them one if there was a good need and they were needing it for a class or something like that when not with the rest of us.

Edited October 2, 2017 by nixpix5

[DawnM]

My 15 year old is allowed to use my devices under supervision when needed which is rare, he doesn't have access to anything that can get on the internet of his own.

 

Are you against the internet for some reason?

[DawnM]

Oh, and for the record, we haven't actually purchased our own tablets.  I was given two, well, my father was, and he didn't want them.  Then we got 3 for buying new phones at AT&T.  It seemed like everytime we turned around they were handing us a free tablet.  The first two only needed to be tied to our account for 2 months each, my newest one has to be on the account for 24 months ($5/mo) but I really like having it for internet while out, so I may keep paying it.

But I haven't ever paid more than $50 for the devices themselves.

 

I HAVE paid for phones.

[rebcoola]

I think they were 8 and 6 when their grandma got them Kindle Fire's.

[thessa516]

2 years old... but in my defense, it was because his speech therapist highly recommended it. He was non-verbal but had fun making sounds with the Articulation Station app. I should mention that we didn't have an iPad before that and it became his by default. Since then my other kids have all gotten an iPad, mostly as a birthday gift around the 9 - 11 year old age. DH and I don't have iPads.

[Mom22ns]

Ds got an iPad for a graduation present. Dd never wanted one. Prior to ds getting his own, he and I shared one. 

 

I know plenty of pre-schoolers with iPads. They didn't exist when my kids were preschoolers, so we never had to make those decisions. I don't think there is a right age. Just like any other "screen" everyone has their own opinion on how much and how early they want them in their children's lives. 

[Ali in OR]

My kids got their iPods for Christmas when they were 13 and 11. My reasoning would be the same for other screens: younger than that I want to minimize screens. They could play with Daddy's iPad occasionally, but none of their own.