Tablets for kids

My kids are (almost) 7 and 8 and they're both getting Samsung tablets for Christmas. We got a crazy deal at Costco where we got them for $100, which was $40-$50 less than we'd seen them anywhere else.

My oldest is already getting homework that requires him to use my iPad to complete. We can get library books directly downloaded on them. It's crazy that this is almost a need for them at such a young age.

We'll be ordering one of those Griffin Survivor cases so they don't break them.

I'm curious what others have done for their kids with tablets. Do you use parental controls? Do you need anything beyond what they come with for that?

 

Re: I'm getting my kids tablets for Christmas and have some questions

Yeah parental controls for Netflix, but it's a pain the ass for you, because you'll have to punch in the code anytime you want to watch an R rated movie.

Also Car chargers and HDMI cables.

 

Re: I'm getting my kids tablets for Christmas and have some questions

We don't have Netflix. I'm hoping that they'll be able to watch most things through apps. They've had these cheap kiddy tablets for the last few years that served their purpose well, but didn't have apps or internet capability. We would just load content on there for them and they could play the games provided.

It was a bit of a wake-up call for my 8-year-old to come home from school with homework he could only do on the computer. I thought we were still a couple years away from that. My naievete, I guess.

 

We have struggled with this. Both of my kids (6 and 9) got tablets as a birthday present from their grandmothers. We limit tablet time so that they can't use them during the week before they do their homework and any chores. But I know that we aren't doing a great job. Both kids love looking at You Tube, so we have to watch that closely.

Both of them have homework which has to be done on the computer, and my wife uses our laptop for work, so a tablet is really a necessity.

 

My one bit of advice here: make absolutely sure you have the settings configured so they are unable to make in-app purchases. "Free" games for kids are designed to get them to spend money for extra lives, levels, etc. My youngest racked up a big bill -- $80 or so -- that we got Apple to refund. A friend's daughter spent more than $400 on one game.

 

Switch schools. Any school that requires work to be done on a tablet should be shut down immediately.

 

We already learned that one that hard way. I had a $50 iTunes gift card that had been there for awhile. I don't make a ton of purchases, so I wasn't really paying attention to it. Then, I caught my 6-year-old upgrading Minecraft. I laughed my ass off, but the settings were changed moments later.

 

Chewable