Tablet for a 4 year old?

Lifeforms

Look, when I was four tablets were something you kept locked in a cabinet.
It's not the same era as when I was four.
Times have moved on. Toys have too.
The kiddie-based tablets are just out there to suck the money out of parents wallets, more than the "batteries not included" that hit the few electronical ones I had as a kid.

I wouldn't say get an ipad, kids break !!!!. It will get broken, just like several threads that pop up here. But times are moving and by not giving your child a start with technology you will be damaging their future (IMO!) I find it hilarious that it seems adults who don't always get it with technology desire to stunt their children's growth with the technology they will live with, and learn from (and more often than not, with immense smugness). If I didn't have parents who embraced very early technology and allowed their very young children access to it to learn, and explore I might possibly be as stunted as others.

This doesn't mean give them free reign, access to everything, computers, gaming machines, but it does mean you need to up anything bought for them.
Kid tablets are just so out of whack that I wont even recommend them now, but be aware of giving a child an adult tablet. a) price wise; expect it to break b) access to whatever and don't come back !!!!!ing that your kid bought £800 worth of apps because of your stupidity.

I would suggest you look into the option posted above as recommended by a parent for a similar aged child, or look into something like the tesco tablet, but please use proper controls!

Little !!!!ed off with the self righteousness of in my day we ate coal because we were so poor and that was all the toys that existed, but that was only after xmas and it had appeared in my stocking. We played with a chalk board and chalk and by damned we were happy with it. That life does not exist in this era any more. quit comparing it.

debitcardmayhem

I take it that was aimed at my post , I wasn't comparing it to my day per se, it was a comment and as for

Little !!!!ed off with the self righteousness of in my day

surely that is part of parcel what I was offering, I didn't say do that , what I said was what we had , how old you are you to be so "Little !!!!ed off with...." when you have the age and the courtesy to not decry everyone's freedom to free thought and speech then come back and people maybe people will take you say seriously.

Kids are kids aren't they (you)

Edited: sorrry I was harsh so my apologies are based on the shortened quote of yours

Little !!!!ed off with the self righteousness of in my day we ate coal because we were so poor and that was all the toys that existed, but that was only after xmas and it had appeared in my stocking. We played with a chalk board and chalk and by damned we were happy with it. That life does not exist in this era any more. quit comparing it.

Ok are there any problems with over borrowing to buy these tablets, houses or anything else you may wish to borrow that you cannot really afford, OK well off topic for a 4 year old but hey they will be the next generation of sub-prime mortgagees...

spud17

@dcm :) Also thanks to the anonymous person who wrote this,

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE [FONT=&quot]1940's, 50's, 60's 70's [/FONT]

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a tin, and didn't get tested for diabetes.


Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a van - loose - was always exciting and great fun.

We drank water from the garden hose or tap and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cakes, white bread and real butter and drank cordial with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.


We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem .


We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, No video games at all, No 99 channels, No Pay TV, No cable, No DVD movies or surround sound.

It's crazy! We even had

No mobile phones, No text messaging, No personal computers, No Internet or Internet chat rooms..........

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!


We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We played with worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

Made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we didn't poke out anyone's eye.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!


Local teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all!


And YOU are one of them!


CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with your eyes shut holding a pair of scissors, doesn't it?!

PS -The BIG type is because at your age, your eyes are !!!!!!ed....

debitcardmayhem

Spud you are an a r s e h o l e

notanewuser

Lifeforms wrote: »

Look, when I was four tablets were something you kept locked in a cabinet.
It's not the same era as when I was four.
Times have moved on. Toys have too.
The kiddie-based tablets are just out there to suck the money out of parents wallets, more than the "batteries not included" that hit the few electronical ones I had as a kid.

I wouldn't say get an ipad, kids break !!!!. It will get broken, just like several threads that pop up here. But times are moving and by not giving your child a start with technology you will be damaging their future (IMO!) I find it hilarious that it seems adults who don't always get it with technology desire to stunt their children's growth with the technology they will live with, and learn from (and more often than not, with immense smugness). If I didn't have parents who embraced very early technology and allowed their very young children access to it to learn, and explore I might possibly be as stunted as others.

This doesn't mean give them free reign, access to everything, computers, gaming machines, but it does mean you need to up anything bought for them.
Kid tablets are just so out of whack that I wont even recommend them now, but be aware of giving a child an adult tablet. a) price wise; expect it to break b) access to whatever and don't come back !!!!!ing that your kid bought £800 worth of apps because of your stupidity.

I would suggest you look into the option posted above as recommended by a parent for a similar aged child, or look into something like the tesco tablet, but please use proper controls!

Little !!!!ed off with the self righteousness of in my day we ate coal because we were so poor and that was all the toys that existed, but that was only after xmas and it had appeared in my stocking. We played with a chalk board and chalk and by damned we were happy with it. That life does not exist in this era any more. quit comparing it.

Utterly untrue. DD has a chalk board, and chalks, and paints, and crayons, and stuff to cut and glue, and a play kitchen and musical instruments and and and

And she has access to my ipad. She has access to my iphone. She has lots of fun apps to play with, and she knows how to use them. Point is that it isn't HERS. I was bought for us all to use, and has been worth it's weight in gold on long car journeys, but it's not HERS.

She likes helping me cook too, but I'm not about to buy her her own set of kitchen knives!!!! :eek:

letsbehonest

If you must Get a leap pad my grandchildren have these and they are educational. Or better still a toy or a bike .

[Deleted User]

The NOOK HD 8GB is only £79.99 at Argos. It doesn't have a camera, but it's a great budget tablet. I'm tempted to buy one so there's no more arguments over the ipad.

My son has a leappad, and much prefers to play with my ipad most of the time. I'm also sick of paying £20 for a leappad game

Lifeforms

But when someone comes on here asking about them, every thread is all the same. in my day..., get him/her a etchasketch, books, crayons whatever.

They are not coming on to ask what should I get my child instead of a tablet, they are asking about tablets to buy, so comments should be kept to that. I happen to agree, the leap pads, or any kiddie tablets are just ridiculous both in use and cost wise, and I find it very un-mse to keep recommending these products that have an reasonably heavy outlay, then frequently more heavy costs to buy "games" for them.

The one off cost of a cheaper tablet, along with maybe a fiver on a few games, and there is plenty of educational stuff in that bracket as well, makes sense. I wouldn't say an ipad, or even one of the samsung, google tablets. That is silly money thrown away because it will be damaged or broken.

I understand people are worried about kids growing too fast, parents getting into debt for buying kids toys, or kids being exposed too early, but it is their future. not yours, not mine, but their future that will be shaped by being au fait with technology.

What their parents do to buy it is their own parents business. If they want to get into debt someone telling them not to do it most likely wont stop it. Thing with these forums is that you see it once, you see it all!

When should you start? who knows. I'm sure a government survey will come in saying you child will be blind and rocking in a corner if you let them have a tablet at 2 or 3 or 4, or 10, or 11. If the parents have smart phones or tablets then most kids whatever age they are will have used one, and enjoyed it. So why not get one for themselves as long as parents are fully aware of the risks with that regarding content and access to the internet. And understand that it's healthy to split activities regarding this sort of thing. Which you see a lot of parents here do, so outside, inside, tablet, gaming, talking, reading etc.

flea72

We contemplated a tablet for DD (age 5) but decided to get an ipod touch instead as is more portable and less cumbersome for her small hands (also half the price)

She plays games, does homework, sykpes her older sister whos at uni and listens to music. Weve blocked access to safari and youtube.

notanewuser

Lifeforms wrote: »

But when someone comes on here asking about them, every thread is all the same. in my day..., get him/her a etchasketch, books, crayons whatever.

They are not coming on to ask what should I get my child instead of a tablet, they are asking about tablets to buy, so comments should be kept to that. I happen to agree, the leap pads, or any kiddie tablets are just ridiculous both in use and cost wise, and I find it very un-mse to keep recommending these products that have an reasonably heavy outlay, then frequently more heavy costs to buy "games" for them.

The one off cost of a cheaper tablet, along with maybe a fiver on a few games, and there is plenty of educational stuff in that bracket as well, makes sense. I wouldn't say an ipad, or even one of the samsung, google tablets. That is silly money thrown away because it will be damaged or broken.

I understand people are worried about kids growing too fast, parents getting into debt for buying kids toys, or kids being exposed too early, but it is their future. not yours, not mine, but their future that will be shaped by being au fait with technology.

What their parents do to buy it is their own parents business. If they want to get into debt someone telling them not to do it most likely wont stop it. Thing with these forums is that you see it once, you see it all!

When should you start? who knows. I'm sure a government survey will come in saying you child will be blind and rocking in a corner if you let them have a tablet at 2 or 3 or 4, or 10, or 11. If the parents have smart phones or tablets then most kids whatever age they are will have used one, and enjoyed it. So why not get one for themselves as long as parents are fully aware of the risks with that regarding content and access to the internet. And understand that it's healthy to split activities regarding this sort of thing. Which you see a lot of parents here do, so outside, inside, tablet, gaming, talking, reading etc.

So when somebody wants to do something stupid we should all just let them without saying a word?

If a 18 year old wants to get into £50k worth of debt because they want a porsche, or somebody wants to quit work because they don't like the colour of their employer's carpets?