What age for child to own a kindle/tablet device?

[Deleted User]

Just wondering about the above really. At what age would you think it is acceptable for a child to own a kindle/tablet/internet device?

Do children need their own or is borrowing their parent's sufficient, or do they not need to use one at all?

All opinions welcome please.

lindsaygalaxy

I don't think they need one. Our dd has one - she is 9 but it was a really cheap one so sadly isn't very good. Children are so quick with technology - just have to make sure they are supervised and filtering is on.

Tiddlywinks

It kind of depends on the child... their reading age, their ability to take care of valuable items etc.

I wouldn't really recommend sharing a Kindle between and adult and a child unless the adult content is suitable for a child... as there is always a chance that they will open up another book whilst using it.

Have a look on Amazon at the children's books available to see if you feel the range warrants the expense.

AquamarineMonkey

DS1 is 2 and a half and will most likely be getting a tablet for Christmas. He likes to play the cbeebies games online - and I'm getting fed up of sharing the laptop with him, so he's going to have something of his own he can play games on.
He knows where the toddler apps are stored on my iPhone and can unlock it, go to the right folder and select the game he wants to play all by himself, so I don't think he's too young for a tablet - he can operate modern technology better than I can!
He needs help loading up the online games from cbeebies, as he's not able to type web addresses yet, we're only just teaching him his letters, but if it's a pre downloaded app he'll probably be able to use it without assistance. I know other children who got/are getting tablets around this age.

cutestkids

My oldest is 12 and got a tablet for his birthday this year, the youngest is 8 and will be getting one for Christmas.

jackomdj

We got our eldest an iPod when she was 7, we are going to get DD2 one for Christmas. However the main reason was so she (they - dd2 used mine this year) could play games, take photos and listen to music on our trip to the south of France (12 hours each way).

I am thinking about getting DD (who is 9 this month) a kindle for Christmas. She is a bookworm. She reads really well and very quickly (like I did as a child), so a kindle would mean having more space in the house. Even if we got her a kindle we would still make sure she reads proper paper books too.

I think they are growing up in a different era to us and I want to embrace the technology available rather than keep away from it.

A good example is our younger daughter (the 6 year old) had written some stories. At the weekend she asked if she could type them on the laptop. I opened word for her and she typed them up. I showed her how to save, set up her own sub directory, told her that if the word was underlined it was spelt wrong - so she knew to check it or ask me how it was spelt, then she played around formatting it, centralising things, playing with the title functions. I had to sit on my hands a few times as I wanted to do stuff, but they are hers, from start to finish.

Erinnire

My 6 year old & 3 year old are getting tablets for Christmas. My Dad was horrified when I mentioned it... And I can see his point but they both know how to navigate my phone, the iPad and navigate cartoons/music/funny videos of cats on YouTube (fingers crossed so far we haven't ended up in 'that part of YouTube' yet)

They use computers and iPads at nursery and school. It seems pointless to buy those vetch or leapfrog things as the cartridges are so expensive.

So we've gone for some little acer tablets. They will love them, I've already started downloading games and putting music and movies on them so they are ready to go on Xmas afternoon.

flower24

Mine are 7 & 5.5 and they both have tablets. They look after them very well.

moomoomama27

My rule is not before 9 or 10! There is no need for a child under that to have one in my opinion. Plenty of time for grown up gadgets later on!!

Janepig

I'm not so worried about my two having tablets - it's tv's in their bedroom I won't let them have!!

They're 7 and 10 and they had a blackberry playbook each last Christmas. They aren't brilliant, although they've got lots of their DVD's on there to watch and they can surf the net. The range of games/apps isn't very good though.

DD had an ipod touch for her 10th birthday in April which she's more or less glued to, but I monitor what she does online and I have confiscated it on occasion. I've also got an ipad which DS in particular loves to get his hands on. They both do various out of school activities and I find the tablets and/or ipods (I've also got one) a godsend if one or other of them has to tag along to training or a competition for the other one which involves alot of sitting around.

DS also spends a bit of time on DH's computer or my laptop if he can persuade us to let him!

Neither of them know the password on my ipad and ipod so they can't spend any money, and DD hasn't got a credit card or anything linked to her account so the only time she can spend money is when she happens to have an itunes card credited in her account.

They're so clued up on computers/technology in general now that I don't think it's fair to ban them at home. Vigilance is the thing - you need to be sure you know what they're looking at and what they might be posting.

Jx

AlexLK

My son will be three in November and there is no way I would buy him a tablet / computer. If I get my way he will not be allowed one before he goes to senior school. However, I suspect my wife will let him have one at about 7 or 8 years old.