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

AlexLK

carolan78 wrote: »

My DD's written English isn't woeful thank you very much She also spends any daylight hours playing outside too.

Why are people so judgemental!

I suppose I am just rather old fashioned when it comes to technology, we still play tapes and 33's in this house. Embarrassingly, I'm not a granddad ... I'm 32! My son plays with a lot of the toys I played with and my parents before me played with as children.

Tropez

FBaby wrote: »

Haven't bothered to read the whole thread but am puzzled to how we got from Kindle to tablets. The basic reading kindle is just that, a different reading mean to a book. You get the same out of it.

In fairness tablets are in the title so it seemed reasonable they would be up for discussion too. But yes, you're right there, clearly the standard Kindle (obviously not the Kindle Fire) and a tablet are a different type of device and I agree with the rest of your post that a Kindle should not be treated in the same manner as a tablet.

I know a few people like yourself who have bought a book a second time so they could have a digital copy on a Kindle. I don't own a Kindle as I use my tablet for that function but I can't be bothered lugging books around anymore because of it

bitemebankers

Mmm. I have a fairly high-end tablet but I'm still thinking of getting a Kindle, for two reasons: battery life and screen. My tablet won't last more than a day or so of continuous use and the screen, whilst excellent for web browsing and work, is not the nicest for reading novels. OTOH, my girlfriend's Kindle is lovely to read from and the battery lasts for weeks.

Lamb86

Bit late to this thread, and it isn't a tablet and that it has been mentioned on the thread already, but I know some people considering getting their children a Raspberry Pi or even something like the FUZE case. With the National Curriculum changing (next year I think?) to include programming, they think it is important for their children to be able to learn this at home as well. I would have no idea where to start, but there is apparently lots of teaching aids etc - and the FUZE case includes specific project cards to help learning.

Think it is an interesting debate, I don't have children but when I do they will definitely not be getting a tablet each. I can imagine having a 'family' tablet, but certainly not one each. I remember going on holiday this year and seeing several families on holiday with around 10 children - every one of which had a tablet. Their breakfast consisted of the children playing games on their tablets with no interaction with each other or their parents and seemed to be the same story throughout the day...

jellyhead

hgotsparkle wrote: »

Young children though get very attached to devices as its something grown up, I've seen kids endlessly playing on their parents iphones and when its taken away, they scream and have no idea how to interact with other people. Yes this is probably the minority but why do children need technology? For homework yes, if thats what schools are doing now but they why can't that be done on the parents computer with supervision? Children should be children.

Why do the parents need the technology?

I imagine that in a family where the parents have ipads and iphones the children will think they need them too.

I know some families where even if they sit in the same room to watch a movie they are each sat there with their own device in front of them because they can't simply watch a movie, they feel a constant urge to be on facebook or playing a game at the same time. The 6 year old has his own tablet and facebook account and can barely sit through a cartoon let alone a film - his attention flicks around and he just can't concentrate.

They ignore each other at mealtimes even though they are sat at the same table - they are all glued to their screens. Then they wonder why the 2 year old has delayed speech, it's because nobody ever raises their head for long enough to speak a sentence to him. When they do talk to him there's minimal eye contact because they keep looking back at their screens.

We have lots of gadgets in our house but the use of them is limited and is supervised. I could live without them, but my husband and the boys enjoy using them. Moderation and caution are needed.

tinkerbell28

Last year 3 kids got ipad minis each. Youngest was 4. Got him into reading properly though, so whinging will fall on deaf ears.

jellyhead

Soleil_lune wrote: »

Realllllly????? I find it hard to believe that 'having a tablet' would stop a child being able to write a letter of his own name.

I think the advantages - ie; the education and fun they can get from it, outweighs any disadvantages.

I am sure he would have had the same issues: tablet or not.

I too am sure that this child would have had issues, tablet or not.

Some parents leave cbeebies on all day, while others watch it in moderation. When my eldest was growing up some kids were glued to a DS all day while others used theirs in moderation.

Or it might be that the child has always struggled and the parents thought a tablet might encourage some hand-eye coordination. Both of my children have poor fine motor skills but I have always played with them, painted, baked, etc. and had crayons, wipe-able writing practise books, etc. and no, they don't have tablets.

jellyhead

daisiegg wrote: »

Are all these screens not bad for little developing eyes?

They used to say that about television.

I think an ordinary kindle is probably okay. I have one, and even though I would rather read a real book I have to admit that the slightly grey screen is much easier on the eyes than the white of a page, so I am less likely to get tired eyes from reading a Kindle. It may help children to read more easily with a different background too - I know a lot of dyslexic children find using coloured lenses helpful. My colour blind husband finds the kindle a lot easier to read.

Personally I would find a tablet too distracting - there's too much other stuff on the screen, especially if it has adverts. The eyes have to scan and track a lot more.

I'm glad that my 8 year old prefers real books though - he enjoys reading a few chapters before lights out, but I wouldn't want him staring at a screen while he's in bed.