Which Tablet is Best for Your Child?
/A recent comment on an prior post posed the question about what tablet is best for children. Having four children, two small children that live with me and two older children who are with me on a part-time basis, I have given this a great deal of thought. The pros and cons differ with each tablet and the ecosystem that it represents. However, the most important feature with any device a parent hands to a child is the maker's implementation of parental controls, how easy they are to set up, and the granularity of control they give the parent.
“Little people like picture books and often lack the fine motor control to hit small targets represented on small screens. ”
One very important thing to note when considering a tablet for young children is screen size. Typically smaller screens equate to less expensive prices and many of us are immediately drawn to little devices for little people. But one must stop and consider the use of the device by little people. Little people like picture books and often lack the fine motor control to hit small targets represented on small screens. Know thy child; motor control obviously gets better with age. Make sure to take this into consideration when looking at the plethora of options. Back to picture books, most children's' books today are exact representations of a physical book. So if the book has large pictures or illustrations with a few lines of text, that text becomes difficult, often extremely difficult, for the reader to read while the child takes in the picture/illustration. One way publishers have tried to aid the reader is to allow the text to be tapped to bring up the text in a box to make it easier for the reader to read. This 'solution' has the reverse affect on the child trying to take in the picture or illustration because that text box is now covering it. Many applications developed for young users are developed and then scaled to fill the screen of whatever device they are on. This can make apps that have been scaled down (i.e. to fit a seven inch screen) frustrating for young children due to their lack of fine motor control, causing them to touch unintended targets and get unintended results.
In my opinion the Google Nexus 7 is a great device starting at $229, for adults. However, this is not a device that I can recommend from a parental control stand point. Google has made strides forward with their implementation when starting from having none to now having some. There are third party solutions, but these bring their own sets of features and issues. All in all, Android is still lacking compared to what is offered by the Kindle Fire and Apple's iOS platforms. As mention above, the 7" screen size is limiting for young children especially for picture books.
The Kindle Fire HD (7" for $139 & 8.9" for $229 ) and new HDX (7" for $229 & 8.9" for $379) are great consumption devices. The HDX models offer an improved screen resolution, processor speed, and weight. The HDX also added an improved email client, basic office applications, and Skype is now baked in giving it some potential beyond a consumption device. The Fire OS (built on a forked version of Android) does have parental controls. They are not as granular as I would prefer but instead have opted for rudimentary simplicity. They give the parent the option to turn off access to movies meaning all movies not just those below a certain rating. It allows the parent to pick and choose which apps the child has access too such as Skype which seems like a good thing to limit. However, if Skype is turned off the child is not allowed to talk to Grandma just like others you do not want your child to talk to. On the flip-side, Amazon has developed a special application for its Kindle Fire line: Kindle FreeTime designed for children ages 3 to 8. Kindle FreeTime is a fully limited, walled off area for kids. A parent can set up child accounts that allow for personalization and access to a library of age appropriate content (books, games, and videos). It allows the parent to set time limits and the ability to set up multiple accounts for multiple children. FreeTime has a monthly fee based on the number of children using it, but children are able to explore a library of books, games, and videos that the parent is not having to pay for individually. So if a child spends only a few minutes in a game then leaves, it isn't money wasted. For a young child I would recommend the more expensive 8.9 inch model, but if the child is beyond picture books the 7 inch model should work great.
Now for Apple's iOS devices. iOS has great built in parental controls. They are not as quick to setup as what is offered on the Kindle Fire, but offer much more granular control. Such as with FaceTime, a parent can allow children to call or receive calls from select people in the address book but not just anyone. Videos can be limited by (a) what the parent chooses to put on the device and (b) content rating above a certain level such G or better. The content ratings also apply to games and other forms of content as well. Parental controls combined with iOS accessibility controls can be combined to address needs for those with special needs. The biggest draw back to parental controls in iOS is turning them on and off. Once on, it is difficult for an adult to share a device with a child. The device essentially becomes a single user device. Whereas an app based walled garden, such as Kindle FreeTime, allows the easy sharing of a device between children and adults. In addition to granular parental controls, part of the attractiveness of iOS is the sheer number of apps that have been developed for it and for each device. Plus the vast majority of apps on iOS designed for the specific device's screen size are not simply scaled to fit. For older children, Apple has included apps such as Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie and iPhoto to provide a great jumping off point to explore media production.
Apple's iOS device line up currently include: 4" iPod touch, 8" iPad mini, 8" iPad mini 2 (retina), 9.7” iPad 2 (non-retina), and a 9.7" iPad Air. The following is a best use break down:
- 4" iPod Touch ($229) - Easily pocketable by older children, great on the go game play, cramped for reading long text, and the 32GB ($299) and 64GB ($399) models have decent camera and video camera for creatives. Note that iPod Touch, iPad mini and iPad 2 are using an aging A5 processor, newer devices are based on a much more powerful A7 processor with a motion coprocessor.
- 8" iPad mini ($299) - I do not recommend because of the comparatively low screen resolution which is not great for reading long text, but good for game play and long battery life. Other than having a cheaper alternative to the iPad mini 2, there is not a compelling reason to buy this non-retina device.
- 8" iPad mini 2 (retina) ($399) - Great for older children: excellent light weight reader, excellent game play, and decent for creatives and content production.
- 9.7" iPad 2 ($399) - Don't bother. It does not make much sense why Apple brought this back to the market. If buying new, it is well worth a few more dollars for the iPad Air. If open to used, one can easily find a iPad 3rd or iPad 4th generation for less and get a much better screen.
- 9.7" iPad Air ($499) - Excellent for all ages, particularly for young children (picture books and apps). Great reader, great for fixed content such as magazines, great for creatives and content production, great for game play, but not as pocketable as other iOS options.
“Being a parent with two sets of children, a young pair that live with me and an older pair that are with me part-time there is another lens through which to consider devices.”
Being a parent with two sets of children, a young pair that live with me and an older pair that are with me part-time there is another lens through which to consider devices. For the older pair (ages 13 & 11), autonomy is important. I am not there to oversee their use and it is up to another parent to occasionally allow the purchase of new content. Also, the ability to add content remotely is of great benefit. For these reasons Apple's iOS devices are by far the devices of choice. iOS gives the granularity of parental controls that allow us to FaceTime with each other and other family members without the fear of them chatting with unknown individuals. If needed, I or they can add others to the address book for them to text or FaceTime with and it can be done through the address book remotely. I can fund an iTunes account with gift cards which make it easy for them buy and get content (with parental approval of course). It can be set up so that if I purchase an app, book, or other on their account that it will automatically show on their device. They can also share photos and videos with me easily through the builtin apps and Apples iCloud service. I considered many other devices, but none could replicate the security and elegance provided by the Apple ecosystem. For the younger children, the full size 9.7" iPad works great for picture books and apps designed for the under 4 crowd.
For children in the same household (ages 3-8), Amazon Kindle Fire HD or HDX are good choices. Especially with Kindle FreeTime built-in. For younger children who are into picture books, the 8.9 inch version would be my choice. We found picture books on 7 inch to be frustrating. Also, the rear camera is only included on the 8.9" HDX version.
Nexus 7 good for adults, but parental controls are not mature enough to recommend for children. There are third party solutions, but these often are not full featured nor as robust as Kindle FreeTime.
Ranked Appropriateness Breakdown with Cost:
- Apple iPad Air (9.7" retina), $499 - recommended for all ages
- Apple iPad Mini 2 retina (8"), $399- recommended for ages 5 and up
- Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9", $379 - recommended for all ages but especially children ages 3 to 8 in the same household
- Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7", $229 - recommended primarily for ages 6 to 8 in the same household and up
- Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9", $229 - appropriate for ages 3 to 8 but good for all ages, aging chipset
- Apple iPod Touch 32GB (4"), $229 - aging chip set, but appropriate for ages 8 and up, decent camera
- Apple iPad Mini (8"), $299 - not recommended, comparatively low screen resolution and aging chipset, appropriate for ages 6 and up
- Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7", $139 - appropriate for ages 6 to 8, aging chipset
- Google Nexus 7, $229 - not recommended for children, but good for adults
- Apple iPod Touch (4"), $229 - not recommended, aging chipset, no rear camera
- Apple iPad 2 (9.7"), $399 - not recommended, aging chipset, low screen resolution
Parental / Educational Note:
Tablets are terrific for children when used for their benefit and not solely for their pacification. Tablets can serve as a double edge sword. Parental controls provide the option for time limits and other controls that make it easier to enforce certain guidelines, but parents must to be intentional about the content and apps that go onto the device.
There are numerous studies on the TV/video consumption and its effect on cognitive development in all ages of children and the need to limit exposure. The passive absorption of video is the mindless absorption of video no matter what the screen or device used to display it. Saying this, I do let my 3 year-old watch kid videos on certain occasions such as a long plane ride (or when standing in line to purchase the next Apple device), but I also remove the video or video app such as PBS Kids from her iPad when we get home. There is terrific children's video programing available both educational and entertaining, but in the end it is of limited benefit to her cognitive and intellectual development. Interactivity and engagement make a tremendous difference in development. There are a lot of wonderful educational interactive apps for non-readers, learning the alphabet, music, art, etc... Yet the parent still needs to be actively involved in what the child is doing and learning.
“For school age children: use a tablet to encourage reading.”
For school age children: use a tablet to encourage reading. Children in K through 3rd grade are learning to read and from 4rd grade on are reading to learn. This is the time in a child's academic life that will have lasting effects through out their schooling years and will have effects for the rest of their life. Numerous apps are available to aid in learning this vital skill. Plus, entire libraries are available for you and your child to explore.
In addition to reading, there are numerous apps for almost any subject matter. My eleven year old loves a math game. He essentially loves playing the game and learning / mastering math concepts is a by-product of play.
Whichever tablet is chosen and used, remember that the most important component is you: the parent. Be involved and use a tablet to benefit your child.
