Tablets, leap pads and iThings

[justbeth]

If your kid has a handheld electronic device, do they love it? How much do you let them use it? Would you recommend having one or is it more trouble than it's worth?

We are thinking of either getting Emma a leap pad kiddie type something or saving my iPhone 5 instead of trading it in when I upgrade soon. If I trade it in I get 100$ off a new phone, so it's like spending 100 on a kid tablet to keep it for her. I know we could get a leap pad cheaper, but I assume she could use my phone as an iPod longer. It will be her Christmas present, but I need to decide soon before I upgrade.

I've never looked into kid electronics so I don't even know where to start in my comparisons. Anything yall recommend or dislike? Also, if you use them is it a fight to get them to put it away? We limit screen time and turning off the tv when her time is up usually causes melt downs so I just don't know if I even want to introduce a new screen into her life and fight that battle. Anyone have any experience with that?

Sorry, that turned into a lot of questions.

[starfishy]

We let T use our phones sometimes - as a reward for good behavior, to avoid a cat nap, or waiting for a poop!
Recently my H got an iPad through a charity event at work. T does like to use it- he loves this puzzle game I put on there, but again we use it with limits. I usually tell him he can play X numbers of games or set a timer or something. He is much better getting off the iPad than he is when I shut off the tv.
I do like the iPad bc I just think there are more games for him to play. However, we didn't just get it for him so I can't tell you if the price is worth it or not.

[justbeth]

I'm happy to hear that it's easier to get away from than the TV, starfishy! Hopefully it would be the same for us. We also do a timer for the TV, so we could use that for the iPod time as well. It doesn't stop the 'more TV' battle, but at least it's a concept she is familiar with.

[summergirl1211]

We let Riley use our iPhones, but only to look at pictures/watch home videos. Everything else is off limits. We also let her use our ipad, but only for a few movies we've downloaded that she watches in the car on long car rides or when we're watching something on tv and her toys aren't distracting her. We also got a Lead Pad Ultra for her birthday. At this point she doesn't use it for much. She loves the drawing app and creating animal friends, but we haven't bought anything to go with it (we will probably get a few learning games at Christmas).

To be honest, the tv is the hardest thing to get her to stop. She's good about the ipad, phones and the tablet. I'm not sure why though!

[justbeth]

summergirl1211 Which leap pad do yall have? While I do feel like the iPod will last her longer, the leap pad is more age appropriate now. She is not technologically savvy and easily frustrated.

[junkytrunk]

M got I think a leap pad for his birthday last year. I honestly don't really like it because it has the cartridges you have to change in order to get to other games. I think you can download directly to the pad, but I had already bought 2 cartridges for it.

I had my old iPhone I let him use for awhile because there are some games on there that aren't on android that he enjoyed more and then it got doused in water, so that was done.

My FIL also gave us his old galaxy tablet. Only problem is it's too old technology wise to download some apps and again, some games he liked on my phone weren't on there.

As of now, I have about 4 learning games on my current iPhone that he enjoys playing and if he asks nicely I'll let him use and it's easy to take out at a restaurant too.

I can't justify getting an iPad only for him, when I don't even have an iPad and I want one! So that's where we are at.

[sarahandeddie]

We have a leap pad ultra. It really belongs to DD#1 but Avery plays with it too. I like that it has wifi but it is restricted to leapfrog approved sites. The games are all educational and hold her interest. The games have varying difficulty levels so she'll be able to use it for a long time.

The girls use it on long car rides or rainy days. I limit the amount of time.

[xanthepants]

We have a Kurio that my mom got for her. I rarely bring it out because it causes meltdowns when it's time to turn it off. But I like that it came with about 40+ games. She got it at 2 and couldn't do much. She is slowly getting the hang of it though she needs help. I like it for long car rides or trips personally but it's not my thing really.

[heatherbee]

We have the leap pad - it was a Christmas gift but he just started playing with it more in the last two weeks or so. I try to limit it but I'm not super strict and ill admit I use it as a way to keep him busy while I get dinner made some nights lately :/ we have an iPad he likes as well but we really only use that for long car rides to play a movie or something. He will occasionally use some kid apps on my phone, mostly when he's in the car and I want him to stay awake so nap time isn't ruined by him dozing off. So really I use technology for selfish reasons, lol. He loves them all but knows when he needs to be done, if he acts up he won't get to use it again for awhile so he's usually fine about it.

[tribute17]

He uses my iPad mini and has for a while. It is just starting to cause meltdowns at certain times of day so I just avoid that. He lives storybots alphabet videos and nursery rhyme videos. We also have an app that he is really into right now where you trace the letters. He also likes the read along books they have. It reads the page and highlights the words and usually it is interactive in some way where you get to click on things in the page. He also watches YouTube videos. I just search for alphabet videos or mother goose club or storybots and let him pick a few. I limit it and even more now that it is causing problems. It is hard to snap him out of it sometimes. You can definitely make it educational though.

[starfishy]

Sept 24, 2015 19:10:58 GMT -5 tribute17 said:

He uses my iPad mini and has for a while. It is just starting to cause meltdowns at certain times of day so I just avoid that. He lives storybots alphabet videos and nursery rhyme videos. We also have an app that he is really into right now where you trace the letters. He also likes the read along books they have. It reads the page and highlights the words and usually it is interactive in some way where you get to click on things in the page. He also watches YouTube videos. I just search for alphabet videos or mother goose club or storybots and let him pick a few. I limit it and even more now that it is causing problems. It is hard to snap him out of it sometimes. You can definitely make it educational though.

Hijack- what is the letter tracing app?

[tribute17]

starfishy I searched preschool games and it was one of the top ones. There isn't really a name but it has an owl with a graduation cap and A3Star on it. There are lots of games but one of them is tracing letters. He thinks it's fun.

[junkytrunk]

starfishy I have a few apps by 22learn and hey both have letter tracing that M enjoys

[justbeth]

junkytrunk We definitely aren't getting her an iPad, just giving her my old iPhone 5 to use as an iPod. We don't have an iPad either, so the kid def isn't getting one!

sarahandeddie I hadn't thought about letting her use it in the car. That is a definite plus. She drives me nuts in the car.

xanthepants Well now I have to question it! Since Cosette is Emma's long lost twin this might indicate that I will just end up hiding it to ward off meltdowns. I just don't need anything else in my life to instigate threenager moments.

heatherbee I currently utilize TV to cook dinner, so at least a game might be educational??

tribute17 I have that 'hard to snap out of it' problem with Emma and TV. I can be right in her face talking to her and she doesn't even notice.

Thanks for all the opinions/input ladies!! We are really having trouble making a decision on this one!

[aimeefarrahfowler]

We have a Galaxy tablet that A uses. There a bunch of puzzle apps that he loves but mostly watching videos on YouTube Kids. We do limit his time and honestly the novelty of it has worn off some (we got it when Tyler was born over a year ago), but it is still nice to have if we have a long car trip and in the morning if he wakes up early, he'll bring it in my bed and quietly watch videos until I'm ready to get up. So that's nice for me.

[summergirl1211]

justbeth, it's the Leap Pad Ultra. Try googling it or looking it up on Amazon (we found it cheapest on Amazon, although Target sometimes has sales). As PP's mentioned, it has games/learning apps that will last her until she's 8-9, I think. There are some that we're looking at for Christmas that help with numbers and letters and fit kids 3-5. Honestly we haven't done much with it lately because most of it is too advanced for Riley, but she will definitely grow into it. And I love that she can do just about anything on it and not get into things she shouldn't.

[samelly]

We got an innotab a while ago which is okay. She likes some of the colouring games and stuff but she gets bored, all the apps load slowly, and some are aimed at older kids. We also have an iPad in the house and she liked that a lot more. Her favourite thing is watching YouTube videos because she'll watch a video and then just click on the recommendations. She can turn into a complete zombie watching youtube on the iPad, so I don't like to give it to her too often. However, if I really need her to stay still for a bit - it's an option.

[origamimommy]

We have the kids kindle. I love it and He loves it. He's still figuring out the games but he loves getting to watch a show on his tablet.

I love the warranty that comes with the kids kindle as well.

[xanthepants]

I have to help her with it a lot. It's definitely not a load and walk away sort of thing yet TBH. I don't know if it is a dexterity thing for Cosette or a comprehension thing or what. She constantly shuts the thing off accidentally then screams. The games aren't quite simple enough for her to run with them alone, which is fine 95% of the time. but if you are looking for something to "set it and forget it", the Kurio might not be the option.

[mrsplaydoh]

We got Dahlia the Nabi Jr. Nick Jr Edition. She likes it and I can download new games for her in "mommy mode" then switch to play mode and she can't mess things up.

She prefers to use my Kindle Fire most of the time but its not child proof so I had to teach her when she sees an ad pop up to "touch the X" in the corner to get it to go away, surprisingly she does it right and hasn't messed anything up yet.

Also uses my husband's work ipad mini when he has it in the house for a few games he has on there for her.

She doesn't throw a fit when i take it away though she doesn't sit with it for long periods of time, something else catches her eye or interest and she puts it down herself. We don't time limit it but would if it became an issue where she didn't put it down after a bit.

I don't have any experience with the leap pads but the cartridges I really had no interest in. Seems easily lost, have to continuously change them out or buy more...but no actual experience to give an opinion on it.

[sarahandeddie]

We have a case for our leap pad that holds 6 games plus the leapbpad itself. The cartridges are easy for a kid to switch on their own. So far all of our games still work.

[justbeth]

I got busy and am just now checking this thread again. Thanks for all the tips on what to look into. I wish we could not limit screen time but our kid is a complete zombie when the TV is on. She never wanders off or does anything else if it's on. She gets it from her daddy, he is a complete couch potato!

[tribute17]

I tried on Sunday to not give him a limit. I always do and thought to myself maybe he would pull himself awy from the iPad when he got tired of it. After three hours I finally pulled him away. Apparently my kid can veg with the best of them. I wasn't feeling great anyway and H was working on his presentation so I took advantage. I think we will still have to have time limits.