to think children under 10. should not have tablets?

[Hattie11]

Am I missing something here?

It seems everyone I know are buying tablets for their children asvyoung as 4!

To me that is giving children far easier access to the internet, chatrooms, and ghastly things that can come up during an innocent Google search.
I'm all for children learning to use technology in a supervised situation, but do they really need something so portable that they could easily be flicking through inappropriate content, without being noticed.

I'm not suggesting this deliberately done, but I know my own dd has found shocked by accidental finds on Google. Hence me tightening the supervision when she uses our home pc now.

Pleas persuade me otherwise......

[FatherChristmasIsWatchingYou]

YANBU Liquid form is better


oh wait we're not talking about that kind of tabley

[SamSmalaidh]

I have just bought my 2 year old a tablet for Christmas

Don't worry though, he won't be on the internet unsupervised.

[missymoomoomee]

YABU just because your internet security is crap doesn't mean everyones is.

[Allonsy]

Parental controls

[mrskeithrichards]

I'm contemplating one for my 7 year old. He won't be online with it. Is that ok?

[Adviceinscotland]

My dc use the iPad for apps, they have never paid any interest to safari. Just because they have a tablet it does not mean they are secret porn addicts.

[redlac]

See the good thing about tablets is that you can download things called apps (which are like games, phonics stuff, maths games) and here the wonderful bit - you don't have to have it connected to the Internet!!!

Blows your mind doesn't it!!

[MadameCastafiore]

Gawd - thought you were taking about paracetamol and such!!

Your responsibility to police your kids internet usage with the appropriate parental controls.

[coppertop]

But surely a 10yr-old shouldn't be looking at inappropriate content either, so why should that be the magical cut-off age?

[mrskeithrichards]

That's what I'm thinking of using it for. He'll mainly want angry birds and it'll save clogging up my phone with all that shit!

[InSPsFanjoNoOneHearsYouScream]

I thought it was about medicine. My son is getting the fireman Sam tablet from Santa

[lisad123]

Mine access the apps, but rules in our house are laptop and tablet are not allowed out of the family living room. Therefore they are always in full view

[TheCatInTheHairnet]

You are absolutely right. I've had to take the iPad away from my 8 year old because of his out of control porn addiction. And, don't even get me started on the gambling....

[littlemrssleepy]

We've got our son a 7inch tablet for his 5th birthday. You can put a child friendly front end to it - so he will only be able to play games on it. Won't be able to download anything or use the Internet without us bypassing the front end. He will also have to sign a reasonable usage agreement as soon as its out if the wrapping paper. And at least he won't keep zapping my iPhone playing sodding spiderman games. We considered a leappad /ds type thing, but you pay so much for games against free or maybe 99p in an app store

[MargeySimpson]

I have my cousins on twitter (10 & 12) and had to tell my aunt that I had seen someone messaging my 10 year old cousin calling her a 'sexy mama' on several of her photos and sending rude comments. as we're all mumsnetters, we obviously have at least a basic grasp of strangers on the internet, but not all parents do. My cousins mum bought them an ipad wanting them to use it for apps etc, but 12 year old know how to hide things from parents!

My DS is only 15months but he certainly won't be getting a laptop/tablet for xmas before he's at high school (they'll probably have something ridiculously different by then anyway) I understand they need to learn to use technology but I'm sure they do enough in school nowdays. My DP is a computer programmer and never had his own pc.

[wonderingsoul]

tbh if your n ot savvy enough to knwo that you can put parently controll s on and it doesnt actually have to be connected to the internet . you prob shouldnt get one.

my just turned 7 year old got one for his birthday.

i found a wonderfull app. cost under a pound where you can put a password on to stop them going into cetan apps. liek you tube. facebook. settings. ANYTHING you dont want them to go into. so he only has access to games and the camera :)

[EnglishGirlApproximately]

As long as its use is limited and parental controls are in place I think its a great thing for kids to have. Lets face it, technology is massively important today and the sooner children are exposed to it and become fluent in using it the better. There was a news report last week suggesting programming should be taught to 7 year olds and I think its a great idea. It doesn't have to be tablet or imaginative play, it can be both.

[vodkaanddietirnbru]

mine are 6 and 9 and both getting one so they can leave my phone and laptop alone

[Woozley]

I have thought about getting one for my 7 year old, especially the very cheap ones. But DDs are getting new scooters, finally made a decision!

[numbum]

I've been surprised by the amount of people buying them for their toddlers for Christmas too but not because of internet safety so think YABU there. I think it's slightly depressing that people are buying them for children as young as 2! What's wrong with REAL games that you can all play as a family, games or puzzles with actual pieces that they can hold? I am aware I'm in the minority though

[TheCatInTheHairnet]

But Margey, having an iPad and being on Twitter at 10 are 2 completely incomparable things. I would never let my 10 and 12 year olds on Twitter as they have no reason to be there. Same with Facebook. There are a million and one websites that are more age appropriate than those 2, that allow children to learn the basic nuances of social networking (well, play with Penguins anyway).

My kids use their iPads to play on the apps, watch tv and read books. The only online surfing they do is hours of looking at Amazon to fine tune their Christmas lists!

[TrudiRed]

My 6 and 7 year olds have iTouches - for the games not for the internet (they have a PC for that as well as the iTouches!) We are looking at andriod tablets for our 2 1/2 year old for Christmas as well as she goes nuts that she can't play on theirs on or my phone, daddy's phone or the iPad. I totally agree with a previous poster that the apps are sensibly priced (unlike ds games for example) and the childrens versions are ridiculously expensive and no doubt rubbish if they are like all the stuff we have been conned into buying in the past!

[mrskeithrichards]

I did contemplate a scooter then remembered I hate the fucking things and the muppet parents at school who drive to school and get them out the car so their kids scoot over the road and in the gate.

They make me irrationally angry and I have visions of all these children growing up with freakishly over developed right leg muscles

[numbum]

and I have visions of all these children growing up with freakishly over developed right leg muscles Excellent!

[SamSmalaidh]

It's not an either/or numbum - it's possible for a child to have games, toys, puzzles, bikes, scooters, balls AND a tablet.