When did you buy your DC a tablet?

[LittleFairywren]

Mine are 2.5 yo twins, I don't think I will be getting them one this year but I do think they'd enjoy the cbeebies app and it looks pretty educational. They watch quite a lot of TV so they aren't screen free. When did you/will you buy your DC a tablet, what do they use it for, and do you wish you'd got one earlier / later? Basically just want to know if mine are missing out in any way. I'm not averse to screens and games. We are big gamers in our house but only after the DC are in bed.

Mine were 8. I didn’t want to encourage screens younger than that

8 here too.

I was about to be a bit judgy and say two is very young for a tablet. But then I remembered I got a first gen iPad for my birthday when he was two and he did used to play on it a bit!!

I'm very strict with screen time and stuck to things I believed had educational or creative value. DS is 10 now and has had a kindle fire for a couple of years.

Not here yet and dc is nearly 6

My 2 year old uses my old iPad and calls it his own. He has it for long car journeys and an hour in a morning when he comes into bed with me as he is an early waker. He has learned a lot from some of the apps he uses, although sometimes he just wants to watch CBeebies too.

We just have one iPad that we share as a family - buying DS his own hasn’t occurred to me.

Mine have played on them since about 2. They got their own kindle fires with the kids setting in them fairly young. Youngest was 3.
They’re excellent for travelling, car journeys and just down time.
As long as there is a balance with other things, I don’t think they’re an issue at all. My dcs learnt all their phonics and times tables with the help of apps.

I'm sort of planning to get a kids kindle as a gift from the new baby, DS is 2 1/2 and we aren't even planning on trying for number 2 until he is very nearly 3 so if everything goes well he might have one by 4. If it doesn't which is quite likely as it took a while with DS I might get him one anyway at 4 if I'm not pregnant by then.

Screens aren't inherently bad. They need to be monitored of course but in today's world you need to know how to use them. He already plays a matching pairs game on my iPad occasionally and loves looking at pictures on my phone.

4.5.

He went nuts on it to begin with but will now go through phases when he’s more or less bothered.

I’d go for it earlier with dc2, even if it’s just for flying!

18 months for plane journeys. It’s only used by her (DH has an iPad Pro through work and I don’t use it) but it’s not HERS as in she can’t use it whenever she wants and she certainly doesn’t use it daily.

My son was 8 and mainly used it for YouTube. He uses his phone or PC now he's older. My daughter used my iPad a lot from about age 5 and got her own one when she was 10. We bought her an iPad Pro with the pencil as she loves art but she also watches lots of crap on YouTube.

That's a good point we are going to be taking them on their first flight when they're just turned three.

We give our kids our old iPads when we upgrade ours every 3 years or so...the youngest was about 3 when she got hers. We limit their screen time..

My ds dad bought him one at 4 and I wasn't in agreement at the time. But I did buy them a kindle fire each last Xmas at almost 4 & 7 , handy for lie ins, long car journeys and flights. I go through phases of hating them and they're time limited.

6 and a half, and they only got a Kindle Fire for entertainment on a long haul holiday to help ease the travel. They sporadically use it now.

Honestly get them for the flight if they watch tele or play games. There’s a time and a place for sweets and tablets, flying is that place 😁