to not mind my in laws buying my 5yo dd a tablet for Xmas, but worrying she'll think it is shite cos she is used to my iPad?

[stopthebusiwanttogetoff]

Sorry - just that.

Some kids are tech-savvy, why should they be punished for it because your pre-conceptions of what toys kids should be allowed to have?

Hardly a punishment not to have one's own tablet at 5, is it :o

I don't understand anything about ipads/tablets etc as I am the original luddite but I would not want anyone (including myself) spending £100 on my child for a Christmas or birthday present.

I would (and have) suggested to relatives that they buy something around £20 and put the rest in a bank account. My DPs have done this over the years and with sound investment he should receive a substantial amount (approx. £20K) by the time he reaches university/house buying age.

That to me is worth far, far more than a shiny new gadget or plastic tat on Christmas Day.

YANBU.

I work in IT. I am no Luddite. But I really don't rate tablets (or computers generally) for very young children. Occasional access to a parent's kit is plenty.

Also, not all tablets are equal - Apple is hugely overrated imo and there are plenty of tablets which are just as good as an iPad but there are some dreadful ones too. I think OP is right to suspect that the grandparents might be wasting their money.

She's 5! If people must spend ridiculous amounts of money on such small children, it would be worth teaching her a few basic manners just in case it doesn't quite live up to her petty demands... (oh and it is judging my daughter and ME not I. Are you sure those children of yours can read? When they have such a poor role model that cannot grasp basic English?)

Dri don't be ridiculous the kid hasn't even asked for it.

I'm in the same problem I refuse to pay £400+ For an iPad got my 5 year old but he is used to iPads/iPhones/iPods they even use iPads and Iboards at school but I was on planning on getting him a kurio got Christmas so I can have my ipad back, he already had an iPod but it's an old one so the games won't update/play properly.

I think if you just ban her from the iPad once she gets her own you should be ok, my boy is getting lots of books and toys as well but we regularly drive long distance so it will be great in the car

Hmmm tricky.

I agree re speck and I hate wasting money,that said I think the cost of an Ipad for a 5 year old is too much as it may well get broken.

My dc are 10,10 and 9 and tbh we can't afford Ipad minis so they have had IPod touches until we can.They can transfer stuff onto my Ipad.

If it was me I'd either get a touch or wait and politely tell the giver that you'll wait until you can add money towards it in order to get a mini.

Prices may drop in the new year anyway.

My 5 year old has a Samsung galaxy tab 2 and it works just fine and not too expensive.Nothing wrong with a 5 year old having a tablet either.My dd got a certificate in school for always being creative in her imaginary play

Is there a consensus on which android tablet (is that the correct terminology?!) would be best? She won't have free access to it, so won't be dropping it/leaving it around/ spilling juice on it etc. She will use it for games, and if it can get kindle books, films and music that would be good. She likes watching "crazy cat" type clips, and "Simon's Cat" obv, on youtube, so a tablet with good parental controls on the internet would be necessary. People have mentioned a Hudl positively on here?

As I have said my ipad is work's, and also my laptop is a Dell and my phone is a Nokia, so we're not any particular brand here.

Thanks again. Well not to the rude wind ups, but to everyone else.

Oh and my dd has a dolls house,cars,dolls,bike etc she just happens to play on her tablet aswell.Tablets are good learning tools.I wouldn't waste money on lego that either gets stepped on or hovered up.The lego sets are ridiciously expensive aswell

My kids are 5 and 7 (almost). That is 24 x £100 birthday and Christmases. We have micro scooters, bikes, baby Annabelles, lego, billions of second hand books and toys, posh clothes and cheap clothes, a 3DS etc. I buy them annual memberships to local attractions. They save their pocket money (£1 a week) to buy presents for their eight grandparents (think divorce and adoption).

I don't know why I am trying to justify myself here. We are normal in the area where we live. We are very fortunate. We know this and are grateful. We support several charities.

They will spend £100 on her, I am asking for help towards them selecting a useful device that will serve her well for a few years. Them not spending it is not an option - I have tried that tack and the number of My little Ponies and talking electronic toys that they chose was, frankly, depressing.

Next year, she will probably need a bigger bike, so I won't get so much grief for that.

I have a 5yo dd and she has a leappad 2 - I would not reccommend it as it is expensive to put games on and she prefers playing with her big sisters Nabi tablet - which is android based and can access the play app market (with a bit of tweaking). We got our dd age 7 a Nabi as it is a child friendly tablet (sturdy construction) and has very good parent controls so she cannot access anything we don't want her to - or buy stuff. It is as good a spec as the nexus tablet but easier to monitor and restrict access so preferable for younger children.

No children don't need a tablet but they are useful tools and it is a tech age we live in. I still read books to my kids and they still have imaginations and are capable of speech, I talk to them we have dinner at the table with tv off etc. We are not off to hell in a andcart as far as I know (is there an app for that...?)

I see your quandary OP and I don't think you should have to justify yourself! It is perfectly reasonable to want them to make a sensible choice with their £100 and not want them to waste their money on a tablet that might not be used. And if it wasn't as good, it would not mean your DD was spoiled/bratty IMO. If a child had access to two remote control cars for example, they would be very likely to play more with the one that was more responsive/had better controls etc... that's just how people are. I have an android phone and an iPod touch, do I use the smartphone for games/internet etc now I've got my (long sought after/saved for) iPod? No, because although it is decent in itself, it is rubbish/slow in comparison to iOS. (I can't comment on android tablets though)

It sounds really frustrating that they insist on £100 every time. I guess a tablet that wasn't played with might still be better than ten boxes of tat you'd have to find a place for.

What about an easel, does she have one? Or an art centre type thing? That (ELC easel was £50 when we got one a couple of years ago) plus aprons/splashmat, loads of paints/brushes/rollers/chalk/paper etc could come close to £100?

Dri2 I think that the op is far, far more articulate than you actually.

wow what a lot of horrible name calling and assumtions aimed at op and her dd.

op asda are selling Samsung galaxy tab 2 for £99 just now I am sure your dd would find this up their with an I pad ven though its android. personally I hate all apple products anyway but Samsung are fantastic. maybe woth checking out and suggesting this one to your dps.

I am sure at 5 she will enjoy the novelty of her very own tablet anyway and at 5 why not theres lots of tablets aimed at children. she's a lucky girl.

to some of you

Hudls are pretty good. My Mum has one and it's easily comparable to my Nexus 10 (and about £200 cheaper) and smaller so easier for wee hands! They come in different colours as well so you could maybe use that as a way of making it 'hers'?

And it comes with YouTube so all ready for some Simon's Cat

I wish my 18 month old had her own bloody tablet. What with CBeebies downloads for long journeys (which we do a lot of) and storybook, piano and drawing apps, it uses up so much memory on my 16gb iPad. I wish I could give her the sodding iPad and get myself a Nexus 10. I can't stand the iPad, it was bought in haste (to use when I was in labour) and we couldn't get a decent 10 inch Android at the time. Aside from that, we're a non Apple household too.

OP is she more likely to use yours because she's used to it too, or would having her own tablet be more of a novelty for her? I think tablets are brilliant, convenient education tools and are great when you don't have the space to cart around masses of books and toys if you're only going somewhere for a couple of hours.

You've had some really ridiculous harsh replies here OP. I think trying to stop GP's wasting £100 is actually kind and considerate.

It's no different to the kind of thread my mum could have written when I was the same age - it's just a different type of toy as things move on.

We just got a Hudl and are really impressed with it. It looks great, runs the latest android operating system and is very user friendly. We have an iPad and I think the Hudl stands up very well in comparison. There are some great apps for kids on it too - check out this article -

Best android apps for kids

We used our clubcard vouchers so it was freeeeeeeee!

You've had some really ridiculous harsh replies here OP. I think trying to stop GP's wasting £100 is actually kind and considerate

I think so too!

Btw I do think it's a present idea born out of a 'shit, what can we buy our DGC?' feeling. Our IL's have come up with some pretty crazy, generous ideas for DD1 which we've politely declined. Instead we've suggested some other presents, although I still feel that they are being too generous with material things and that what their DGC wants is actually more time with them.

They'll probably be very happy if you suggest some alternatives.

A 5 year old should have no concept of the differences between different tablets tbh-and the fact that so many on here do says to me that they are getting far too much screen time for children of that age. And yes I do judge parents who shove their kids in front of a tablet rather than play with them.

So they aren't allowed to be observant now? I'm sure you wouldn't have an objection to say.. Them knowing the difference in a higher quality doll from a lower?

Of course they're going to be able to tell a difference in a tablet, especially if one is much slower and less responsive which a lot of the cheaper ones are!

Don't be ridiculous Pinupgirl, you can do drawing on an iPad, read books, do number games. Yes it's possible to dump your child with one, but you can also sit with them and help them learn in a fun way.

I have an iPad I got for free with work and have some inexpensive educational apps on it (also Toca apps are fantastic). My 3 year old (shock horror!) loves it, but doesn't get loads of screentime.

If I could get the same apps on a cheap and intuitive machine, fine. If it was a crappy old Android one he probably would notice the difference. Galaxy Tab, Nexus, or Hudl or some and he probably wouldn't.

Right now I wouldn't buy him his own, but if his grandparents did I wouldn't think it absolute insanity - if properly monitored tablets are great.