Phone or tablet for 5 year old

[letspartytomorrow]

We have a kindle fire but it is very slow and old. I have just upgraded my phone.

Is it a bad idea to give it to my 5 year old without a SIM card and with parental controls on it to use instead of his tablet?

I could look for a refurbished more modern tablet.

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MNHQ

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Please don’t do this. Read books, play board games, draw pictures, play with Lego, play-doh, etc,. Please leave all that tablet/phone stuff for when he’s older.

I'm not against screen time, but a 5 year old doesn't need their own phone or tablet.

We have just upgraded our old fire 7s for new ones and they are sooooo much better! Much faster and more accessible. I'd recommend a tablet upgrade. Phone=internet=possibly very very bad!

Please don’t give your 5 yr old a tablet or phone!!

Neither. Particularly if you're intending to give it to him to use without even parental supervision (as I assume you are as you are relying on parental controls).

5 year olds do not need their own devices.

@Harebrain just curious does that mean you wouldn't let them watch tv either? We don't have a tv so use the fire for time to get things done or to distract the eldest while trying to get the youngest to nap

For those saying neither, what you do you when you need that 30 mins of peace to either get dinner ready for get younger children to sleep (without the eldest making loads of noise )

Books, playdoh, toys, games or chat with them while you prepare food. They don't need 30 minutes (or longer) of unsupervised access on a tablet or phone. No matter how many parental controls you put in place there are plenty of things that slip through the net and you have no idea what he's watching or doing.

My 8 year old has had a phone (wifi only at home to watch Disney and when older, Kids YouTube) AND a tablet since she was 2.
She's autistic though if that helps people not lose their minds. They help her self regulate. There have never been any arguments or stresses related to these devices.
She doing great at school, has friends and crafts in her every spare minute. She's polite, friendly and hilarious. The devices are a tool. We'd frankly be lost without them.
Your experience will likely be different though. I can't speak for NT households! (If in fact yours is).

Lego, colouring, something on TV that isn’t instant (it’s the on demand aspect of phones and tablets which affects children- they don’t learn patience). Animal figures, toy vehicles, dress up, beads for threading, books, construction stuff, dolls….

I would go with a tablet if you can afford one. Phones are a bit small and fiddly and you can get really good cases for tablets that are almost indestructible.

Ignore the pearl-clutching MNetters who think you're the devil for giving your child something to watch for half an hour. Lots of us let our children have screens and I thank God for YouTube Kids sometimes!!

Most children I know have their own tablet. Mine had one at 5 and that was later than most others at his school.

You can’t stop the flow of technology and this is a great age to help them learn to regulate their own use of screens. It can be a lot of work at first helping them manage the transition from screen to other activity (there will likely be a lot of “big feelings” emerge) but the more you help them manage that the better they get at regulating their own use.

on a side note, I would opt for a bigger screen tablet- not as easy to take out with you so they can’t bring it to the park or other outdoor activities like they might want to bring a phone. That settles that battle at least.

There's nothing wrong with 30 minutes watching a good quality kids tv programme once a day, but I don't think a child needs their own device if that's all you are using it for - let them use your phone or sit them in front of your laptop, if you don't have a TV.

Thanks all

Always a tablet over a phone, otherwise they are getting used to a phone and then will want everything else it can do.

A tablet for us is just for games and DDs netflix/disney+ etc with all the parental controls