https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 09 Apr 2026 02:26:40 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782655 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 15:08:24 +0000 Littlebit7 2782655@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a mini, DH has an android equivalent. I use mine a lot just for general couch web surfing. DH travels with his and uses it heavily as he travels a lot<br /> LO gets to use our mini a little. Mainly when travelling or if I know we will be waiting a while somewhere. I have amazon, Netflix and Plex on it which all allow access to offline context </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782644 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 13:58:13 +0000 snowjewelz 2782644@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH and I both have an iPad. Mine's actually for work technically. So now I "share" mine with DD1, and eventually I'm thinking DH will share his with DD2. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782642 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 13:57:38 +0000 misolee 2782642@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have one iPad. It’s considered mine but I hardly use it. We also do have the Osmo kits which we love. We also have chrome cast so my daughter can project her show on the big tv. </p> <p>However my daughter is tv/iPad obsessed and it was getting out of control. Now she’s only allowed to use it on Fridays which is her special tv day. </p> <p>We’ve also used it on really long international flights and that was a necessity </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782628 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 13:13:24 +0000 MamaCate 2782628@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: the cooking/recipe display is one of the big ways I use my iPad. I have a mini and I use it a lot. I like that it stands up and is portable so I do things like stream a show or podcast that follows me from room to room while I make lunches, do dishes, fold laundry, clean up, etc.</p> <p>Both kids use it for short periods for “shows” which is either short YouTube videos for the two year old (often in the morning when he is up super early) it amazon steaming/pbs kids for my 5 y.o. When I solo parent at bedtime the 5 yo watches something on the iPad while I put the 2 yo down and likes to be upstairs with us. </p> <p>at this point I definitely use it way more than my laptop. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782623 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 13:02:49 +0000 catlady 2782623@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@2PeasinaPod: Oh, that's a good idea for cooking. We usually just put a laptop on the counter but I don't love doing that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782621 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 12:58:55 +0000 2PeasinaPod 2782621@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: DH got me an iPad one year for my birthday. I use it when I'm cooking and have a recipe up on Pinterest or when I'm browsing on the couch at night. </p> <p>DS1 gets to use it when we say he can. I've downloaded a few apps like ABCmouse.com and a few simpler games for him to play, and of course there's youtube. He will get it as a special treat or for long car rides, but that's all we really use it for. Because the iPad isn't on our cellular plan, we have to be connected to wifi for anything to work if it's not downloaded on the device. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782605 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 12:28:11 +0000 Truth Bombs 2782605@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have an ipad mini and a Kindle Fire. We rarely use them at home. We use them for flying (which we do pretty regularly), and we bring them with us if for some reason we have to take the kids with us to something that needs our full attention (for instance, we recently had to meet our contractor at Home Depot to pick out some finishes for our new porch so we brought the tablets so the kids would be distracted). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782587 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:59:13 +0000 erinbaderin 2782587@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband and I each have an iPad mini, which we've had since before the kids were born. We use them for web-surfing and watching tv in bed, and we let B watch Netflix on them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782582 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:53:32 +0000 catlady 2782582@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: Yes, this is how we use our Fire as well, although we don't even get that much use from it because DD has a history of carsickness so I don't let her watch videos in the car. So it's really for travel, which is not much these days! Good idea about using it while the kids watch TV though. I should repurpose it for that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782579 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:49:31 +0000 Adira 2782579@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have Kindle Fires. We only let the kids use them on long car rides or for long waits (ER, hospital, allergy testing, airport, flights, etc). They mainly use them to watch videos and my 4 year old will sometime play Angry Birds. They've really been a life-saver though when when my kids are sick or in the car!</p> <p>I also use one of them myself to watch my DVR shows while the kids are hogging the main TV. :D </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782578 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:46:38 +0000 looch 2782578@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: I tell my son that the ipad belongs to me, but he's the only one that uses it. I never really got into any apps or anything, to be honest. I find typing on it to be uncomfortable, even with the keyboard extensions (then I'll just use my laptop). The main ones that I use are on my iphone.</p> <p>The one thing that is a pain with the Osmo kits is that you have to use a "naked" ipad, so you can't have a protective case on it. As a result, we have a rather flimsy case on it to facilitate that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782577 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:40:59 +0000 catlady 2782577@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: The osmo drawing kit is the one I really want to get for DD. Does anyone else use the ipad or does it belong to your son exclusively? </p> <p>I didn't even think about using it for school but I suppose we may need one when she starts K next year anyway. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782574 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:34:28 +0000 looch 2782574@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have both the ipad and the Osmo extension kits.</p> <p>The ipad was purchased last year around this time as my son's school offers 3 apps for reading and math (2 of which are not available on android). We could have used the software on a laptop, but we decided to give him his own device and for the most part he does fine with it.</p> <p>As for the Osmo, we have a ton of the extensions. The biggest hit was the drawing one with the board. I purchased the Hot Wheels extension and will probably buy the pizza one as well. We have the coding, numbers, letters and tangram kits too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipad-for-the-family#post-2782569 Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:17:32 +0000 catlady 2782569@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just curious how many of you have IPads? How do you use them and how often?</p> <p>DH and I had one when they first came out but all we used it for was web surfing. We sold it and just use our laptops and iphones now and it's fine.</p> <p>I've been considering getting a new ipad now that DD is 4 so that she can use apps and not hog up my phone. She doesn't use my phone often though (it's a treat, mostly we pull it out at restaurants) and I don't want to necessarily add more screentime to our lives. I like the idea of the Osmo kits that are so interactive but I don't want to spend so much money for just that.</p> <p>We have an amazon fire and we don't really use it at all. I have a kindle that I love so I wouldn't use the ipad as an e-reader.</p> <p>Wondering if we should go for the ipad or maybe just get a leapfrog or some other kid-targeted device? </p>