https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:17:39 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2778013 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 09:21:03 +0000 macintosh 2778013@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I love Apple products, but I also couldn't justify the cost for my LO. We got the Kindle Fire kids version. It's not perfect, but I finally figured out how to get the wifi to stop dropping out. I wouldn't do it differently because the interface is easy to use and my kid only wants to watch YouTube anyway. Plus it has a sturdy foam case that has protected it against countless toddler throws and drops. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777896 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 16:25:52 +0000 jhd 2777896@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We got our LO a Kids Kindle Fire around that age. He really enjoyed all the apps that came with the free 1 year subscription to Amazon Freetime. We used it for travel, doctors waiting rooms, etc. It still works just fine almost two years later. I feel like even if we upgrade him to something else in future it was the best choice. I didn’t stress if he dropped it etc because of the case and awesome warranty.</p> <p>ETA DH and I are team Apple all the way, but I just couldn’t justify the cost of an iPad for a toddler! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777895 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 16:14:33 +0000 Boogs 2777895@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are an Apple family so might be biased, but I'm team iPad. We have a kindle and the iPad is so much eaiser for myself and a kid to use. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777830 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 10:29:31 +0000 kiddosc 2777830@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: Agreed. These threads always seem to split by which type of phone you have. Iphone users struggle with the Kindle interface, Android users are generally more familiar and happy with it. </p> <p>We're an Android family, so the kindle fire kids edition is wonderful for us. It comes with Amazaon FreeTime so he can download whatever game or video strikes his fancy without us having to worry about being charged or typing in passwords, or having to skip ads in the middle of a game. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777829 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 10:26:09 +0000 snowjewelz 2777829@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I guess cost was never a factor because it was MY iPad :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777827 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 10:19:26 +0000 DenverMom 2777827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Another vote for an Ipad. We recently bought the kids two Fire tablets and we absolute hated them! With a passion! They were super slow, sometimes refused to charge, and the Amazon app platform is horrible. One of the Fires allowed Netflix movie downloads, but the other did not. We have had an Ipad for several years that my 5 year old uses and have never had issues with it, even though it's been dropped way too many times and the screen is all cracked. I plan on getting my two year old an Ipad mini. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777818 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 09:49:39 +0000 SweetiePie 2777818@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh and for games/apps at that age we like Sesame Street Art Maker, ABC Kitchen (also Sesame Street), and there’s a shapes game...Tiggly Shape safari or something like that? All are engaging and educational. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777816 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 09:47:48 +0000 SweetiePie 2777816@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son got an iPad Mini for Christmas last year when he was 2 years old (I was hesitant to spend the money but my MIL was all about it so, fine by me!) He loves it and I love it for things like travel (we are flying today actually, just me and him, and a fully charged iPad with movies is crucial).<br /> However, I do try to limit it because I swear he acts out more from the iPad than traditional TV.<br /> The TV I can just turn off even mid show and say “ok time to go” and he’s fine. But the iPad is a BATTLE with tantrums. The timer feature has helped immensely but it’s still not always an easy transition. 50/50 he’ll freak vs just hand it over.<br /> So my advice is to keep it hidden/not accessible and just take it out for periods of time when you need/want to. Definitely use the parental controls/timer. If it’s out of sight it’s mostly out of mind or I can distract with something else. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777812 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 09:32:02 +0000 wrkbrk 2777812@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JLC53: Following! My son is 22 months and would DIE over this gift. I can't decide if I can go down this rabbit hole so early ;) But chances are I will. Lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777811 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 09:30:45 +0000 hellobeeboston 2777811@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would go for the iPad.... you can find refurbished ones on sale directly from Apple or Amazon. </p> <p>My almost 5 year old LOVES it, but we have to restrict it heavily or he gets addicted, haha.... We mainly only use on the weekends or for travel. My 24 month old also loves it, but he's not great at operating some of the games yet. We have the ELMO 123s, ABCs, and he needs help with it, but that's fine. He also likes to do coloring apps, and play with the CARS apps, and of course, watching videos. The ipad is great because if you have Amazon Prime and you own any movies you can download them directly so you don't need to be connected to WiFi when traveling!</p> <p>i fully admit to when I'm solo parenting and when i brought LO 2 home as a newborn I relied pretty heavily on the iPad and it worked wonders! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777768 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 06:47:45 +0000 ShootingStar 2777768@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had a kindle fire that we got in super sale and we hated it. It was hard for all of us to use, and both DH and I are different types of software engineers. The usability of it was terrible, and it kept breaking for no reason. The kids edition had a no questions ask replacement policy and we went through 3 of them because they’d just stop working or stop being able to access the card reader. </p> <p>Last year when we got new phones we got money from Apple for our old ones and used that to buy an iPad mini. We got a super heavy duty case and it’s been perfect. Not one single problem with it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777595 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 13:42:39 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 2777595@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My daughter (23 months) loves the endless apps. She has the numbers, alphabet, and reader ones. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777499 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 10:53:35 +0000 josina 2777499@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS, almost 3, uses my Kindle Fire. I'd go that route again because I wouldn't want to spend the $$ on an Ipod; it's easy to use, has parental lock, and lots of free games available on Amazon. I try to stick to educational games, and stay away from You Tube videos (DS is a monster when it comes to you tube and taking it away or begging for it!)</p> <p>Some of his current favs:<br /> Kids Trucks Numbers &amp; Counting<br /> Dinopuzzle - Educational Learning Game for Kids and Toddlers<br /> Barnyard Games for Kids<br /> Elmo Loves 123's<br /> Another Monster at the End of This Book (interactive book with Elmo and Grover - super cute!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777462 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 10:13:34 +0000 littlebug 2777462@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 4yo has a Kindle Fire and it's perfect for his needs. He plays some games and will probably use it to watch a movie on plane rides and stuff. I like that he has his own profile and I can set limits on it and block him from making purchases. Purchases can only be made through my profile, which is password-protected. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777456 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 10:00:06 +0000 Aria 2777456@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I had to do it over again, I would get an iPad. Maybe we’ve just been unlucky, but after a couple months our first kindle would not retain a charge, even if you weren’t using it, it would be dead in a couple hours. We exchanged for a new one but this one isn’t much better. So if I ever needed to use it, I’d have to plan way ahead to use it as it needs to charge for like 6 hours. Also, ours freezes constantly or apps won’t load properly. It causes so much frustration for us and our daughter. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777440 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 09:34:50 +0000 Adira 2777440@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What kind of phone do you have? I think that's usually the indicator for what type of tablet you should get. If you have an iPhone, you should probably get an iPad. If you have an Android phone, an Android tablet would be your go-to.</p> <p>We have the Kindle Fire and love it, but mostly only use it for videos and watching things on Amazon Prime and Netflix. It also allows us to give each kid their own profile and load their own videos and apps and disable the wifi, so I don't have to worry about what they are doing when they are using it. My profile is password protected, so they can only access their own profiles. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777436 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 09:28:33 +0000 Foodnerd81 2777436@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I got my then almost 4 year old a kids kindle fire. I just couldn't stomach the price of an iPad mini for a preschooler. That said I do think the iPad is probably way better, but for our needs, the kindle is fine. She mostly watches videos on it as a special treat or on long car rides, but will also play the games that are already pre loaded on it. I find it a little hard to navigate for myself (like finding the videos that I downloaded for her) but that's probably because I'm used to iPhones. </p> <p>For the price I'm happy with the choice. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777432 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 09:25:02 +0000 looch 2777432@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have found that the apps are the better for the ipad. We have a kindle fire, and for a while we had that monthly subscription where you can get games and books, but we ultimately discontinued that and decided to just use the ipad. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777428 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 09:22:57 +0000 yoursilverlining 2777428@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO has an ipad (I think it might be an ipad mini actually; I’m not 100% sure). Her favorite apps are the Disney Jr app (although this one is like $3 a month, but does give you access to all sorts of episodes of shows and games and interactive stuff). Also Sago mini Road Trip, PBS’ Daniel Tiger Explore and the Endless apps. All of these work well without wifi, which is always nice. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777426 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 09:18:06 +0000 snowjewelz 2777426@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've only had Ipads; I briefly considered the Fire for kids, but at the end of the day I like the Ipad the best. For apps that I need to keep on the Ipad but don't want her to access I just move them to a folder and move it a few "pages" back. She has plenty of other apps to entertain her anyway. </p> <p>I have an almost 3 year old and we've loved Endless Reader, a bunch of the shapes/sorting/puzzle apps, oh and Sago Mini! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ipadtabletkindle#post-2777394 Wed, 04 Oct 2017 08:34:14 +0000 JLC53 2777394@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I want to get my 20 month old his own Ipad, Tablet, or Kindle for Christmas. Which one would you get?</p> <p>Also, because I have no idea - what are your kids favorite apps?</p> <p>I know having kids play with an Ipad, Tablet, of Kindle is controversial, but my husband works long hours and travels and this mom needs LO to be entertained for a few minutes to get dinner on the table. Hoping an Ipad, Tablet, or Kindle does the trick. </p>