General Random Conversation..

[Gemmill 46756]

My nephew is getting a Nexus 7 for Christmas. Bringing him up right, the Android way.

[desmondTUTU 0]

[Monkeys Fist 43391]

My girl, who's 6 has asked for a Leap pad but we are looking at cheaper tablets- hadn't thought of an older iPad.

 

 

 

 

My little lad wants " A blue bike! A blue one!"

[Christmas Tree 4913]

The good thing about an Ipad is that they can use them for music, TV, as well as all the other stuff.

 

It is about moderation as well but you can't hold back "progress" through the generations.

 

The real shit starts when they want a phone and get hooked up to all the bitchy online stuff.

[Happy Face 29]

i wouldbn't get any of the vtech tat like. Step up from plastic mobiles IYAM.

 

My Nephew is 6 and he's getting a Nabi 2

 

They say it's the kids tablet one on the market, but it comes 3rd in this comparison because it's twice the price of the leappad(s).

 

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/tablets/3378548/7-best-tablets-for-children/

[Happy Face 29]

When ya look at the price of some of those kids tablets and think a refurb/used Nexus 7 will be around £100 and be 5x the device...

 

It's a contradiction, but you're paying for the limits on what they can do...and the targeted software that comes packaged on it.

 

You can get a brand new HP slate 7 for £99 as well. It's not as good as the nexus, but half the price and does a 6 year old care about screen resolution and camera quality?

[catmag 337]

My girl, who's 6 has asked for a Leap pad but we are looking at cheaper tablets- hadn't thought of an older iPad.My little lad wants " A blue bike! A blue one!"

The RRP for the Leap Pad ultra is £120 but everywhere has them cheaper. Amazon for £79.99.

 

CT - I don't want him to have an iPad to watch TV on - we have a TV for that, and he's not into music massively yet. I want a child's tablet because I'm still hugely reluctant to throw technology at him at this age. He'll be asking for phones/Xbox/ DS soon enough but for now I'm happy for him to have something more age-appropriate that I can restrict.

[Meenzer 15792]

http://slightlywrongquotes.tumblr.com/

[Meenzer 15792]

http://mashable.com/2013/11/25/texting-transformed-period/

 

As a cunning linguist I absolutely love this stuff.

[desmondTUTU 0]

Just seen the first Christmas tree of the year in a house.

Bit early to be fair.

[Jill 0]

http://mashable.com/2013/11/25/texting-transformed-period/

 

As a cunning linguist I absolutely love this stuff.

 

Aye, I like that.

[Tom 14021]

Tablets for kids man.

 

I had calpol & a ghostbusters suit when I was a boy of 5/6.

[Meenzer 15792]

I instinctively recoil from the whole thing too, but then when I was 6 we bought a VIC-20 computer which was basically the tablet of its day (.....hey, give me some leeway here), so it's not like "technology for kids" wasn't a core part of my upbringing - it very much was. It just feels weird because the technology is actually good these days.

[Tom 14021]

I know we had a Windows computer and I loved it from a very early age, 3 or 4 - I'm just being facetious

 

It is a bit weird if they stop being kids but that said I was hyperactive as a boy so My mother may have killed for an iPad to shut me up for hours.

[Meenzer 15792]

I'm just being facetious

 

I'm not - just massively hypocritical.

[ChezGiven 0]

Tom too if truth be known, he wouldnt react like that if it was an electric guitar being discussed for a 5 year old.

[The Fish 11021]

Used to get so frustrated if I went knocking on mates to try and get them to have a kick about, only to find they're out, grounded or sick.

[ewerk 31341]

Awww, is that what they told you?

[Meenzer 15792]

Sometimes all three.

[The Fish 11021]

You're both as welcome as explosive diarrhoea

[Kevin Carr's Gloves 4031]

You're both as welcome as explosive diarrhoea

In a wetsuit.

[The Fish 11021]

In a wetsuit.

doused in chum while swimming off Gansbaai

[Meenzer 15792]

And further to the linguistic nerdery above:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25103362

 

[Meenzer 15792]

And in "importance of giving your translator clear instructions" news:

 

[catmag 337]

I can see the argument for getting an ipad but kids find them so amazing i fear that if you give one at such a young age it will 'crowd out' other activities that they should also be doing.

 

If you give one to the child and then ration it to say 30 minutes a day, they might not understand and it may cause issues. To solve those issues you will need to take it away, cause bigger short term issues or give in causing longer term issues.

 

Mine is 3 now and the only thing she cant do is the code for the ipad as its got my work security/password to lock it. Having Disney films, cinderella apps, learning games etc means she would spend all her time on it. We were doing jigsaw puzzles last night and she was more than happy to do that. The problem with an ipad or even similar is that doesnt encourage play within the family, modern devices are insular for adults nevermind children.

 

Having said all that, i dont think responsible handling is that difficult. Our one know's that the phones and tablets are both mum and dad's and its a treat to be given it. I wonder how long that will last though.

 

A tablet is absolutely no substitute for old-fashioned play and I'd never let it be so. The bairn can't get his hands on my iPad unless I actually give it to him, and whenever I do it comes with a stipulation that he can play on it for x number of minutes or half an hour etc, so he knows the restriction from the start. And that's what he gets it for. He's got a phenomenal imagination, we have a house full of imaginary creatures and people living with us and since he's started school is even happy to sit and go through his reading books/homework letter sounds etc so I don't think removing it from him after an appropriate length of time will be an issue. He's nearly 5 so understands those boundaries and (thank God!) is a placid, well-behaved kid who doesn't kick off at the drop of a hat if I tell him it's time to put the iPad away.

 

I know that a friend of mine has been asking around for tablet recommendations for her daughter as she wants to get her one for Christmas. Her daughter is 2 1/2. I was horrified

 

Also to add that it's only one of his gifts and the only 'technological' one. The rest involve good old-fashioned books, super-hero bits and pieces (and costumes - no doubt I'll have to be the baddy again) Transformers etc, so there's very much a balance there.