Best tablet for kids and travel- 3 and 5

[CrazyDisneyWife]

Hi! What is the best tablet for kids? I would like learning tablets, not just "games" (learning games are great). It would be great if they can watch movies, too. We have kindle fires and HATE them! I have to reconnect to the internet every time we use them, they are not user friendly, and I have had to send them back to Amazon twice. Honestly, they stay in the cabinet now, because trying to use them always makes someone end up in tears.

I would love to be able to use them on the car on the way to Disney, too. I know iPads are great, but they are too pricy especially since we have to buy two.

Thank you for your suggestions!

 

[mel2014]

We have and love 3 Samsung Galaxy Tab Tablets -- a 4-year old 10", a one-year old 7", and a two-month old 8". In my experience, the 7" is a good size for kids (the other ones are harder to handle) and the Tab 4 is available at Target for $99. I would advise against kid-specific tablets, and just get a shockproof case and use a parental control app from the Play Store if you want it to be easier for the kids to use (so it only shows them the apps they can/should use). When my kids were that age, they loved all of the Monkey Preschool games. We also liked the TabTale interactive stories.

 

[Lvsdisney]

I was going to recommend a Kindle until I actually read your post! I am sorry you have had so many issues. I've never had an issues with ours, and I love the Kindle Free time app. I've never had internet issues with it, unless I purposefully turn it OFF.

I will recommend netflix app as you can download some tv shows/movies onto the tablet for watching when there is no internet. I also have linked my disney movies anywhere with my amazon account to download movies onto the tablet. They have relationships with iTunes, Google Play, and others so you can do the same thing! The kids love having their movies available anytime, especially on long car/plane rides.

 

[Tattylou]

My kids looove our kindles. We've had none of the troubles you've described. I second @Lvsdisney suggestions. I also bought extra storage SD cards for the kindles and that seemed to make them more user friendly bc before that their storage would fill up quickly.
Before the kindles we had D2 tablets, those were terrible, don't recommend.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

We're another family with Kindles and they have been great for my kids!

iPad Airs or Minis are very user friendly, but you will pay a premium for them.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We too have a Kindle Fire (Kids Edition) for our 2 year old. No issues.

 

[texasroni75]

Right now my kids have Kindle Fires, but we haven't had them long enough to say whether they will stand the test of time. We got them on Prime Day this July. I don't trust most tablets since they seem great for a few months then die, stop charging,errors galore, become painfully slow, wifi breaks, you name it. And the cost to fix is basically the same as buying a new one.

That said, we have tried so many other brands of tablets and the only one to perform well, and last longer than a year is the ACER Iconia One tablet. The only reason we had to replace it because DD left it on the floor one day and someone stepped on it and broke the screen. The ACER tablet is more expensive than a Kindle Fire, but much cheaper than an iPad. ($90 to $150 price range depending on model).

 

[monorailsilver]

My kids had the leap pad products. They are all learning but fun! And cheaper then most tablets.

 

[HeatherL1985]

We have a Samsung Galaxy A Tab 8". They are seriously awesome for kid's because they have kid's mode which restricts viewing content and purchasing power. We bought the Fintie case and a tempered glass screen off of amazon. My son has dropped and thrown his and it is still going strong.

 

[Thing 1]

We found that the "kid" tablets were a waste of money for us. We were not impressed with kindle either. We finally just bit the bullet and bought iPads. Best decision ever. Maybe look into re-ferbished or buy one to share. Just invest in a good case.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Nothing beats an iPad. Maybe you could find some good deals on used or refurbished ones.

 

[pixie08]

iPad for sure.

 

[Vijoge]

I've picked up older iPads on Groupon for pretty cheap.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We got an iPad mini 2nd gen for under $200. We had the kindle fire and hated it too. The iPad was so worth the money, as she can actually use it.

 

[momto2js]

My kids both have Samsung galaxy tablets. I think they have the 7in ones. The current ones are 3 years old and the version before lasted about 2 1/2 years.

 

[photophreak]

I was going to suggest iPods or iPads until I saw they won't work for you. I had the same experience with Kindle Fires. We decided that the budget hit was worth the convenience for the Apple products. Mu husband and I both use Apple products, so we can sync our stuff with the kids, as necessary. We know they are quality products, and we know how to help when they have an issue with them. I swear, that Kindle Fire almost went through a window a few times. haha!

Sometimes Target runs a special where you get a $50 target card if you buy an Apple product. Since they pretty much don't go on sale, I kept my eyes open for those when we were shopping and we were able to at least get that perk, when purchasing.

 

[DisTXMom]

Leap pads. They run specials on apps and you can load any purchases on up to 3 devices. They are built for kids. Very sturdy and easy for them to use. Can purchase select movies and educational videos, which are helpful for travel.

 

[BLAZEY]

DD7 has Leap Pads and loves it. She is however "academically" passed all the games and e-books. She takes it on trips and such. Before that she got (and still uses) her $49 7" screen, portable DVD player and headphones. DH & I upgraded our Iphones and DH has "given" DD7 his old phone without a phone plan so it functions like an Ipod Touch. It has her music on it and some games and many pictures of the family cat. We will most likely have her take the Iphone and her actual paperback books. I will have my Ipad and DH will have his laptop.

 

[fattymatty]

Both my kids have leap pads, got them for them when they were 3 and 5, games can be a bit expensive and but cartridge system good. Can download them as well and that a little cheaper. also can share downloads between both units. Only thing it doesnt have is a internet browser but that is only become an issue now with our oldest who is now almost 8. But he still loves to play the games he has on it.

 

[EinHoden]

I like the Samsung tablets. You can download Amazon Underground, which lets you download a ton of free apps that you would otherwise have to pay for. All in-app purchases on the 'underground' app are free as well. There a lot of educational apps that my daughter loves on both Amazon Underground and Google play. She has an iPad, but we are constantly running out of room and having to delete apps and movies to load new stuff for her. I'm not sure about the current Samsung tablets, but I have 2 older ones and they both have memory slots so you can add as many movies as you want. On my daughters Ipad, I used to be able to choose to download the SD version of any movie we bought, rather than the HD version and save space, but I've noticed recently that Itunes doesn't have an SD version of a lot of stuff available anymore. She is constantly asking me for my tablet when she gets bored with what she has on her Ipad.