Kindle Fire for kids question

[frankiemom]

My daughter is seven and is beginning to read chapter books. Is there alot of books to download for her age? More importantly does the Kindle Fire help you when you get to a word you dont know? She gets frustrated when she has to stop and ask me a word. Thanks

 

[MrsPete]

I think seven is too young for an e-reader for several reasons:

- No, the selection for children's books isn't nearly what it is for adult books. I do suspect this'll change in the future as more and more people purchase e-readers. Many adult books are available for free, but few kids' books appear on the free list.

- Also, there's no feature for restricting children from the adult books, and a good number of the free books are "romance books" (code word for sex scenes). I'm fine with my teenagers reading whatever they choose, but I would've felt differently when they were seven. A beginning reader would find them impossible to read today, but in not too many tomorrows they'd be accessible to her.

- To activate your Kindle, you must set up a "buy with one click account" using your credit card. Most seven-year olds aren't completely clear on money /credit card connection, and you're opening yourself up to the possibility that the child might buy a bunch of books without realizing she was actually spending money. You could minimize this by choosing a model that doesn't have the 3G service attached; that way she'd have to physically hook her Kindle to the comptuer to buy books, and she'd have a greater realization that she was making a purchase.

- I personally know two pre-teens (much older than seven) who've broken Kindles through carelessness. We went on a trip with a youth group, and several of the girls simply couldn't grasp why it was a bad idea to leave their expensive Kindles lying on the floor beside their sleeping bags. I kept picking them up and putting them on the fireplace mantel, but they'd return them to the floor -- finally I told them that if they were broken, they were not to cry about it, and they were not to blame other people when they'd been told and told not to leave them on the floor. The next day one girl brought hers along as they waded in the ocean.

Kids vary, of course, but I think 12 is a minimum age to appreciate and care for one of these expensive toys. A better solution might be to get a FAMILY Kindle, and allow her to use it only with supervision. That might prevent tragedy.

And perhaps I should ask this: How upset would you personally be if she ruined a Kindle through carelessness? Some parents would be hopping-mad, while others would just say, "Well, it's gone".

If you do get her a Kindle, I'd suggest that you go with the least expensive model rather than the Fire. Also, get her a protective case right away. It's an oddity: Every adult Kindle user I know has a case of some type, yet none of the kids do. It seems that the kids need the cases more! In all fairness, perhaps their parents buy them cases, and they don't use them. I don't know.

In answer to your other question, my older Kindle does have a "dictionary feature" (which I like more than I ever would've expected), and I'd expect that the newer models would have this feature too.

 

[vicki_c]

There are plenty of Kindle books for kids available. My daughter is 10 and has no trouble coming up with lists of things she wants to read. And yes, all the Kindles have a dictionary function. We keep our kids Kindles unattached from the Internet all the time unless we are purchasing them something, so they only have on them things we allow.

You should consider though whether it's really the Fire you want/need (which is like a color tablet computer with a backlit screen - like a lesser version of an iPad) or just a Kindle for reading. The Kindle is considerably cheaper since it's really just for reading.

You can also buy insurance for the devices relatively cheaply. We didn't get any for our Kindles, but my DD has an iPod touch and we have a $50 3 year Square Trade warranty which includes accidental damage - like dropping it, getting it wet, etc.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

Here are the Kindle books for kids:
http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Cha...d_t=101&pf_rd_p=1341727342&pf_rd_i=1286228011

 

[DVCLiz]

OP, I think a basic Kindle would meet your daughter's needs beautifully. The new Kindle Fire is a tablet computer with a backlit screen, not an ereader. Unless you really want her to have full access to the internet and the App store, I'd say a Fire is more than you need right now. The basic $79 eink Kindle would be a much better choice for a 7 year old who wants to use it for reading.

I think you are asking about help for your daughter in sounding out a word she cannot read on her own, not a definition, right? If so, no, the Kindle won't help with that issue. Some books do have a "Text to Speech" function enabled, so the book can be read out loud for you,. But not on a word by word basis. However, as others have pointed out, the Kindle does have a dictionary function, so she could select the word and if she could read the definition by herself that might be helpful. Otherwise, it's just practice, practice, practice until she becomes a more proficient reader.

There are thousands of children's books available. I'm not sure what your budget is, but if you are willing to buy books for her you will never run out of selections. She'll be reading at a higher level/more advanced children's books long before she reads through the selection in her current age group.

You can also check out your local public library to see if it loans ebooks and if so, what their selection of children's books is like. And, of course, she can continue to check out and read paper books from her school library, too. Having an ereader is really the best of all worlds!!

I would second the suggestion of a cover, and of course as the parent you would make some rules about usage - whether it can be taken to school, how often she is allowed to purchase new books, etc. Once you activate the One Click with a credit card, you can load the account with gift cards and many parents do this as a means of keeping their children on a budget. The charges will be pulled from the gift card balance before the credit card is charged.

Personally, as a former children's librarian, I think a Kindle and a monthly book budget is one of the best gifts you can give a child, especially one who is already a reader. It will pay off for you down the road in reading comprehension, SAT scores, writing ability, etc. I think Kindles are fabulous - which is why I have every model!! All three of us got Kindle Fires for Christmas and they are fantastic!!

 

[Bev J]

I would agree that a Kindle e-reader is what you want and NOT the Fire. If you do purchase one then make sure you get one that has both 3G and Wifi so you can also borrow books from your local library, where you would have plenty of access to lots of childrens books for free.
Now one difference would be that the Fire would be able to show childrens books in color, not what the kindle e-reader would offer.
At any rate this is an expensive item for a 7 yr old, only you know if your 7yr old is mature enough to take care of a kindle.
I also recommend the square trade warranty that would cover damage.

I just love my Kindle's and don't ever leave home without one!

Bev

 

[DVCLiz]

I would agree that a Kindle e-reader is what you want and NOT the Fire. If you do purchase one then make sure you get one that has both 3G and Wifi so you can also borrow books from your local library, where you would have plenty of access to lots of childrens books for free.
Now one difference would be that the Fire would be able to show childrens books in color, not what the kindle e-reader would offer.
At any rate this is an expensive item for a 7 yr old, only you know if your 7yr old is mature enough to take care of a kindle.
I also recommend the square trade warranty that would cover damage.

I just love my Kindle's and don't ever leave home without one!

Bev

Bev, doesn't the library borrowing feature onlyl require wifi? I don't think you must have 3G to borrow from the library. I could be wrong about that, though!! No need for the OP to pay for 3G if she doesn't need it.

Edited to add: Yes, I just checked the specs on the Amazon product page. All public library downloads are done through wifi only, or USB cable from your computer. Library books don't download over 3G.

 

[ancestry]

I have 9 year old twins. Both received a Kindle Fire from their dad and I for Christmas. It was the best present we have ever gotten then.

I disagree with the poster who said 12 is the minimum age. Now as for a 7 year old it depends. You do need to monitor what the 7 year old downloads as there aren't parental controls and the 7 year old needs to understand that downloads that aren't always free and may cost money. Our 9 year olds have no trouble understanding these issues. We have both of their Kindle fires linked to my main Amazon account. I know exactly what they download and purchase as I get an email everytime something is downloaded. I can also see all of the books (theirs and mine) in my Amazon kindle app for my iPad.

 

[jrmasm]

My DD7 got a Fire for Xmas. She's used it a ton but not much for reading. Streaming Rugrats and playing Angry Birds is more fun.

I did notice the other day that my local library has a lot of kids' chapter ebooks to borrow.

 

[living20057]

My 11 year old received a Kindle Fire for Christmas, and he never puts it down. The library seems to have a good selection of ebooks to borrow. My other son is 6 years old, and he uses the Kindle too. I think it depends on how your 7 year old acts. For me, my 6 year old would be able to use it, but keeping up with it when he isn't using is a different story. He is not responsible, and doesn't really take care of his things. Something we are definitely working on.

 

[IndianaPrincess]

My 8 year old loves her Kindle so much that she gets grounded from it as punishment. Oh the horror of having to read an actual book.

We get a lot of kindle books from the library and I look at this site everyday for cheap and free books: http://youngedition.pixelofink.com/

We don't keep a credit card on file on her account. If we buy something, we put the cc number in and then delete it right when we're done.

There's also a few word games that she has downloaded for the kindle (she doesn't have a fire) and I see her little brain getting smarter!