Kindle Fire for 9 (almost 10) year old

di11on

Hi folks,

Our daughter is 9, almost 10 and a while back she saw my brother in law with his Kindle and expressed a great interest in it. She's an avid reader and we thought this would be great. Several months down the line, the Kindle Fire came out and I suggested that. We left Ireland a few years ago and she still has friends there that she keeps in touch with by email and I thought this would be great for her.

Now, my wife is having second thoughts. She thinks, on principle, it's too much money to spend on a 9 year old. Thankfully, we should be able to afford it this year, so that's not an issue at present. Looks like the the Kindle Fire HD would be the one to go for, so we're talking €200. Problem is, we pretty much said she could have it already. Now we'd be back tracking.

I'd really value people's opinion's on:

- Age suitability of a Kind Fire HD or any small tablet PC for a 9, almost 10 year old
- How would you backtrack if you really thought that it was inappropriate?
- Is backtracking worse than giving a Kindle fire, even if you think it's not the right thing to give?

I can still remember my parents reversing decisions on stuff as a kid and it still makes me mad, so for me, this is not a trivial issue and the negative impacts of it shouldn't be underestimated in my opinion.

Cheers folks.

0ph0rce0

Its Christmas just get it for her, if its something that she wants and will use on a regular basis then why not? Better than spending hundreds on toys she will play with for a day.

I got my 8 year old an ipad last year, it was a bit much but the use she gets out of it is great, from reading books, to games and all the learning apps, its great when travelling she can watch movies and listen to music.

Plus when she's in bed or aint using it then the other family members get so much use out of it.

The fire HD is a nice piece of kit and is pretty much the same thing as the ipad so id say go for it.

Don't backtrack and crush a little girls dream

And don't listen to the people who say Its inappropriate and they are exposed to the internet and all that ****e cause if your a responsible parent none of that should matter, its the jealous people and the tight arses who wouldn't spend a penny on their child that make the bad points which are not bad to begin with.

Sleepy

How technical are you?

Would you be able to configure your home router / wifi so that she only has access to the net when she's monitored? Block her access after bedtime etc?

Personally, I wouldn't see a problem with a child having an ordinary Kindle, they're fantastic things. A 24/7 internet connection though? No chance. Particularly when it's on a piece of hardware that you won't be able to install net-nanny software on.

I wouldn't "back down" per se, but would it be a massive issue if Santa "got the wrong one"? and got her the standard non-internet browser enabled Kindle?

Lisha

Sleepy wrote: »

How technical are you?

Would you be able to configure your home router / wifi so that she only has access to the net when she's monitored? Block her access after bedtime etc?

Personally, I wouldn't see a problem with a child having an ordinary Kindle, they're fantastic things. A 24/7 internet connection though? No chance. Particularly when it's on a piece of hardware that you won't be able to install net-nanny software on.

I wouldn't "back down" per se, but would it be a massive issue if Santa "got the wrong one"? and got her the standard non-internet browser enabled Kindle?

Just out of interest sleepy why can't net nanny software be installed?

Op I would say get it as long as it is affordable to you and that Internet is controllable by you in as much as you need it to be.

Santa is bringing my 5 yr old a meep tablet and a football table total cost 200euro
We don't buy presents during yr and birthdays spend about 70 so I think it's ok to spend at Xmas

justsomebloke

di11on wrote: »

Now we'd be back tracking.

If you want an easy out, I'll give you one. It isn't going to work here as you have to have a UK account and even at that I think it maybe stricter then an ordinary kindle where you have to have a UK credit card for it. Have a look into it anyway as it could a massive disappointment come christmas morning

A nexus 7 would be a much better option and won't have the same problem

di11on

Thanks for the replies folks,

Regarding the internet connection - we've discussed this and think we have a decent plan. A combination of openDNS (presume you can change the DNS ips on these things?) router configuration (turning her connection off after and before a certain time) and generally only using it in the living area of the house.

We're in France, so we'd be accessing content from amazon.fr. Have looked into this and there is plenty of stuff in English available.

Sleepy

Lisha, I'm just speculating here, but if the Fire is anything like the standard Kindle, or indeed it's closer cousin the iPad, you only get to install things that Amazon have approved i.e. you're tied to whatever net nanny software they make available (if they, indeed, make any available). Knowing how useless most net nanny software is, I'd be very ware of this.

di11on, I'd look into how configurable the Fire is in relation to changing DNS's etc. I've certainly not come across those settings on my Kindle 3G. Though you should be able to deal with most things at the router level, perhaps an "access request" system where she asks for an hour's internet at a time or something (could make a useful reward system for good behaviour too!).

Moonbeam

I would also go with the Nexus 7.
My kids favourite toy in the house is the ipad and the Xoom and they are 3 and 1 so I completely understand the 9 year old wanting it. The kids get to use it with us in the room or only in kids mode with everything locked out.
I would not be happy giving a 9 year old full unsupervised internet access no matter how mature they are. I like the laptop/pc in a family room or if that is not possible I would heavily filter it at that age.
They are old enough t be curious but not to deal with he consequences.

Mr.Wemmick

justsomebloke wrote: »

If you want an easy out, I'll give you one. It isn't going to work here as you have to have a UK account and even at that I think it maybe stricter then an ordinary kindle where you have to have a UK credit card for it. Have a look into it anyway as it could a massive disappointment come christmas morning

A nexus 7 would be a much better option and won't have the same problem

Sorry, don't get what you mean. What isn't going to work here? And why?

Moonbeam

justsomebloke wrote: »

If you want an easy out, I'll give you one. It isn't going to work here as you have to have a UK account and even at that I think it maybe stricter then an ordinary kindle where you have to have a UK credit card for it. Have a look into it anyway as it could a massive disappointment come christmas morning

A nexus 7 would be a much better option and won't have the same problem

I got uk kindles for relations up north and have no problems with using an irish credit card in relation to it.

di11on

Mr.Wemmick wrote: »

Sorry, don't get what you mean. What isn't going to work here? And why?

Amazon sell the Kindle Fires at cost from what I can tell. They make it very easy to buy and download digital content and apps from Amazon.co.uk. You also get storage on the Amazon cloud. However, this service isn't available to Irish customers. You can buy the Kindle Fire in the UK, but you won't be able to buy and download apps or digital content from Amazon.co.uk if you are located in Ireland. From what I understand, you can get around the restrictions and install android apps but it will be a much more cumbersome process requiring the user to be very tech-savvy.

On the other hand, the Nexus 7 is linked to Google Play (Market) and you download apps and content this way - it's more open, but the Kindle Interface is cleaner and more intuitive from what I gather.

I live in France though, so we will have access to content from Amazon.fr.

Getting back to my original question - we're pretty comfortable that this is the device we want and we're also comfortable regarding internet access. The main issue is whether this is just too much to spend on a 9 year old or not and whether it's reasonable or not to backtrack on our promise to get her one.

From what I can read - there's no questions regarding how useful it will be and whether or not she'll enjoy it - it sounds like she definitely will.

I'm agreeing with most of the posters here and I'm all on for getting it - it's just the other half really thinks it's too much - anyone out there with this opinion?

2xj3hplqgsbkym

I would definitely get one. My 2 year old would love one, he can already use an I pad just from his aunty showing him while she has been babysitting. I think those computers for kids are a waste of money as they outgrow them so quickly.

Also she might be using one in school soon, I wonder could you check with her secondary school to see if they use tablets and is there a particular type , to save you buying another in 2 years time.

di11on

Mathias Victorious Needlepoint wrote: »

...
Also she might be using one in school soon, I wonder could you check with her secondary school to see if they use tablets and is there a particular type , to save you buying another in 2 years time.

This is a good point, I must look into it.

Moonbeam

They will have changed alot again in 2 years time:)

Orion

I got my 2 nine year olds Kobos for their birthday. Much cheaper option and they love them.

hoodwinked

op only you would know your child, but imo you should get if you think she'll use it,


most people think im crazy for my 3 year old getting an ipod touch (cheapest older gen not that she'll notice) but anyone who knows her has agreed it would be the best christmas present for her, we don't normally buy her a lot of toys during the year so i see €200 once a year as her big present an ok spend.

im not sure about kindle, but with the ipod we can lock it down with codes and passwords and we will do that, but she loves her apps, they've taught her how to spell her name, read, shapes, colours,she can name all the bones in the body from some surgery app my aunt had her playing on her ipad, and id rather she play with a computer than sit in front of a tv they can learn so much from these,


if you think your daughter would benefit from it by all means go for it.

3ndahalfof6

I think it is brilliant that your child is an avid reader so young, reading is knowledge (if the right material) if you can afford it, once you can put in the necessary protection, I think it is a great thing, plus showing confidence in your child, I am sure she will not let you down.

Moonbeam

hoodwinked wrote: »

op only you would know your child, but imo you should get if you think she'll use it,


most people think im crazy for my 3 year old getting an ipod touch (cheapest older gen not that she'll notice) but anyone who knows her has agreed it would be the best christmas present for her, we don't normally buy her a lot of toys during the year so i see €200 once a year as her big present an ok spend.

im not sure about kindle, but with the ipod we can lock it down with codes and passwords and we will do that, but she loves her apps, they've taught her how to spell her name, read, shapes, colours,she can name all the bones in the body from some surgery app my aunt had her playing on her ipad, and id rather she play with a computer than sit in front of a tv they can learn so much from these,


if you think your daughter would benefit from it by all means go for it.

I was thinking you are a bit mad but then I thought some more..we have those things here anyway and the 2 girls love playing with them (3 and 1) I would rather they are playing with the ipad and interacting with it then watching tv.

di11on

Thanks again all.

The other half suggested to her to wait for her 10th birthday in a couple of months and instead she can have all the smaller things she wanted for Christmas (which will probably total the same amount anyway). She liked the idea, so looks like we've brokered a deal :-)

It will be a nice opportunity to make a big deal out of her 10th birthday.