Tablets are a must-have for children. Since she was very small, my daughter has owned one. It was first a music player that helped my daughter fall asleep at night. It was then the essential movie theatre for long train and plane rides. It was then used as a platform for Marvel Unlimited, an infinite comics app. It’s now her favourite place to draw fan art.
Tablets are expensive, fragile gadgets that can have unlimited internet access, which is a problem for parents. A good tablet for children is not the same as a good tablet for adults. While you want your adult tablet to be thin, light and fast, a tablet designed for children should be affordable, durable, and protected.
These tablets are our top picks for kids. They have been chosen for their affordability, durability and age-appropriate features. No matter what tablet you choose, make sure you have a case and kid-friendly headphones. These little investments will be well worth it.
The Best Tablets For School
A base model iPad is the best tablet for school. Because the iPad is the dominant tablet in the landscape, most schools will support it, many teachers will also have it, and it will be easy for them to get technical support. Some tablets might not be capable of running third-party apps or filling out the correct web forms. Amazon’s Fire tablets are the worst. They are popular and inexpensive, but they aren’t optimised for productivity.
An iPad is not enough for your school. You will need something with Chrome OS. This roundup includes the Lenovo Chromebook Duet. It’s a great value, but it can sometimes be difficult to find it in stock. For more suggestions, check out our roundup on the best Chromebooks to kids.
Specs Still Matter
A tablet meant for children should not be considered a waste of money. You can find a tablet that is reliable enough to prevent frustration meltdowns by looking at the hardware specs. Let’s begin with screen size. A 8-inch display measuring 1,280 x 800 pixels is ideal for reading comics or watching videos.
Pay attention to storage specifications. We recommend 32GB storage or more than 16GB. This will allow you to install more apps, take more photos and videos. You can also use a microSD card slot to store movies for long-distance trips.
How We Test Tablets
At least 2GB RAM is recommended. This will make apps launch faster and run smoothly, especially if you have other programs running. You don’t want your tablet to go dead during a long car trip.
iPads for Children
The price of the iPads has dropped significantly and they offer great value for money. The best iPad apps will be there for your child, it will grow with them, and it can also double as a pseudo laptop for schoolwork. Apple’s operating system offers tools that will allow you to monitor your children’s tablet usage and keep track of what apps they are using, as well as the time they spend on them. Apple has parental controls that allow you to block apps, filter content and prevent purchases. You should also use them to stop your children from spending your money without your consent.
The iPad’s accessories offer the most options for creative and productive kids, with cases keyboards and the Apple Pencil stylus. It is versatile and extensible.
You probably know that iPads allow kids to use FaceTime and iMessage to communicate with other family members or friends who have Apple devices.
This roundup is for people with very young children, people who are completely in the Android ecosystem or people who don’t want to spend $300 on an iPad.
Get your kids on fire
Amazon’s Fire tablets are a family favourite for many years. They are affordable and come with a Kids Edition, which includes a rubber case and a two-year no-questions-asked guarantee. The 8-inch Kids model, which is based on the Fire HD 8, costs $139.99.
Amazon tablets feature a simple interface, strong parental controls and Kids+. This is basically a huge collection of content for children. The Parent Dashboard allows you to keep track of your children’s screen time and keeps them safe. Multiple user profiles can be created for the tablets.
Our family was very involved with Google services. We communicated via Hangouts, and my daughter had a G Suite account that I oversee. An Android tablet can be a great option if you use Google cloud services and Android applications. It’s also less expensive than an iPad and isn’t tied to Amazon services like a Fire tablet.
Android offers parental control features that allow you to restrict user profiles and prevent accidental purchases. You can also filter Google Play apps. You should consider downloading parental control software if you want to allow your children to use these tablets without your permission.
Toy tablets should be avoided
Fuhu, Kurio and Leapfrog are well-known for their highly restricted tablets. They come preloaded with child-friendly software and don’t allow access to the internet by default. These tablets are outdated and insecure Android versions that have not been updated in years. We don’t recommend them.
Check out our tested picks for the top kids’ smartphones and best children’s laptops while you shop for Junior. The best tablets overall offers a wider selection for adults and older children.
