Technology has changed a lot since you were little. Your children are probably more familiar with the features of your iPhone than you are. So, it’s good to admit it: it would be pretty nice if they had something of their own so that your phone isn’t perpetually doused in mysterious slime. But too many restrictions or a firm “no” to devices could do more harm than good.
Tablets for kids could be the healthy balance between giving your kids access to the tech they want without turning them into a collapsing kid. Roblox at the grocery store.
What’s Happening in the World of Screen Time Recommendations?
Kids’ tablets go way beyond keeping them occupied during a long car ride or a boring family gathering.
Screen learning and screen time restrictions are increasingly popular study points. Months and months of being locked up with little to do but staring at a screen has propelled the issue to the forefront of parenting conversations. As it becomes clearer that remote learning and working aren’t fading away, screen time could become a daily obstacle for more parents than it was before the pandemic.
Parents’ questions often boil down to “how much is too much?” Although this is rarely found with a definitive answer, recent research can at least shed some light on best practices.
In April 2019, the World Health Organization has issued long-awaited guidelines around screen time for preschoolers: One hour a day is the recommended maximum for children under age 5. These suggestions are based on the idea that healthy cognitive development in young children is built through face-to-face interaction. This aligns with recent research done at Vanderbilt University which suggests toddlers probably won’t learn much on a screenanyway.
But this learning disconnect often fades by the age of three. Just as they are fluent in conversation, children also understand that the character on screen represents a real person – and that this person is teaching them something. Dr. Carolyn Jaynes, Learning Designer at LeapFrog, explains in a Article inc.com“This content often uses strategies such as repeating an idea, presenting attention-grabbing images and sounds, and using children’s voices rather than adults for characters.”
Children understand that the character on the screen represents a real person – and that this person teaches them something.
A project by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center (a non-profit run by the people behind sesame street) compared the literary ratings of students in kindergarten through third grade who had used tablets in school. Students who used tablets scored higher on tests than those who did not use tablets, and they were able to recognize 20% more vocabulary words due to a better ability to recognize sounds and represent words. sounds in the form of letters. A Meta-analysis 2018 published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that the learning effect of the touch screen is particularly beneficial for STEM people thanks to the memorable real-life experiences that physical scanning can mimic.
Can we blame them? Interacting with content allows for a richer and more memorable experience. It’s just feels more like playing, and it’s no surprise that children are more willing to learn when it doesn’t feel forced. Moreover, play and imagination are the building blocks of creativity and empathy – so play Toca Boca instead of multiplication, we continue to develop real-world skills.
Dr. Michael Levine, founder of the Cooney Center, put into perspective the difference between “learning time” and “mindless time:“
“The idea is not that parents simply hand these devices to their children. Instead, games and e-books provide examples of hands-on activities that parents can do with their preschoolers in their kitchens and backyards to promote vocabulary and content knowledge in both languages, which helps build a strong foundation for lifelong learning….Instead of pushing screens away , it’s time to use them in a decidedly modern way.
So yes, tablets are a great learning tool as long as they aren’t a child’s main source of learning. The children go always must be comfortable reading printed books and doing calculations by hand. No hassle there. But tablets offer real opportunities for interactive, self-directed learning that children will certainly use in the future of education around laptops.
And sorry, childless folks on Twitter who swear never to give their future child a tablet — we can’t hear you over the audio of our uninterrupted Zoom meeting.
Rethink the whole “game turns kids into zombies” mindset
There are even fewer official screen time tips for teens. But a major area of focus is socialization.
Your kid who constantly wants to FaceTime a friend or team up on Fortnite multiplayer might be onto something: A Analysis 2021 by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found revealing relationships between social screen time and stronger peer relationships for children between the ages of 9 and 10.
The ability to hold dating sessions has become virtually crucial in the era of social distancing – but with or without the ability to meet in real life, different types of games and online dating (from the typical console or from computer gaming to live streams on Twitch, to VR) are essentially cemented as part of the modern growth experience. And when they’re not seen as the only way to bond, they can be legitimate socializing tools.
Video games, texting, and social media haven’t shaken the negative side effects that quickly come to mind. But the analysis mentions that these loose correlations are not necessarily causal, and that the results of this particular study do not send a red flag that the effects of screen time are clinically important.
How to choose the right tablet for your child
Most tablets made specifically for kids will already come with built-in parent accounts, timers, and pre-selected websites or apps that fall under the appropriate age groups. Easy enough.
General purpose tablets aren’t a bad choice at all – many sites name the iPad as one of the best tablets for kids, even though it’s technically for everyone. You’ll have to get creative to create a network of guidance similar to the built-in parental controls that tablets designed specifically for kids rely on. Both Apple and Android have settings that can filter content or prevent purchases, but play-by-play supervision can best be achieved through a legitimate parental control app for iPads or Android tablets.
Osmo(opens in a new tab) is a snap for iPad and Fire Tablet which can make the family tablet more kid-friendly. Moving a piece in real life moves it around the screen, creating a cool mix of your typical tablet game, hand-eye coordination, and problem solving. Topics include numbers, words, tangram, and art, plus additional packs for things like STEM or business-related math through a subject everyone cares about: pizza.
Things to consider when buying a kids tablet:
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Screen resolution: Deciding whether HD, HD, or FHD will suffice depends on how many movies they’ll be watching or games they’ll be playing. 4K is probably unnecessary fluff.
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Storage: They’ll likely have more apps than you and may need space to download offline Disney+ movies, music, or books for school.
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The intensity of parental controls: it’s less maddening to send your child off with a tablet when you don’t have to guess what content they’re absorbing.
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Toughness: Because kids are as destructive as they are adorable and you’ll definitely feel better about a case that can take some abuse.
Here are the best tablets to give your kids in 2022:
