Each parent has his/her own areas that are a main focus in their parenting with their kids. Battles they will fight. Decisions they will stick to day-to-day. One of those for us has been food and dinner time. I will not be a short order cook and my kids can go to bed hungry if they don’t like what is for dinner. Other parents don’t follow that and I really don’t care. Because I have other areas where parents are more strict than me. It all balances out in the end in my opinion.

Another area has been electronic devices. Not particularly timing screen time to the minute (my kids LOVE to watch TV and so do I), but the actual possession of a device. At Charlotte’s 6-year check-up in February our pediatrician was shocked that my kids did not have devices yet. She stated it is just not the norm anymore in suburban America. My kids use MY iPad mini. Which has worked for a long time. Until now.

Now that both of the girls are avid readers and in school the iPad has become an issue. Stella and Charlotte both have homework that is required to be completed on a computer or tablet. Stella uses a music note app in her piano lessons and practice. So there is a need for some sort of device in our house that is accessible to the kids. However, my iPad will not be it much longer.

The problem is that the girls will read texts out loud to me. “Hey Mom! Miss So-and-So {Insert name} wants to know if it’s happy hour yet?” Hmmm… “Hey Mom!! Are we really thinking about going for ice cream after dinner?” Hmmm…

Yes, I could turn on all of those parental control settings on my iPad when the kids use it. But it’s MY iPad that I use a lot during the day as well. And I’d constantly be turning on and off settings.

So I came to the realization that I want another family device. One for only the kids, but not really belonging to any of the kids. I assumed I would stick with Apple, suck it up, and get another iPad mini. But then my mom friends started to chatter. And I discovered the Kindle Fire HD Kids Amazon FreeTime. Each child has his/her own profile? They each have their own apps and games? You can set time limits for each kid so that the device just shuts down when time is up? Reading time is unlimited? REALLY?!?!?

I researched Apple some more, because I do love my Apple products. Their answer? Minimal parental controls and take the device away. And pay way more.

Seems like a no-brainer to me. AND the Kindle Fire is on sale on Amazon right now. Should I add it to my cart?!?!

So tell me…is there any reason I do not want the Kindle Fire for my kids? (4, 6, and almost 8 years old?)

What devices do your kids have/use?