For parents tasked with purchasing a tablet, the choice can be overwhelming. There are many factors to consider including price, parental control, durability and ease of use. To help you out, in no particular order, here are Top Tablets for Kids & Families this Christmas 2020.
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Top Tablets for Kids
NB we are an affiliate of Amazon and make a small commission on sales bought through our links.
LeapPad Ultimate
Suggested Age: 3-9 years
Description
Main Features
- 7-inch high-resolution touch screen and Wi-Fi and offers the next generation of children’s interactive and technological play
- Preloaded content featuring age appropriate skills including mathematics, reading and science as well as music, puzzles, logic and creativity to prepare kids for preschool and beyond
- Access to 1000+ learning games, videos, eBooks and more that have been either designed or approved by LeapFrog educators
- Shatter-safe screen and the wrap-around bumper of LeapPad Tablet both tested to stand up to the rough and tumble of kids.
- All the features of this tablet are kid-safe. Children can access the internet using LeapFrog’s kid friendly web-browser, LeapSearch.
Apps & Games
The LeapPad Ultimate comes preloaded with 100 worth of school readiness apps plus apps featuring reading music problem solving and creativity. It comes with access to 800+ games (sold separately). All games have been designed or approved by LeapFrog educators with some featuring Just For Me™ Learning.
There has been some criticism that parents cannot override the controls to give them full access to all android apps but can only download apps from the Amazon app store.
Safety & Parental Controls
As the LeapPad Ultimate is designed for younger children, it comes with a safe, protected LeapSearch web browser only allowing access to kid-appropriate videos and games etc. All content that can be accessed, has been reviewed and approved by learning experts. However the LeapPad Ultimate has been designed to grow with your child, so parents can easily add websites as their child grows.
The Leappad Ultimate is available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
LeapFrog Rockit Twist
Suggested Age: 4 – 10 years
Description
The LeapPad Rockit Twist is a handheld console, the perfect learning toy to get started with maths, literacy, science and encourage creativity. Loads of fun guaranteed as kids guide characters through puzzles, play music and much more.
Twist, turn, play and learn with the Rock It Twist rotatable, single-player game system with three profiles. Four sides of colourful, light-up controls include buttons, dials, a spinner, slider, switch and d-pad to provide a totally unique way to play exciting video games.
During game play, one of the eight game controls will light up to indicate when each control is needed throughout a game. Nurture three adorable virtual “rock it” pets that hatch and grow from eggs.
Main Features
- 12 preloaded games across five game play categories have three levels of difficulty that help kids learn skills including literacy, maths, problem solving, science and creativity.
- There’s no need for wi-fi, kids can play anywhere.
- Listen to your own music with the built-in MP3 player. Volume controls and a headphone jack are also included.
- Game packs (sold separately) include more games, plus a new virtual pet and a Rock It pet figure to match. For ages 4-10 years.
- Rechargeable batteries included.
The RockItTwist is available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD10
Suggested Age: From 3 years
Description
The Amazon Kindle Fire HD has been a popular tablet for kids year on year and this year you can get the Kids Edition with 1 year free subscription of Fire for Kids Unlimited included (with access to thousands of books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games), a 2 year worry-free guarantee and it sports a durable rubber case, which can be removed.
You can set profiles for up to 4 children and when selected, the fonts change to a kid-friendly design and they can only see titles that you have allowed them access to. The home screen carousel shows their recently views titles making it visually easy for them to navigate based on characters or topics.
The Kindle Fire HD 10 is available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
For a lower cost option, check out the Fire HD8 Tablet with hands free technology through Alexa, also on Amazon.co.uk & Amazon.com.
Main Features on Kindle Fire HD 10 Kids Edition
- 10.1″ HD display screen
- 2 Year worry-free guarantee including “if they break it we’ll replace it no questions asked”
- Robust rubber storage case in a choice of colours and gorilla glass
- 1 year free subscription of Fire for Kids Unlimited included
- 32GB storage (expandable to 256GB with an SD card)
- Up to 12 hour battery life
- Front and Rear Cameras & HD video recording
- Built in microphone
- Easy to use parental controls
Apps & Games
The Kindle Fire HD10 Kids Edition comes with 1 year free subscription of Fire for Kids Unlimited, which includes access to thousands of books, movies, educational apps and games.
Safety & Parental Controls
The parental controls are easy to use, and allow you to manage usage by setting limits to content, and time for each child’s profile, and also allows you to set educational goals. A child’s profile does not have access to the Fire HD built-in web browser, in-app purchases, e-mail or social media features.
Using a password, parents can take the Fire HD out of Kids edition and set up less strict limits.
Kurio Smart Tablets
Suggested Age: Kurio Tab Connect for younger members of the family; Kurio Smart 2-in-1 Tablet for older school-going kids, teens and students.
Description
Kurio have 2 great tablets aimed at kids – the Kurio Tab Connect for younger kids and the Kurio Smart 2-in-1 Tablet aimed at school age kids and students. Below we take a look at the best features of both.
Main Features of the Kurio Tab Connect
Internet filtering System- Built in App Management System & Time Controls
- Includes popular games like Subway Surfers, Beach Buggy Racing and more!
- Youtube Kids
- Loaded with Google Play™! Download millions more apps on Google Play!
- Includes the KIDOZ Store – a fully curated store of kid-friendly content!
- Quad core processor
- Comes with an integrated stand and protective bumper case
Main Features of the Kurio Smart 2-in-1
10” Tablet, foldable cover and detachable keyboard- Large 10” IPS touch screen, great for games, watching videos and work.
- Parental controls including time management, app management and internet filtering.
- It comes with pre-loaded popular games and has access to thousands of apps and games on the Windows Store
- Quadcore Intel Processing for speed
- Rear and Front Camera
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity capability
- Micro SDHC Card Slot to add an extra 32g of memory
Apps & Games
The Kurio Tb Connect comes preloaded with apps, games, entertainment, video, ebooks and educational content. More can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
The Kurio Smart 2-in-1 comes preloaded with popular games, entertainment, video-on-demand, ebooks, educational content. Includes popular games like Subway surfers, Cooking Fever, On The Run and more, Youtube Kids, and ooaded with Google Play™ and you can download more apps from Google Play.
Safety & Parental Controls
The Kurio Tab Connect has an inbuilt internet filtering system, an app management system, and a tablet usage system, including time limits for every day of the week.
The Kurio Smart 2-in-1 Tablet parental controls allow you to set time limits, block apps and set internet filtering.
Tablets for Families
iPad Pro 11 inch from Apple
Suggested Age: All the family
Description
If you are looking for a general family use tablet, then iPads are ideal for both parents and children. The 11″ iPad Pro is one of the most popular tablets currently on the market.
Main Features of the iPad Pro 11
- 11 inch true tone display for razor sharp text and images
- Weight 16.64 oz
- Light sensors to adjust colour of the display depending on where you are
- A12Z Bionic chip which means it is incredibly responsive and still gives up to 9 hours usage
- Great apps included and over 500,000 available on the App Store
- iOS10 which allows family sharing and access to an iCloud Drive for storage
- Built in 12MP rear facing Camera with 4K HD video and a 7mp FaceTime HD camera & 4 speaker audio
- Comes with 256GB storage
Apps & Games
The iPad Pro range has access to over 500,000 apps and games on the App Store. It also comes pre-loaded with GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto, iWork, iBooks, Siri, Safari, Mail, iTunes, Maps, Notes, Calendar, Photo Booth, Contacts and a Game Centre.
Within the game centre, there is an option to have multi-player games and invite friends to connect with you on games such as Minecraft.
Safety & Parental Controls
In the settings you can easily un-tick an app or feature to restrict access to it. You also have the ability to create a profile and enforce restrictions to that profile.
As the iPad is not currently aimed solely at children it means it is more difficult to have a completely child-safe web browser. You can implement guided access which can temporarily restrict your iOS device to a single app, and your child will not be able to navigate onto another app during play time.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7
Suggested Age: Suitable for all the family
Description
The Galaxy S7 Tab comes with a 10.4 inch screen and 64GB of memory. Available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. If your budget does not stretch to this tablet, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is a reasonable cheaper option.
Main Features of the Galaxy S7 Tab
- 10.4 Inch WUXGA+ display: Lose yourself in the latest blockbuster and put the finishing touches on your work project
- 7 mm ultra-thin metal body: it’s super light so you can keep yourself entertained at home and on-the-go
- Dolby Atmos Quad Speakers: Immerse yourself in your favourite content
- Powerful 7,040 mAh Battery: You can play all day and then some
- Microsoft Office for Android is preloaded
- 64GB memory (expandable with a microSD card)
- 8MP camera
- 4 stereo speakers built in
- Up to 16 hours battery life
- Built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and has a micro USB point and an audio jack
- S Pen included
- Detachable keyboard available to purchase
- Easy to install Parental Controls & Tools
Apps & Games
With purchase of Galaxy Tab S7, you get 6 months of YouTube premium free. You can access a full range of games and apps through the Google Play Store.
Safety & Parental Controls
Setting parental controls the Samsung Galaxy S7 Tab is easy. You can block or filter Google Play and add passwords for purchases to avoid your child ‘accidentally’ downloading inappropriate content or making in-app purchases.
As the Samsung Galaxy S7 Tab is not specifically designed for kids, there is no ‘kid-mode’ available so parents have to choose the level of blocking they want.
Have your say! Have you chosen/used any of these top tablets for kids – anything to add in terms of features, pricing, practicality? Tell us in the comments below.
About the Author: Michelle
