Best E-Readers for Parents?

[WordCountess]

I've been wanting an E-Reader for quite some time, but as with all parents I worry that it will be a short-lived investment. My household has a way of breaking all sorts of electronics. My computer is hidden away in my bedstand. My children don't even know it exists! haha. But I want an E-Reader that we all can share. What suggestions do you have for an E-Reader for families?

Requirements:
Something durable: Most likely it will be dropped, stepped on, drooled on, and marked with all sorts of finger prints.
Easy to use: Three of my children are 5 and younger. The other two are a bit older. But none of them are old enough to be too 'tech savvy' yet, so I'd like something that is fairly easy to use.

Are there any E-Readers that are made specifically for kids? Or what is the best recommendation for one to be used by the whole family?

[ucfgrad93]

I'd go with a Kindle fire. There are interactive books that your children will like, plus Amazon has Free Time Unlimited which for a monthly fee allows you to access lots of books, movies, & games that are kid friendly. You can learn more about it here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.ht...cId=1000863021

Be sure and get a good case for it. The 8.9" models are on sale, starting at $269.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by WordCountess

Requirements:
Something durable: Most likely it will be dropped, stepped on, drooled on, and marked with all sorts of finger prints.

I suggest you go the other way and get something cheap. None of the available devices can handle what you're describing. So buy cheap, and expect it to break. Then get another one. In fact, if you can get used, why not? It'll probably get busted after a while. Then you can get another one.

Baiscall, none of the devices are durable. They are inherently fragile and built cheap.

[Shopaholic]

Originally Posted by WordCountess

I've been wanting an E-Reader for quite some time, but as with all parents I worry that it will be a short-lived investment. My household has a way of breaking all sorts of electronics. My computer is hidden away in my bedstand. My children don't even know it exists! haha. But I want an E-Reader that we all can share. What suggestions do you have for an E-Reader for families?

Requirements:
Something durable: Most likely it will be dropped, stepped on, drooled on, and marked with all sorts of finger prints.
Easy to use: Three of my children are 5 and younger. The other two are a bit older. But none of them are old enough to be too 'tech savvy' yet, so I'd like something that is fairly easy to use.

Are there any E-Readers that are made specifically for kids? Or what is the best recommendation for one to be used by the whole family?

None! Buy paper books. They're much cheaper. The cheapest ereader is $70 plus tax. How many times are you going to be willing to replace it every time a kid steps on it? How much money are you willing to waste on replacing broken electronics because of the kids?

Buy a paper book. They're cheaper and more durable than electronics. Ones made for kids that can handle being dropped will be useless & boring for anyone older. Stick to paper for them and buy one for yourself and hide it with the laptop kept away from the kidlets!

[HarryT]

eBook Readers are not childrens' toys. Don't even think of leaving them within reach of very young children. As the previous poster very rightly says, stick with paper books.

[NickyWithNook]

My now 4-year-old has one and has had it since she was 3, but we've taught her to be careful with it. She's been using one of our iPads or the other on and off since before she was 2. We'd have her sit and then hand it to her when she was little, and she's learned since then to be careful with it.

I don't think any e-reader can handle what you're talking about. Your choices appear to me to be to have rules and be careful with it, or get something just for you at this point but not for the kids (and then a cheap e-ink one might be best), or don't get one at this point.

If you do get something, I agree with getting something used to see how well they handle it. If they can take care of it, THEN maybe get a Kindle Fire as someone suggested (which is what I'd suggest as well otherwise), but I wouldn't get it until you know it'll be taken care of. Kids that age can do it but you might have to keep it out of their reach and get it for them when they want it so you can make sure no one drinks stuff around it or carries it from place to place.

[NickyWithNook]

Another thing: the good thing about Amazon for families is that eventually if you have several e-readers in the house, you can set up one account and send books to individual e-readers depending on for whom they're intended. That way adult books that might not be appropriate for kids aren't in view on their screens, and you don't have to wade through each other's books. (Edit: And, as one kid gets older and is at an age where they want to read books originally purchased for another kid, it's easy to send the book to another e-reader.) Nook has a child account option but it seems more clumsy and more of a PITA to me. My brother uses it with his and his kids' Nooks. I have my kids set up on a separate account from me, which works OK, but then we can't as easily share books with each other. I think Kindle gets the highest marks for how easy it is for a whole family to use various e-readers. And once you buy into one ecosystem (ie nook vs. kindle) it's at best a pain to move to another one. It's probably best to choose the one that will work best for you long term and then stick with it, IMO.

One other option I'll throw out, that will somewhat contradict what I just said, is that my older daughter has a Nook Tablet that can be run as an Android tablet. Nooks have an SD card slot, and you can set up an SD card (or by one already set up) that will allow you to boot it as an Android tablet, and then on that you can get the Kindle app and read both Nook and Kindle books. There are other e-reader apps as well.

Of course at that point you could just get an Android tablet. There are good options there too. And any tablet can be used as an e-reader.

But for kids to be able to navigate and for future versatility if you have several e-readers in your family, I'd still go with a Kindle Fire for what your'e saying - if you can find a way to keep them from destroying it as I said in my other post.

[LindaR]

I would choose Kindle Paperwhite for my parents as they can turn light on in the evenings and what is more important - this model has more contrasted text, which the eyes need more.

[theinfamousj]

I am a nanny, and the family I work for has Kindle Fires for their children, the youngest of which is 4. Having to monitor the use of those electronics, let's just say that I would stick with paper books until middle school for my own hypothetical children.

Besides, the school aged children have access to, and make ample use of, their school library. The eReaders mostly sit, untouched. But when the get touched, they get fill on assaulted. :: shakes head ::

[Katsunami]

The one thing you could do, if you buy any device that has touch control, is put it onto a sturdy stand on the table, and tell them to only touch it with one or two fingers. No picking it up, no walking around, no eating or drinking beside it. And I think that you'll still need to watch them.

[Shopaholic]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

The one thing you could do, if you buy any device that has touch control, is put it onto a sturdy stand on the table, and tell them to only touch it with one or two fingers. No picking it up, no walking around, no eating or drinking beside it. And I think that you'll still need to watch them.

With kids under 5???? Ya, good luck with that.

[Elfwreck]

There are no kid-friendly ereaders. That said, preschool children can learn to be careful with them--as long as the first several times they're used are under direct guidance, and the next several have supervision, and you're braced for being willing to replace it anyway in case of an accident. ("Walking through house; bumped shin; dropped ereader; landed on ereader.")

I believe the Kindle Fire, which is a multipurpose tablet much more than a dedicated ereader, would be best for that. However, if you really can't afford to replace it, don't share it with the kids yet. There's no guarantee you'll have to, but it only takes one clumsy moment to kill the device, and with three kids under five, you've got about a 10-year span of clumsy moments ahead of you.

Ereaders aren't incompatible with a rough-and-tumble kid-friendly household, but the phase of "get kids used to the fact that this device does not go in the dishwasher" could cost you the first one.

Option 2: Buy a refurbished, older model from Amazon (like a used PRS-300) and see if that works; find out what you like & don't like about it from that while you're shopping for a newer model with more features.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by WordCountess

Or what is the best recommendation for one to be used by the whole family?

As people have pointed out, they all break.

My eInk Kindle Keyboard survived going through the wash except for screen damage. Unlike (based on what I read here) the Fire, the Kindle Keyboard seems to survive being dropped, but it won't survive an elbow to the screen. Price on eBay for good condition used is around US$50. Price decline per year is about 50 percent. Wait until it is low enough so breakage won't bother you.

Won't one for the whole family provoke jealousy? What about one per person when they hit $15? Personally, I'd much rather children be upset about not keeping up with the Joneses than to see sibling rivalry flare-ups.

[JSWolf]

If you buy a Kindle via eBay, you do risk getting a demo model or even a blacklisted one. Is it worth the risk?

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you buy a Kindle via eBay, you do risk getting a demo model or even a blacklisted one. Is it worth the risk?

An eBay vendor is selling hundreds of supposedly used Kindle Keyboards at fixed price (not auction). I bought one for $49.99. Without the (to me and few others) fabulous free worldwide cell-phone based internet, it is $5.00 less. My unit looks new.

Since amazon has not lately offered warehouse deals on Kindle devices, just on covers, they must be off-loading returned units somewhere. I'm guessing eBay.

I've bought stuff from, and sold by, the great Amazon itself that I had to return because it was defective on arrival. It happens. Mailing something back isn't, to me, much harder than returning to a physical store.

Some eBay sellers have prickly personalities. I just found this page with advice on returns -- it's oriented towards apparel but most of it applies to electronics:

http://reviews.ebay.com/HOW-TO-RETUR...00000000014703