The Drawbacks of Buying Tablet Computers for Children

Tablet Computers for Children

While the potential benefits to your child's mental growth are many, there are also multiple drawbacks of buying tablet computers for kids and teens. Depending on the age of your children, they may treat the versatile and powerful minicomputer in their hands in a rough-and-tumble manner. And for parents of multiple children, the idea of spending several hundred dollars each to purchase their children their own tablet PCs is daunting by itself, especially if the devices will be mistreated.

One of the most concerning drawbacks of buying tablet computers for children concerns how the child will use the device. Though a parent may have the best of intentions, without strict monitoring the powerful computer may simply turn into an all-day movie or music player. To address those concerns, some tablet manufacturers have included child monitoring applications and software, which allow you to set limits on the content your child accesses, as well as limiting exactly how long they can spend enjoying different activities such as web surfing and viewing videos.

And in a day and age where child obesity is rampant, many parents may think twice before supplying their children with yet another mobile PC which might contribute to less exercise and poor physical fitness. There are of course multiple fitness applications and games your child can interact with which are available for download to the most popular tablet computers, but will your child use them?

Another major drawback which parents run up against when they are shopping for tablet computers for their tween, teen and college aged children concerns features. A shopping parent has to compare screen size, resolution, processing power, RAM memory and a ton of other features, to make sure they are purchasing the right product for their child's end-use. With literally hundreds of tablet PCs to choose from, this can be difficult for even a tech savvy parent.

And of course there is the child's short attention span which must be taken into account. Today's kids demand instant gratification, and while a tablet PC may be a well-received gift when presented, it may simply end up battling for your child's attention along with his smartphone, laptop, hand-held gaming devices and other well intended gifts and toys.

Parents wanting the best for their kids need to thoroughly consider the many drawbacks of buying tablet computers for children. Cost and content accessibility are among the primary concerns, and rightfully so. You should also consider whether your child is old enough to properly care for a tablet PC. And don't forget that your best intentions may simply see a tablet computer collecting dust and unused shortly after purchase. As long as you bear these factors in mind, you may be able to leapfrog the many drawbacks of a tablet PC purchase for children and teens, and score the perfect gift.