How to choose between all the tablets for 2 year olds

KINDLE FIRE TABLET, 7″ DISPLAY

16 GB internal storage

1 GB RAM

2 MP front and rear-facing cameras

5/6 h battery life

7″ display

Amazon Fire OS

The Kindle fire 7 kids edition has become something of a children’s tablet par excellence. Many parents after hours of research for the best tablet for a two year old end up buying a Kindle fire because they’re familiar with it, (it is the same Kindle that adults use but with extras for children) and their familiarity with Amazon reassures them. We bought two for our twins, just before they turned two.

There are three major selling points that distinguish the Kindle Fire as the best tablet for 2 year olds from the others:

• It is a kid proof tablet with an excellent protective case with integrated stand.
• It has a 2-year worry-free guarantee (this guarantee covers everything even if your little angel puts the Kindle in the toilet to check will it sink or Float!?).
• It comes with a free year of Amazon kids+ ( a kid platform where you can find age appropriate videos, games, and learning apps)

Obviously, it also includes excellent parental control to limit its use in general or on particular applications, and a battery life of about 5-6 hours.

Would we choose the same product after more than a year of use? Definitely yes. I still think it is one of the best tablets for toddlers age 2.

Are we satisfied? We are quite satisfied, not 100% but in my opinion it is the tablet for toddlers with the best value for money. There are cheaper tablets with similar performance, but none offer a two-year warranty against any type of accident. In this price range this is a great bonus … children are children and it is difficult to predict what they will get up to.

The only thing that can be frustrating is that sometimes the games don’t work when the tablet is not connected to the wifi. After much research, this issue seems to be connected to both our kids being under one parent account, it is not ideal to find out just as we board a flight of 4 or 5 hours, but now that we know we always do a test before departure.

Comparing it to tablets of more or less the same price it cannot be denied that it is a bit slow. If your child is already 3 years or older and you are willing to spend a little more, then you could buy the kindle fire 8 kids tablet. Only a little more expensive but with an 8 inch screen, 2GB of memory, 32GB of storage (expandable), and 10-12 hours of battery life, this is a tablet with much higher performance and one of the best tablets for kids.

PROS

• 2-year worry-free guarantee
• 1 year free Amazon kids+ subscription
• Stand/case protector included
• Bluetooth available

CONS

• 1 GB Ram only
• 16 GB internal storage only

VANKYO MATRIXPAD Z1 KIDS TABLET

32 GB internal storage

1 GB RAM

2 MP front and rear-facing cameras

5/6 h battery life

7″ display

Android operating system

The Vankyo MatrixPad Z1 is aesthetically very similar to the Kindle fire 7 kids edition, and definitely a great toddler tablet alternative to save some money.

It uses the Android system and arrives with the Kiddoz app installed. Kiddoz is a platform with content designed for children where as children grow up they can browse and choose what to download, games, and videos to watch safely (certified by the COPPA). Many games, videos, and more are already installed, but others can be downloaded for free or for a fee. (Payments can only be made by parents)

Parents have the option of setting time limits in general or for different types of activities. The battery promises 8 hours of mixed use, but realistically lasts around 5-6 hours.

Even if it does sit in the cheap toddler tablets bracket, it still offers everything you need, including 2 MP front and rear-facing cameras, the quality is not excellent, but sufficient for small children. Storage is 32GB but can expand by adding a micro sim card, and it also features an eye health option to change the light in the evening to a more comfortable warm light.

PROS

• Stand/case protector included
• Bluetooth available
• Kiddoz app installed
• Coppa certified
• Eye health option

CONS

• 1 GB Ram only

DRAGON TOUCH Y88X PRO 7″ KIDS TABLET

16 GB internal storage

2 GB RAM

0.3 MP front camera and 2 MP rear-facing camera

7″ display

Android 9 operating system

The Dragon Touch Y88X Pro is another tablet that closely resembles the Kindle fire. With a colourful and chunky protective case it should ensure a long life against the enthusiasm of a 2 year old. This model also uses an Android 9 operating system and 16GB storage that can be simply expanded with a micro sim card.

What makes this device a particularly good tablet for toddlers is the KIDOZ platform which is a pre-installed platform with games and videos to have fun and learn.

Best of all there are also 24 free licensed Disney ebooks and audio books. Parents can easily filter the content that children can access and restrict uses. It also comes with the Family link app, which allows you to easily monitor the use that children make of the tablet and its contents.

Although there are many positive elements there are also some downfalls: the screen is the weakest point of this tablet, it is very delicate and susceptible to scratches. The protective case does not always seem to be able to adequately protect the screen in the event of a fall. Sometimes it is less responsive than it should be, but when used by a child this shouldn’t be a big problem.

Overall, a good option as a tablet for a 2 years old, with the possibility of expanding its use as the child grows, but it must be treated with a little care.

PROS

• Stand/case protector included
• Bluetooth available
• 24 Disney books available
• Coppa certified

CONS

• 16 GB Storage only
• picture quality
• Screen
• 3 h battery life

LEAPFROG LEAPPAD ULTIMATE

8 GB internal storage

1 GB RAM

2 MP front and rear-facing camera

7″ display

Brio OS operating system

Leapfrog produces several educational tablets for toddlers and the Leapfrog leapPad Ultimate is one of the most used by children. Aesthetically, despite having a 7 inch screen, it follows a different trend from the many tablets that imitate the Kindle fire, presenting a rigid body protected by a thinner gel bumper than those usually used for small children.

Leapfrog (the producer), say it is suitable for 3 year old kids, but honestly it is a very well-developed toddler learning tablet that can grow with the child and already from the age of two there are various suitable applications.

The LeapPad Ultimate comes with a large variety of educational apps. The team behind Leapfrog has invested and continues to invest a lot of time developing apps differentiated by age and learning. This tablet also includes the exclusive “just-for-me” technology that makes it one of the best tablet for little kids, as it suggests different learning games based on previously obtained results. It also arrives with pre-loaded age appropriate content.

It is worth mentioning that although based on Android technology, the LeapPad Ultimate does not come with google play installed, which means that it cannot be installed later. On the net you will find tutorials to download some apps from the Google store anyway. This obviously is more of a frustration for older children or for parents who can’t find the apps they may be used to, a child aged 2 will not care much.

Of course, it includes all the other elements one would expect from a tablet of this cost. The tablet is very easy to set up, the parental control is easy to manage, there is a kid friendly browser that allows access only to approved websites and a front and rear camera.

Extra bonus? You can disable the LeapPad App store, to prevent children from seeing all the apps that can be downloaded and concentrating on those available. The only flaw? Many of the comprehensive and educational apps are not free as the games that can be purchased separately (on cards to insert in the tablet). It is not difficult to get carried away and spend more than expected.

PROS

• Just-for Me learning platform
• Built in case protector
• Automatically adjust skill level

CONS

• No Bluetooth
• 1 GB Ram only
• 8 GB internal storage only

Moving into the territory of the slightly more expensive tablets we cannot leave out the Samsung Galaxy Tab Kids edition 8. A more streamlined style than other brands but always with a thin silicone protective cover that facilitates and ensures grip.

The Samsung tablet runs on an Android operating system that many parents will be familiar with, making it perfect for growing up with the child.

For younger children you can use the Samsung Kids app, unfortunately for a fee after the first three months free. The Samsung kids app offers a large number of apps, games, and books suitable for children. When children grow up or if you have apps downloaded directly from outside the Samsung kids app, it is easy to move from it to the Android operating system. The switch is easy for an adult but safe for children who cannot exit the Samsung kids app without the necessary pin. This makes it the perfect android tablet for toddlers.

Parental control is also very simple to set up and very detailed like the Kindle fire, with limits in general or for specific categories. When the child grows up and it is time to leave the Samsung kids application, the tablet can continue to be used as a regular tablet, but passwords and limits can still be applied through the usual parental controls.

As if that were not enough, there are other excellent points in favour of the Samsung Galaxy Tab kids edition: The battery life is admirable, reaching almost 13 hours, the video quality is excellent, and the 8 megapixel rear camera produces quality photos comparable with the parents’ smartphones. It also offers the eye health option system to filter out blue light to facilitate sleep.

PROS

• 32 GB storage
• 2 GB memory
• 13 h battery life
• Bluetooth

CONS

• Case protector should be thicker
• It doesn’t have a stand

LEAPFROG MY FIRST LEARNING TABLET

It may be more correct to call the LeapFrog My First Learning Tablet a pretend tablet, this is one of the best tablets for babies that emulates the parents’ tablets with 20 large and colourful icons, 3 modes of use, and 5 icons for role play.

It has three modes of use: explore, learning, and music, the icons emit sounds and music when they are touched, each time in a different sequence. They repeat different phrases when in explore mode. Learning mode gives information or makes animal sounds and in music mode it plays melodies familiar to children.

There is the camera icon, which obviously only reproduces the sound. All in all, if you buy it between 12 and 18 months it is perfect as a baby’s first tablet and it will surely arouse the interest of children until you think they are ready for a real tablet.

VTECH LITTLE APPS TABLETS

The VTech little apps tablets is another great toy for kids that want to copy older siblings but are not yet ready for a more complex model.

It has a little screen that changes colours and 12 different interactive activities. It has 4 modes to play with. There is a pretend camera mode that, although it doesn’t take real pictures, interacts with the child asking them to press numbers or letters and then showing a picture of it. There is a calendar mode to learn the days of the week, and a music mode to play music with the piano keyboard. The question and answer mode helps the child to learn foundational things like letters, numbers, and animal sounds.

Overall it is an amazing toy tablet for toddlers, to keep them entertained with something different than just videos.