As I mentioned in my Toddler and Little Kid Gift Guide, the Amazon Fire Kids Edition Tablet is just as much a gift for the parents as for the toddler. Don’t get me wrong, kids of all ages love this tablet, but what this device offers to parents is sanity during long car trips when you’re not quite sure if you or your tot can make it another hour. And those iffy-restaurant outings when your busy-body toddler simply refuses to sit still (lest he scream and squeal again)? Consider them pacified with this engaging electronic.
AMAZON FIRE KIDS EDITION OVERVIEW
Essentially, the Amazon Fire Kids Edition is the same as the original Amazon Fire tablet, but it has special settings that are kid-friendly, a one-year subscription to Amazon FreeTime Unlimited (access to apps, games, books, and videos), as well as a solid 2 year protection plan, so if your kid manages to inflict some sort of inexplicable harm unto this device, Amazon will replace it, hassle free. I can say this with confidence, as within the first year of owning it, my son approached me holding out his Fire with a freshly cracked screen. How did it happen? I’m not quite sure, but it probably involves my 2-year-old’s abnormal brute strength and complete disregard for fragile objects. More importantly, did they remedy it? They sure did! Even though the cracked screen was obviously due to abuse from a toddler , Amazon sent out a new one within a few days of us sending our damaged one in.
KID PROOF CASE
While their warranty is amazing, the device itself comes well-protected with a lightweight rubbery case that basically bounces when a child throws the tablet across the room. It also makes the device easier for those little hands to grip. So, while my destructive little guy managed to crack the screen within a year, a gentler child is far less likely to harm the tablet while it is in its protective case. The case, which is included with your Fire Kid’s Edition, currently comes in three colors: yellow, pink, and blue. It is also available to purchase separately, in case you need a replacement or just want the added color options of black and red.
We have the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition, which my son got as a Christmas gift last year in 2016. There is a newer model available this year (Fire HD 8) but the Fire 7, which we own and love, is still available for about $30 less.
Here is what Amazon says about their Fire Kids Edition:
- 1 year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited and a Kid-Proof Case, plus a 2-year worry-free guarantee
- Not a toy, a full-featured Fire 7 tablet with a 7″ IPS display, 16 GB internal storage, and up to 8 hours of mixed-use battery life. Add a microSD card for up to 256 GB of expandable storage.
- 2-year worry-free guarantee: if they break it, return it and we’ll replace it for free. No questions asked.
- One year of FreeTime Unlimited gives your kids access to 15,000 popular apps and games, videos, books, and educational content from PBS Kids, Nickelodeon, Disney, and more
- Add even more content to your child’s profile in FreeTime to give them selected access to apps in your personal library, such as Netflix, YouTube, and Minecraft
- Best-in-class parental controls allow you to manage usage limits, content access, and educational goals
- Amazon Parent Dashboard with Discussion Cards enables parents to discover the titles their kids enjoy and connect with them through rich conversations about these titles
CONS
The Amazon Fire Kids Edition has some random quirks. For instance, when the device is powered off and then back on (like when it runs out of battery power) it loads the parent’s user profile and you must then navigate to the child’s profile. I’m sure the more tech-savvy among us would be able to remedy this in no time. It certainly is not a huge effort to switch over, but usually when I reach for this device, it is an emergency and I need games STAT.
Battery life is nothing to write home about. Compared to my iPhone 6 and MacBook, the battery on the Amazon Fire was surprisingly short. I was used to going days without charging my other electronics, but you simply cannot do that with this tablet. Expect to charge it every night if your kid used it that day.
AMAZON FREETIME UNLIMITED
Amazon FreeTime Unlimited is an optional monthly subscription for Amazon FreeTime that offers thousands of content titles for children ages three to twelve years old. If you’ve purchased a Fire Kids Edition tablet, you’ll automatically receive one year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited. After a year, you will need to pay a monthly fee to keep the content coming. The monthly prices are fairly low, especially considering how much you would pay for one single game in the app store on your phone. Plus, if you have an Amazon Prime membership, you’ll be eligible for a discounted monthly plan.
Amazon FreeTime Unlimited content will appear in your child’s user profile after your Fire tablet is connected to a wireless network. Some content can be downloaded to your child’s profile so that it can be used without a wireless connection. Most of the content we have for my son always available, even with no Wi-Fi, which is what I prefer.
A few notable features of FreeTime:
- While in FreeTime, kids do not have access to social media or the internet and can’t make in-app purchases without parental approval.
- Smart Filters ensure your child sees only age-appropriate content.
- Using the Bedtime feature, parents can control when FreeTime shuts down for the day.
- With Learn First, parents can block access to games and cartoons until after educational goals are met.
- While in FreeTime, the background color changes to blue, so you can tell at a glance if your child has managed to find their way out of the safe environment of FreeTime.
- FreeTime allows you to personalize each child’s experience with separate profiles, and they can use content on Fire TV and Android phones and tablets too.
PARENTAL CONTROLS
You can set Daily Time Limits on each activity the device is used for: using apps (games), watching videos and reading books. For example, you could set it for unlimited reading time and no video time allowed with a time limit of 1 hour a day for games. For my son, we currently do no set limits, as he is so young, he pretty much has to have us wave this in front of him to play on it. But, when he is older and can reach for this device himself, I can see where the parental controls would be a great solution to establish limits without an argument with every use.
FAVORITE APPS
I thought I would provide a few suggestions for which apps to download for toddlers, since there is an overwhelming amount of choices with FreeTime Unlimited. For very young kids ages 1 to 2, look to the Peekaboo series from Night & Day Studios. They have a handful of games that generally revolve around a door being opened by the push of your tot’s finger, exposing a new object, character, or creature. Fisher Price makes some great learning games for the young ones too. From ages 2 to 3, my son has really been drawn to apps by Sago Mini and Toca. He also really enjoys the coloring book apps, some of which include “stickers” to decorate your masterpiece.
BOTTOM LINE
The Fire Kids Edition is an affordable and practical option for a child’s first tablet. With the option to switch between multiple user profiles, this device can be used for all sorts of content for both parents and children. The broad parental controls on this Fire make it an ideal choice for parents of young kids, who would rather it be used for educational purposes rather than sheerly entrainment. Daily Time Limits for each category is a huge plus.
Overall, this tablet is easy enough for toddlers to use , but is designed to grow with kids as they develop more skills and interests. Right now, my son doesn’t have too much interest in the books available on the device and is more interested in interactive apps like learning games. But I’m sure he will be reaching for his Fire when he learns to read.
I hope to update this post as my son grows, to let you know how the Fire preforms over the years and what features become more important as he gets older.
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