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Tablets can be great educational tools and, of course, entertainment devices for kids. They can also be great for staying in touch with relatives who live far away! My little nephew regularly Skypes with family in Argentina, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Rhode Island on my sister’s iPad. As his 2nd birthday approaches, I was thinking how, in only a couple years, my sister and brother-in-law will most likely be considering which tablet will be appropriate for him to use on his own. I started researching Amazon’s best-selling lists and websites like PCMAG.com and Consumer Reports to see what the best options are and compiled a list of the best-selling and best-reviewed tablets for children.

Not all supposedly “best-selling tablets” make great devices for children. For example, the iPad Mini is on many “tablets for kids” lists because of its small size but doesn’t seem like the best decision to me. With a price tag of over $300, dropping this tablet could be an expensive lesson to learn not to mention there are limited parental controls on this device.  Another example is the Fuhu NABI, a tablet designed just for kids that seems perfect on the surface,  but when you look further, its reviews tell a much different story. On Amazon alone, there are 414 customer reviews. Out of that number, 149 are 5 star reviews and an astounding 134 are 1 star reviews! One reviewer writes: “Zero customer support. Awful functionality. There is no way in the world I would EVER purchase another one. I can’t say enough negative about it.” Yikes!

So…on to the good stuff. Here are 9 kid-friendly tablets with links for you to check them out for yourselves on Amazon.

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