Hello there. John Gamboa here starting off my blog posts. For my first blog, I chose to talk about one of my favorite family tech toys. Our Kindle Fire HD which my beautiful wife got me last Christmas 2012. For this blog post though I want to focus on how the Kindle Freetime app, which is free on all Kindle Fires no matter the version, has eased my parenting life and lowered my stress in regards to having my kids use it.
I have five kids. Needless to say (but I’m saying it anyway) they really like playing with the electronic gadgets – laptops, tablets, smartphones. Even my 1 year old finds touchscreen computers and tablets fascinating - always needs to grab and swipe or tap the screen.
I found that certain tech toys in my house are less worrisome than others to hand over to my kids without worrying about them getting into things they’re not supposed to. At home, on road trips, or wherever, I can hand them out without worry because of nifty features like my Kindle Fire HD’s Kindle Freetime app. I find it extremely comforting that I can hand the Kindle over to one of my younger kids and not worry about them getting into sensitive areas like my work email, the web, or messing around with my settings, or using or buying apps, or other stuff like that. It’s so easy for them to rack up crazy charges if you're not careful especially with 1-click enabled for some things like books. We've heard the stories about parents getting charged hundreds and thousands of dollars in app, music, or other charges.
So....
What is Kindle Freetime?
I have five kids. Needless to say (but I’m saying it anyway) they really like playing with the electronic gadgets – laptops, tablets, smartphones. Even my 1 year old finds touchscreen computers and tablets fascinating - always needs to grab and swipe or tap the screen.
I found that certain tech toys in my house are less worrisome than others to hand over to my kids without worrying about them getting into things they’re not supposed to. At home, on road trips, or wherever, I can hand them out without worry because of nifty features like my Kindle Fire HD’s Kindle Freetime app. I find it extremely comforting that I can hand the Kindle over to one of my younger kids and not worry about them getting into sensitive areas like my work email, the web, or messing around with my settings, or using or buying apps, or other stuff like that. It’s so easy for them to rack up crazy charges if you're not careful especially with 1-click enabled for some things like books. We've heard the stories about parents getting charged hundreds and thousands of dollars in app, music, or other charges.
So....
What is Kindle Freetime?
Kindle FreeTime | John Gamboa
It’s a cool app that allows you to create a digital play area for each of your kids. In their play areas they only get to use the apps, games, and books that you want them to have. I have 4 kids who use my Kindle Fire HD. Each of them has their own profile which I set up with apps, books, and games that I am ok for them to use. My 11 year old has apps that my 3 year old doesn’t need and my 11 year doesn’t want toddler designed apps in his profile so I don’t add those to his. And all my kids’ profiles don’t have access to my email, books, or apps that they don’t need, use, or want.
Another thing it has which is pretty cool is screen time limits. It allows you to customize how much screen time each child can have on your Kindle Fire device. It goes much deeper with classifications - Video, Games, and Books. Each type can be set individually really making it easy to set it and forget it.
Another thing it has which is pretty cool is screen time limits. It allows you to customize how much screen time each child can have on your Kindle Fire device. It goes much deeper with classifications - Video, Games, and Books. Each type can be set individually really making it easy to set it and forget it.
Kindle FreeTime Time Limits - John Gamboa
Internet and app purchases are automatically disabled in Kindle Freetime which for me, is important. It really allows me to be able to hand off the Kindle to any of my kids knowing that I’ve set it to parameters I feel are appropriate for the age and situation of each child.
I use the unlimited free version of the app which is really all I need. There are subscriptions you can get per kid or for a family which gives you access to Amazon's content for children. Check it out on Amazon.com.
If you’ve got kids and need to have a kid friendly tablet that can be shared among the kids as well as the adults in the house, then I highly suggest looking at a Kindle Fire and Kindle Freetime.
I use the unlimited free version of the app which is really all I need. There are subscriptions you can get per kid or for a family which gives you access to Amazon's content for children. Check it out on Amazon.com.
If you’ve got kids and need to have a kid friendly tablet that can be shared among the kids as well as the adults in the house, then I highly suggest looking at a Kindle Fire and Kindle Freetime.
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