Geez. Parenting + technology is exhausting. Am I right? Even if you aren’t a parent, this post is for you because you are a cool aunt or uncle and give amazing gifts.

It’s 2019. Let’s be real. I’m not going to hand my precious phone over to a child who will then immediately bring up anything on the internet that he can’t un-see. (face palm)

We were considering tablets for our elementary age kids, but were crippled by all that we didn’t know. How do we keep the kids safe? How can I manage use? How can I see what they did? Can I turn it off remotely?

PC Mag gave us a good start.

We ended up going with the Amazon Fire. Once we figured out how to use Amazon FreeTime, we’ve grown to love it more and more. Basically, each child can have their own FreeTime profile with age specific limits. Here are other feature we love:

• Set age specific parameters for content
• Set hours when the tablet will not work (we use 6 pm – 8 am)
• Set learning goals before “fun” apps become available (great for road trips)
• Set daily time limits by total or by content type (we currently allow 1 hour after chores & homework)
• Weekday & Weekend Time Limits can be set separately
• Remotely shut off the device from your device (can I get an amen)
• See the previous days usage (even exactly what videos they watched)
• Share additional content from your FreeTime Dashboard
• The included Rubber Bumper Cover has seriously saved us

So, basically, the grown-ups are in control. At least for now.

This is the tablet our boys got last year as gifts from a super cool aunt:

Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition*

Also, check out CommonSenseMedia.org for free weekly info emails on apps to look out for, movie or book content, and generally all the things your kids aren’t telling you about  technology.