Tablet. And the cage was created by me to keep them safe. They'll get more access and bigger toys as they age.
this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2025
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I got a tablet. My sibling has a desktop
My first device was a windows desktop, a shared device.
Mine was a dos computer. Lol.
My kids got:
Oldest: Digital camera, age 4
Middle: MP3 player, age 8
Youngest: Digital camera, age 6
And my dear sibling, digital freedom is a very recent thing and if our ancestors could survive with only 3-5 broadcast networks our children can survive tablets that don't sideload apps. It's bullshit, but it's not the end of free expression.
You're a good parent. Id never give a kid a smartphone or internet access so early.
Kids should get Ubuntu Touch/Graphene OS phones first alongside Steam Decks.
If there's a sub-$500 tablet that supports Ubuntu and has a kid-friendly case, consider me interested! I'd love to have full control over a video streaming tablet for my kids.
xD
Too bad I doubt the average parent are gonna be able to flash a custom rom.
Steam deck is a perfect learning tool too. Guide them towards the way of Captain Jack Sparrow (🏴☠️ yaRrr). Become the Master the digital seas! 100% discount in all games!
Too bad I doubt the average parent are gonna be able to flash a custom rom.
They can check the sailmates service and repair shops to do it for them. It’s a good way to help their kid practice mindfulness, school was much more enjoyable when I was socializing and reading during the breaks. Though I grew up with a iPod touch and I was a happy kid.
My kid got an Android tablet for a 6-hour car ride for vacation. I don't plan to use it unless we're taking a similarly long car ride or hospital stay.
I added a 512GB micro SD card and filled it with downloaded videos from my home server. Most of the time it's in airplane mode.
We got the kids tablets for long car rides too. We let them use them as a reward. PBS Kids games and Epic (books) are good compromises.
I love the PBS apps too, those will be a permanent install on our kids' devices. I'll check out Epic too.
Like OP, I'll try to avoid the worst of Google Play Store and YouTube Kids for as long as possible. My oldest is still a toddler so we're still in control of what she sees and does. It's inevitable that they'll encounter that stuff at school or other houses, but I hope they'll be disinterested and watching some YouTube slop will only be a curiosity rather than an addiction/coping mechanism.
My wife and I recently rewatched an episode of the original Power Rangers series and my god was that terrible. It was my favorite show when I was 7, but at least it fostered an early love for mecha shows. ;)
V-TECH toys. Noisy, annoying garbage that people love to gift to infants and toddlers.
After that it's a toss up between a phone, tablet, or Chromebook.
My first V-Tec toy was a Honda civic
Nintendo Switch probably.
Mine was an Apple IIe.
Oh heyo yee. Mine was a Compaq Portable but I would have LOVED an Apple IIe
Every kid born in the last decade that I'm aware of which they got, got a tablet first. Small sample size though
Yes, I believe smartphones and tablets are the first devices for almost everyone these days. Especially since kids are equipped with smartphone when parents send them to school.
Mom I want a Fairphone!
I was going to answer and then realized that the last kid I would've watched when they got their first electronics is now 13. Time....is marching on....
Tablet
Ipad babies in restaurants blasting some insanely annoying brain rot peppered with ads? Its so common. Very dystopian.
My first tech was a Sega Genesis and the family's 486 DX2 computer running Windows 95.
While I had access to new genesis games by renting them, getting new games for the 486 was a rare event due to how expensive software was back then, and there were few places we would visit that sold it (mostly what Costco had available). That meant rotating through a lot of the same games for quite a while, which meant I would eventually get bored of them for a while until I would try them again a month later.
The effect of that is it seemed to encourage me to find other ways away from the tech to entertain myself, like play with legos, or head outside to invent games with the neighbor's kids.
I don't want to assume that type of exposure to tech is ideal just because it's what I experienced, but I wonder if an artificial software limit may be a good idea today for young kids to encourage them to find new ways to solve boredom with their imagination instead of it being done for them exclusively.
I've also seen parents start their kids off with 90's tech and games, and slowly introduce them to newer tech/games each year, which is an interesting idea.
I think I'd start them off with a raspberry pi running a retro emulation os and a small selection of the best games from the 90's, a small camera, an mp3 player, and a Linux PC without internet access, but with access to some edutainment games (humongous entertainment, some point'n'clicks, etc), and programing tools with kids appropriate teaching material.
Once they're old enough, I'd give them internet access, and eventually a phone so they can keep in touch with their friends.
off with ’90s* tech
"Once they're old enough, ~~I'd give them~~ I'll teach them what I did to disable things so they learn how to gain internet access, and eventually a phone so they can keep in touch with their friends."
FTFY
My kids' first electronic device was an android tablet for playing Ekapeli.
Then my phone for pretty much the same.
And now the bigger one is playing Minecraft on my desktop computer. (So that they would get fluent in using a mouse and develop their eye-hand-coördination. But they don't know that 🤫)
My oldest is 3 and she got a Yoto player (mini) when she was about 2,5. It's a brilliant device.
We have three yotos. I cannot endorse them enough
My nephew got one of those smart watches for kids. There's no real games, the camera sucks, and he can only contact and be contacted by approved numbers but it's nice to have.
I like getting his goofy texts, too
I’d put my money on a hand-me-down smartphone or tablet.
Tonies
From what I'm seeing around me kids are often allowed to interact with a tablet before a phone.
I mean I guess it kinda make sense, the kid can't accidentally dial emergency numbers on a tablet.
No child should even have any electronic device with a screen to that of a computer until they're old enough to understand how certain tech can re-wire their brain with propaganda.
The problem is less about the screen and more about algorithmic curation.
Respectfully I disagree with your view, get a device suited for them, install relevant software & apps that work locally, enable parental permissions or some other policy manager and disable internet access out right.
Ease off that restriction as they age, use a DNS sinkhole to prevent access to certain sites.
Times are changing especially with technology, kids should be able to at least learn the basics otherwise they’ll struggle later.
Agreed. No screens for toddlers. Screen time, specifically for videos, just does something awful to their brain. Kids can use screen time for age appropriate games, though they get more benefits from other types of games and electronic devices.
With that said, every child is different, and some will learn so much about a computer put in front of them. They'll be curious and figure out directories, then go browsing through system files, then delete system32 and get yelled at a bunch, then a few days later after the parents fix it learn about the system settings and go tinkering in there, etc. Those kids are fucking brilliant.
My son got a digital camera from a friend at age 7. Next is most likely a phone or smart watch, but we are holding out as long as possible.
Based on my nieces and nephews, I’m gonna say tablet. One with a thick, spongy case.
So this is it? Humans will get used to corporate digital cages?
If the corpos get their way, yes.
I think the first electronic I touched was a space invaders arcade game.