I go to many conferences throughout the year and sometimes I have to bring my seven-year-old son with me. Inevitably, he gets bored. He would typically bring his game boy and play games on it while he would patiently sit in the back until it’s over. I sometimes felt bad for him, because I could tell he was so bored and didn’t want to be there. On the way home from one conference I took him to about a month ago, I asked him if he was really bored playing with his game boy. Just as I expected, he was.
On the way home from that conference, I thought a lot about different solutions to my son’s boredom. I figured I would take a look at some of the new tablets that have been coming out the past few years to see if he would be interested in one of them. So, I took to Google and started my search. I found a really great website that helped me with ways to find the best tablet for kids and it compared a dozen different tablets for kids. Each of them had their own pros and their own cons of course.
With the help of the site, I ended up just picking the iPad Mini for him. In the end, you can’t go wrong with Apple. Instead of just bringing it home one day for him, I made it an adventure for him. We went to the mall and went to the Apple Store. At this point he had no idea what we were there for. Just outside the Apple Store I stopped him and bent down on one knee so we’d be face to face. I looked at him and said, “Hey, I really love it when you come to the conferences with me, but I hate seeing you bored with your old Gameboy. So, we are here today because we’re going to get you something new and special.” His face began to light up. “I’m going to get you an iPad Mini. Would you like that?” Before I could finish my sentence, he was screaming, “Yay!”
We both had smiles on our faces as we walked through the Apple Store’s doors. We immediately looked at the table with the iPads and let him play with them. I wanted to make sure he was “making the choice” because I want him to really appreciate it and take care of it – not just a here you go type of gift. He ended up really liking the iPad Mini and picked the black one. So, we bought it and took it home. He couldn’t wait until we got home to open it so he was playing with it on the car ride home.
Over time, we downloaded some apps for him and by the time the next conference came up, he as actually excited to come with me because he knew he could play with his iPad Mini all day. I really do think it’s the best tablet for kids that has really great long term value thanks to the App Store. If you have a bored kid that you have to take to conferences or events, consider buying him an iPad Mini. He or she will have years of use out of it. You can also find them used on eBay or Craigslist at discounted prices. You won’t regret it!
