Oh, don't let that sweet face fool you. This little charmer defines road rage. A bundle of energy, who likes to be free from his carseat to run around and play, a road trip sounds like fun for the first 5 minutes. Are we there yet... Well, over Thanksgiving we headed 3 hours north (which doesn't sound like far... but when constantly entertaining a toddler with something new every few minutes and calming the baby between her short bursts of snoozing... it feels like 10 hours), and this time I was thankful to have a few tricks up my sleeve. Ok, one trick actually.
In perfect timing, I was gifted the Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition Tablet - one that this little ham could use to read some of his favorite books (Curious George galore!), watch a holiday movie (Polar Express, duh) and play games (nothing with birds, please) while both connected to wifi and offline (like in the car...). It's much like the regular Amazon Fire (it's fast, easy to use...), but perfect for the littles because it's less likely to break and they won't be able to accidentally buy something. Better yet, parents have the ability to customize the settings, include educational goals, set usage timer and more. And while it's a tablet all his own, it is certainly only given to him on special occasions and his use of such devices are limited.
This was a special occasion, and perfect for our trip over the holiday. We were able to leave pounds (literally!) behind my downloading books to the Amazon Fire instead of packing them and that drive that can easily feel like 10 hours felt a little more realistic with a movie to watch. Additionally, when connected to the internet, you can access a year of FreeTime Unlimited so kids get unlimited access to 5,000 books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games—at no additional cost.
Once we arrived to our destination, the tablet became our go-to for night reading (since we had left all those books at home). While connected to the wifi, we were able to read some of his favorites and try out some new ones from the vast library. Reading books on the go was never easier!
The Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition is $149 for a 6" tablet and $189 for a 7" and comes with blue, pink or green case! Even cooler, this product comes with a 2-year worry-free guarantee. That means if anything happens, send the device back and they'll replace it for free – no questions asked.
Hopefully this is a tool you can use on any upcoming holiday trips of your own or a fantastic gift idea for your little with the peace of mind that you are still in control (which is rare when we're talking about toddlers... right?!).
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
