Parenting made easier with a tablet

Technology impacts almost every part of our life. Can you remember a time when there wasn't a smartphone or a tablet in someone's hand? Children that were born in the last ten years (at least) will never remember a time like that.

There are many arguments as to whether all this technology is good or bad for us. Technology for me is a very good thing. It has made my life easier, especially being a parent. I first got a tablet about 4 years ago. We didn't have a laptop back then and I wanted something easy to use and very portable, so I went with a Samsung Tablet. I have had a few different tablets since then, especially with the introduction of children into my life. These were great for helping Joseph with his phonics when he first started school. He also loved learning on them as it was like watching a tiny TV.

If you haven't got a tablet but are thinking of getting one then take a look at why I think a tablet can help make a parents life that little bit easier.

Home management

Whether you're a stay at home parent or you go to work, you can use a tablet for a variety of things. Are you run ragged with all the different jobs that come with being a parent? Then you can easily create to-do lists. If your children are at that special age where they like to scream blue murder everytime you go anywhere in public then shopping etc can feel like a slog. I use my tablet to do my shopping, you can then even get your food delivered to your door. You can buy your clothes online and either get them delivered or click and collect at your nearest store (if you're brave enough to venture out that is). Toy shopping for your children at Christmas is always hard due to the fact that they are generally always hanging off one of your legs, shopping on my tablet is made easy, and I can do it with a cuppa when the kids have gone to bed. Trips to the bank are one of the things I hate to do the most, not much need to if you've set up internet banking, you can transfer money etc all from the comfort of your destroyed living room (thanks, kids).

Education

Encarta 99 (who remembers this?) was the encyclopedia of choice back when I was in school. Now you don't have to search high and low for that floppy disk, you can just turn on the wifi and you have all of the information you need at your fingertips with sites such as Wikipedia. There was a time when, if you wanted further education, you had to go to college, university or a night school. You can still do all that of course but you can also do courses online, I have done a few courses on my tablet in the last few years as I could study them at my own pace and I didn't have to leave the house. Now, you might think that as a parent why would I not want to leave the house alone if I had the choice? After a hard day parenting, I'm sure the stay at home parents would agree that once the kids are in bed the last thing you would want to do is go to a night school? Get the tablet out and study at home!

There is also the fact that your children can use the tablets, Joseph uses Ipads at his school so it helps that he can use mine for his school work. Kids also tend to love watching YouTube, I recently just found out that "Daddy finger" was a thing. If you have no idea what I'm talking about here, congratulations! DO NOT SEARCH FOR THIS! it is the most annoying thing you will ever watch/hear. My son also loves to watch people unwrap kinder eggs, I have no idea why but these videos have millions of views! It makes me want to grab my tablet, record Joseph opening some stuff and sit back and watch the money roll in.

A phone can do this too

Yes, of course it can, but tablets are bigger than phones which makes them easier to view. In my opinion, they are not as easily damaged as mobile phones. You can still get tablets that can fit a ladies bag or even a coat pocket, depending on the size you want. With most tablets you can also buy Bluetooth keyboards, this is especially handy if you do a lot of typing, say if you're a blogger!

I wouldn't be without my tablet

I'm so glad I bought a tablet 4 years ago, we have two in our house and they have made things just that little bit easier. They also keep the kids quiet when you want just a couple of minutes peace! My son loves it and not just for the YouTube videos, he loves his learning apps also! Most tablets nowadays have a child safety option which will stop them from gaining access to things they shouldn't or spending all your money on apps you don't need!

This post has been created in collaboration with KCOM (who sent me a free tablet) to showcase the benefits of a home tablet for parents and kids alike. They currently have an incentive to receive a free tablet with their broadband packages – more information can be found on their website here

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