If you’re interested in buying an Amazon Fire tablet for your children, there is something you really need to know:

Some of them suck, but some of them are excellent. You need to avoid the poorer models, and ensure your children have a good experience with the Amazon Fire tablet.

Here's why you shouldn't invite an Amazon Fire 7 kids tablet into your home, and why existing owners should move their children onto a different Amazon tablet.

Why You Should Avoid the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Tablet

Amazon's Fire 7 tablet and the child-focused Amazon Fire 7 Kids (essentially the same device, separated only by a kid-proof case and different return policies) are popular devices for children. Their low price makes these tablets (also known as “Kindle Fire”) attractive gifts.

While it might appear to be a competent device that can play games, music, audiobooks, and videos with an eight-hour battery, as time goes on, you'll find yourself fixing annoying problems with the tablet, checking for solutions online, and regularly turning it off and back on again.

Several years ago, I bought my eldest children a pair of Amazon Fire 7 tablets, each equipped with a rubber foam case. The devices cost just $50 each. My kids were, of course, instantly delighted.

It wasn’t long before it appeared to be a big mistake. Both tablets had run out of internal storage after a week, and as we had intended for them to serve as in-car entertainment for the children as we headed on holiday, this was not ideal.

Amazon Fire 7 tablet

While adding microSD cards is an option, it doesn’t solve every problem. The low spec of Amazon’s 7-inch tablets results in repeated restarts, Wi-Fi drops, and regular factory resets.

Kids want more from their tech. So do adults.

7 Things Wrong With the 7-Inch Amazon Fire Kids Tablets

Whether you have an old Amazon Fire 7 Kids tablet or you're opting for the latest version, if you plan to give it to a child, it’s time for a rethink. These are the seven things the tablet does wrong:

  1. Insufficient RAM: the Amazon Fire 7 tablets feature just 2GB of RAM, a paltry amount that limits multitasking. Kids don’t like closing apps
  2. Default storage is too small: with only 16GB to play with on the cheapest option, the only recourse is to avoid large games and downloading movies for travel, or to buy a compatible microSD card. While regaining storage space on the Amazon Fire tablets is possible, it is also time-consuming.
  3. Some games don’t install to SD card: even if you opt for expansion, some games don’t support installation to anything but the interior storage.
  4. Online checks for games: many games won’t play without a network connection to check the license. In some scenarios this is simply impractical, and it can be a lottery whether games, books, and audiobooks will run. Whether you're playing free or paid games, this simply isn't good enough.
  5. The endless ads: if you didn't pay extra to get the ad-free version of the Amazon Fire Kids tablet, your child will be subjected to regular full-screen adverts.
  6. Regular factory resets: Many of Amazon’s support solutions to issues with the Amazon Fire 7 range is to perform a factory reset. This loses all data, and it is time-consuming to restore favorite apps and games. Besides...
  7. You’re a parent, not a techie: Chances are, you're probably not a tech expert; you're a parent with better things to do. Other tasks are waiting in your home—you need to get dinner ready, mow the lawn, or sort the laundry out.

Individually, these are cause for concern. When presented together, it’s an argument to avoid the device altogether.

Fortunately, there is an answer. Later versions of the Amazon Fire Kids tablet are much better.

Go Bigger: Buy the Amazon Fire 10 HD Kids Tablet Instead

While there are several affordable alternatives to the 7-inch Fire tablets, you don’t need to spend long looking. Indeed, Amazon itself has a smarter alternative that does all the great things the tablets do without any of the frustrations.

The Amazon Fire 10 HD Kids tablet is a far better. From a hardware level (bigger display, more RAM, more storage, improved processor, longer battery life) to the OS experience, the Amazon Fire 10 tablet (both in its “adult” form and the kids version) is a far superior experience to the disappointing smaller and cheaper alternatives.

Where the Amazon Fire 7 Kids has 2GB of RAM, the Fire 10 HD has 3GB, and the difference is staggering. Instead of 16GB of storage (8GB on older models), the Fire 10 HD has 32GB, along with an expansion slot.

Amazon Fire 10 HD tablet

Unsurprisingly, Amazon’s 10-inch tablets are more expensive, but they remain affordable. Perhaps most importantly, the amount of hands on tech support you need to give these devices is minimal. No more factory resets!

If you want to know more, check my review of the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids 2021 model. My kids love this model, there have been no complaints, and their old 7-inch tablets are thankfully long forgotten.

Since publishing that review, my older children have moved onto Samsung tablets. My youngest, however, has the Fire HD 10 Kids tablet, and we have none of the problems we experienced with the Amazon Fire 7 Kids tablets. It’s a far superior experience in every way.

Interestingly, these tablets also feature a standard mode, as the “kid” and “normal” models are essentially the same device. As such, you can set up your own Amazon profile on the device and switch to it when your kids are asleep.

What Does Your Child Think of Their Amazon Fire Tablet?

I've identified the major problems that we encountered with the 7-inch Fire Tablet for kids. Of course, it's not a completely useless device—just not the one for my family.

Happily, Amazon has a ready-made alternative. The Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids might be more expensive, but it is worth every dime of the higher price.

If you’re looking for a new tablet for your child, the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids will do everything they need. Just steer clear of the 7-inch Amazon Fire tablet.