For around $200, parents can buy their kids child-appropriate tablet computers. According to The New York Times, children “understand that this single device is a million-channel TV, music collection, game machine, camera and e-book library, and a way to socialize with friends.” The article reviews 21 different kid-friendly tablets, including the $150 Android-powered Kurio 7, MEEP and Tabeo tablets. “The Nabi 2 costs a bit more ($200) but has a noticeably better screen,” suggests the article. “The Nabi Jr. ($100) is smaller and can double as a baby monitor.”

“The best overall option was the four-inch, $150 MG. Pocket-size and powerful — it loaded ‘Angry Birds’ in 15 seconds — the MG is built around the Google Play app store. The MG comes with a preapproved digital allowance system, so children can do their own shopping. You supply the USB cable and Wi-Fi,” according to the review.

“Beware that some of these devices — the Tabeo, MEEP and Kurio — are intended to sell you apps, music, e-books and movies purchased in their special stores. By the time you add in a micro-SD card to increase memory, you may be better off investing in the MG with easy access to mainstream app stores, or the Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD.”

Kids testing the products favored the iPad over all other options, but those are more expensive. According to the reviewer, “the best non-Apple option I could find was the Kindle Fire HD, a choice made easier thanks to Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, a fixed-price subscription-based service ($5 per child) that lets children shop on their own for books, apps, games and movies, without surprise bills.”

There are also a variety of toy options like the VTech MobiGo 2 for $50, the LeapsterGS for $70, and Leapfrog’s LeapPad 2 for about $100 — as well as game console options such as the PlayStation Vita for $250 or Nintendo 3DS XL for $200.