For T's first Father's Day I bought him an ipad because he'd always wanted one {god knows how he actually convinced me to spend that much money on him, I blame sleep deprivation and crazy hormones}. He got to enjoy his precious ipad for just under a year before bub was old enough to realise what it was and want to copy him and use it. Since then she's firmly staked her claim on the ipad and he's lucky if he gets to use it at night after she's in bed these days {when she hasn't drained the battery}. So he's succumbed to the fact that its actually her ipad now and no longer his.
The ipad has truly been invaluable in helping her to learn new skills. She has a heap of educational apps on there that teach her letters, numbers, colours, sounds, words and even sentences. The apps are helping her speech to develop as well as her cognitive skills as she solves problems. The ipad has also been amazing when we're waiting for hours at the hospital for appointments {which thanks to her eye issues and food allergies happens all the time}.
The only problem when kids and ipads mix is that kids, toddlers especially, aren't renowned for how gentle they are. There are bound to be times when the ipad gets thrown, dropped, hit, stood on and has things spilt on it. We've had all of the above happen numerous times in our house. It became abundantly clear that our simple {half broken and quite flimsy} cheap flip case wasn't going to cut it for very long with a toddler on the loose. Considering how much of an investment the ipad was, we went on the hunt for a kid friendly, tough, yet functional case asap.
After searching through the local department stores for weeks to no avail, we finally found the perfect case online. The Griffin Survivor Case is most definitely child proof, in fact its designed and tested to meet the US Department of Defence Standard 810F. It's build to withstand rain, sand, dirt, shocks and vibrations {all things a toddler can inflict on it during any given day}.

The frame is made of shatter-resistant polycarbonate and the outside is protected by thick shock absorbing silicone. Its great because it makes the ipad heavier than usual so she doesn't drop or throw it as much and the silicone is soft for her to touch. The case also comes with an inbuilt screen protector which has saved it from milk and water baths on more than a few occasions.
One part I really love is that the case includes a silicone cover for the home button which allows her to still use it to control going in between the apps. A lot of other cases we looked at before finding the Griffin case had the home button blocked under a hard cover. She loves being able to control the apps herself so this was a must for us. The case also has a hinged silicone cover for the power dock connector which means its completely protected when not in use. It stops it from building up with dust like it used to before. The volume controls, camera lens and headphone port are also fully enclosed and protected. There's also a detachable stand that can clip in to use the ipad upright.
The Griffin case is definitely tough. She's put it through its paces since we got it. Its been dropped {accidentally and purposely} quite a few times and it hasn't been damaged in any way. Its also been doused in milk and water baths when she decides the screen is more useful for finger painting. Thankfully none of it ever got through the case. Its also really easy for her to use, however she's yet to figure out the sound controls now that they're covered in silicone {but to be honest I quite like that she can't turn it full volume whenever she pleases now}.
We got our Griffin Survivor case {$85} online from Powered Life. They stock a huge range of ipad cases as well as mobile cases, other tablet cases and electrical accessories {including android options}. I can't fault the Griffin Survivor case at all, but if it's out of your price range, there are a number of other really affordable and cute kids ipad covers, my favourites are the iGuy case, Ndevr case and Gumdrop Bounce case.
Do you have an ipad obsessed child at your place too?
Toni x
Disclosure - I received a case of my choice from Powered Life for the purpose of review, which came at the perfect time as we'd been searching for a tough case at local shops for weeks. All opinions expressed are based on use of the ipad case. I did not receive payment for this post.