'We road-tested Samsung's latest tablet to see if it's chaotic family-proof.’

The takeover of your smart device by your children is something that happens so gradually at first that you almost don’t even realise it’s happening.

B.C. (as in, before children) I’d always gotten by with a smartphone alone for all the usual stuff like photos, emails, social media and catching up on shows and podcasts. 

But as my babies grew from squeezy - but immobile - bundles of joy into fully operational small kids, I increasingly found my smartphone at the centre of a tech tug-of-war.

Suddenly, both my toddler and pre-schooler wanted to swipe through endless photos of themselves, play online games or watch the ‘Baby Shark’ video clip. On repeat. And of course, they wanted do this at the precise moment when I’d say “Mummy needs to make an important work call.”

This was our family’s it’s-time-to-try-a-smart-tablet wake-up call.

Image: Supplied.

With my young boys’ sponge-like minds eager to learn and explore, tech-based educational presents have been top of mind. I knew a smart device like the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 would offer up the hours/weeks/years of educational entertainment, but also become a useful tech addition to the household. Plus, at $379 RRP, it was a lot less than I’d expect to part with for a tablet.

As a long-time Samsung user, I’ve always liked their intuitive operational systems, user-friendly layout and its compatibility with all the usual standard apps and programs. I’ve also found them to be fairly hardy, which is vital when regularly handled by little slippery hands. Or a natural klutz like me.

When I opened the product box - by which I mean two small boys clung to my legs begging me to open it faster - what immediately stood out was the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7’s sleekness and size. As anyone with kids would know; bigger is better – and the screen size certainly delivers! At almost 25cm in length and 15cm in width, it was far more akin to a TV screen than a smartphone.

“Why don’t you watch it together” no longer seemed like a silly thing to say because the Galaxy Tab A7’s screen size is actually big enough for shared viewing. No more tussling over who gets to be the first to watch the video where they’re running through the water park sprinklers.

Image: Supplied

 But where the tablet really shone was when I set it to Samsung Kids mode - and handed it over.

Normally by this point I’d be on high alert, hovering over my children’s shoulders ready to stop them from clicking on unsuitable or irrelevant content. But as they browsed around the games and activities, I could give my fast fingers a rest, knowing that it was a fun, yet safe digital realm. In this mode, parents also have the option to set restrictions on things like playtime and apps – and it even offers usage reports so you can see their exact activity levels.

The Samsung Kids in-built games were an instant hit. My toddler gravitated towards the touch-and-react ‘Lisa’s Music Band’ game, which teaches the different sounds instruments make. But my pre-schooler’s hands-down favourite was ‘Croco’s Adventure’, which introduces young minds to the concept of directions as you navigate Croco across different stepping stones. (Although I think my son enjoyed sending Croco into the water as much as he liked actually helping him make it to the other side!) I also noticed the virtual colouring book, ‘Bobby’s Canvas’, which will be perfect for those stuck-in-a-waiting-room type of moments.

Once set to Samsung Kids mode, the only accessible websites are the ones that have been added to an allowed list – and a parental pin is required in order to add new ones. Peace of mind? Tick.

The kids loved using the tablet for all their usual smart device activities like listening to audible storybooks and swiping through dinosaur images. We also linked up our digital library so they could look through our endless gallery of family photos.

Image: Supplied.

Once the kids were tucked into bed to sleep all through the night (ha, who am I kidding?), my husband and I finally had our turn with the tablet. The bigger screen made it far more useful for doing things I’d normally do on my smartphone, like finding recipes, reading news articles or doing a virtual fitness class. It was also super handy for looking together at our family’s virtual calendar as the wider tablet viewing pane gave a better glimpse at the week’s upcoming events and madness.

And when we weren’t absolutely exhausted, it was nice plonking down together with the tablet and debating whether we are awake enough to watch a movie. But instead, we’d just end up watching the video of the kids running through the water park sprinklers. Parent life, right?

Check out more about the Samsung Galaxy A7 Tab right here.