 Debate segments to her ongoing internet blog. As of this writing, there are nine Vaccination Debate blog spots that have allowed concerned parents and others to voice their opinions in an open forum. For many parents, having this forum provided by our local news station is BIG news.
"Great job and thank you!"
Kalae Chock’s ninth blog on Vaccination Debate states that the original purpose for the Vaccination Debate report was "to share Shelly Walker’s story and to explain the government’s compensation program for vaccine related deaths and injuries."
It is clear from her comments that she had no idea how controversial the vaccine topic had become.
In the meantime, Shelly Walker is one mom on a mission – sharing her story as a means of alerting other moms to the real dangers inherent in all vaccines. She has made several copies of an article by Dr. Tedd Koren, "Crib Death or Vaccine Death?" in which he cites that SIDS is the second most common cause of infant death with 10,000 deaths annually. On top of the article she has links to the FDA warning on the intravenous use of vitamin K injections for newborns followed by a link to Vaccination Liberation’s Model Birth Plan letter.
Following this article she presents information on the national Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Her cover sheet has a picture of Vance followed by a quote from Scripture (Ephesians 3:17-19) and a short summary of her story.
Shelly writes, "I hope and pray that this tragedy never occurs in your family. With the knowledge I have acquired since his death I can firmly say that I will never vaccinate a child under the age of 24 months again, if at all. I lacked knowledge to make the best choice. I hope this empowers you to combat the darkness and seek the knowledge necessary to make the best decision."
We second Shelly’s sentiments and pray that people will "investigate before they vaccinate" since the only "informed" choice is complete avoidance and refusal. We are extremely grateful for Shelly Walker for taking the tragic loss of her only child and sharing what she has learned with others, passionately and publicly.We’ll keep this guide updated regularly, so be sure to check back regularly. Also, be sure to check the comments below; we’ll happily answer any questions we can, and other readers may have suggestions.
If you can think of any product categories we missed, let us know in the comments below. We’ll be happy to upgrade this guide to help you out!
Without further ado, here are our choices for the best tech for kids for 2020.
This may be an obvious choice, but it’s hard to beat the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition from Amazon. I mean, “Kids” is in the name, so that automatically makes it the best, right?
Sarcasm aside, the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition is a solid choice for children. Amazon’s app ecosystem is fairly robust, and the Kids Edition comes pre-configured with children in mind. The UI is easy to understand, the hardware is good enough to stream videos and play light games, and the chassis fits in a good sweet spot for smaller hands.
But why the Kids Edition specifically? After all, the generic Fire HD 8 is $50 cheaper. It’s all the small tweaks and other offers from Amazon that make the Kids Edition worth the extra cash. For one, all Kids Edition devices from Amazon comes with a 2-year “worry-free” warranty that covers any defects that may arise in the first two years of ownership. That warranty may also extend to any damage the tablet incurs (though some reviews state otherwise).
Kids Edition devices also include a pretty nice bumper case and one year of Amazon’s FreeTime Unlimited service, which gives access to 15,000 apps, books, videos, and more. Lastly, parental controls are pretty easy to navigate and set up on Kids Edition devices, which should give parents some peace of mind.
All in all, the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition ticks enough boxes to satisfy most kids and parents, and the price isn’t prohibitively expensive. Daring parents that think saving $50 is worth the risk of a damaged device can save money by purchasing the standard Fire HD 8 Tablet and tinkering with the software to get the kid-friendly UI and features set up, though they’ll have to pay extra for the other features (bumper case, FreeTime Unlimited).
For those with a bit more cash to spend and older kiddos, Apple’s 7th generation iPad offers a substantially better experience than the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition. However, the iPad starts at $200 more than Amazon’s kid-friendly device and can get much more expensive.
For that extra $200, though, kids will get a significantly better screen with a higher resolution, a better backlight, and a more even color profile. Basically, movies, games, and books will look sharper and more colorful on the iPad than on any Fire tablet.
Additionally, the iPad has full access to Apple’s robust App Store, which houses over a million apps. Add to that Apple’s huge selection of movies and books, high-quality games like Fortnight and Minecraft, and tons of educational applications and the iPad is a compelling device for kids.
Apple’s 7th-generation iPad.
There are a few caveats to consider. Storage on the based model iPad is restrictive at 32 GB (about 20-25 of which are actually available to the end-user), so there is only so much room for movies and videos. Bumping the storage to 128 GB costs an extra $100 ($429 total), making the iPad a luxury item. Additionally, the iPad is far more fragile than the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition. A good bumper case is mandatory, and every drop will draw you a bit closer to God as you pray the screen didn’t get cracked.
I’d say the iPad is a better option for older kids (10 and up) that know to be careful with their expensive electronic gadgets. Toddlers and elementary school children may be too hazardous for a tablet at this price point.
For parents that are on an extremely tight budget, the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet 7″ is a decent budget option at $50. The tablet’s build quality is nothing to cheer about, but the plastic shell should survive a few tumbles (though the screen may not). The display quality is decent thanks to the IPS panel, so media will look fine, if a bit fuzzy or chunky compared to the iPad.
The best part of the Nook Tablet 7″ is the price. For $50, there’s are quite a few things to like. The tablet is powerful enough to playback videos downloaded to local storage, though streaming media can stutter. Headphones are recommended for watching videos as the single speaker is pretty bad. While onboard storage is limited, the tablet supports microSD cards, so you can download videos and some apps and games to a microSD card up to 128 GB in size.
Gaming performance will suffer because of the lower-end specs. Lighter games (like Tocca games and Candy Crush) should be ok, but Minecraft will run slow, and action-packed titles like Fortnite are out of reach.
Basically, this is a barebones tablet that won’t wow anyone but is adequate for younger children that just want to watch downloaded Netflix videos, play simple games, and read digital picture books. The Nook Tablet 7″ is far more flexible than the iPad or Fire HD 8 software-wise, as it runs Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition), but its hardware leaves a lot to be desired. If you can spare the extra cash for the Fire HD 8, Amazon’s tablet is a no-brainer.
When it comes to buying a laptop for a kid, Chromebooks should be near the top of the list. There are a few good reasons that so many schools have purchased Chromebooks for their students to use: the plucky little laptops are cheap, they’re durable, and they’re easy to set up and maintain. These aspects make the device family enticing to families as well. There are two Chromebooks that are overall excellent choices for kiddos… with some caveats.
The Lenovo Chromebook C340 is the successor to the wildly popular C330, which was widely hailed as one of the best all-around Chromebooks when it was released. The C340 replaces the older C330 and brings some nice improvements. For one, the updated Intel Celeron N4000 CPU is a touch faster than the MediaTek MT8173c found in the C330. The newer C340 also has about double the amount of ports, so there’s so much extra space for activities peripherals. Like most Chromebooks, the C340 is fully compatible with Google’s Play Store, meaning it can run any app that runs on Android. All this is packed into a small 2-in-1 case that’s easy and light to carry. The C340 starts at $300, though it can routinely be found on sale at places like Best Buy and Amazon.
If durability is a concern, the Dell Chromebook 3100 2-in-1 Education may be a better option. The 3100 is essentially the same as the C340 (same CPU, similar port selection, support for Google Play Store) but sports a much more rugged case with a rubberized rim and spill-resistant keyboard. That extra durability will cost $50 more than Lenovo’s option; the Dell Chromebook 3100 2-in-1 starts at $350.
There are some drawbacks. Both Chromebooks have low