Tablets, iPhone and iPad cases for toddlers

THESE kids today! All they want to do is play with your iPhone or iPad. So why stop them?

If you're smart about it, you can safely start educating the little ones in their strollers with one of those smarty devices or a dedicated children's tablet.

M-Edge Supershell cases for the iPhone 4 & 4S, iPod Touch and iPad 2 (and newer) tablets offer an ultraprotective foam surround that absorbs shocks. "Go ahead drop it on the concrete, repeatedly," dared a demonstrator. Priced from $25 to $35, Supershells come in lots of bright colors. Grown-ups will like 'em for their devices, too.

Fisher Price now offers the Laugh and Learn Apptivity Case for iPhones ($15) and iPads ($35) that cover the screen with a drool-proof clear film, wrap around the device's sides and back and offer easy-to-grip handles. The cases block out the home button on the iPhone and have the option to do the same on the iPads. Both come with free, downloadable programs good for ages 6 months and up - Let's Count Animals, Where's Puppy's Nose, and such - that help with hand/eye coordination.

Built from the ground up (with bumper-guard handles) as a children's learning tablet, the 7-inch Vinci Tab II and new 5-inch Tab II M tablets ($199-$169) will have your young'uns swiping and tapping through a rich, multimedia curriculum of sight- and sound-enhanced content. A few programs come preinstalled; 500 more (for ages 18 months to 9 years) can be downloaded or installed via bundled collections on an SD card. And when the kids are away, these tablets can be unlocked for standard Android feeds.

- Jonathan Takiff