Buying a ipad for my children? HELP!

[iMore Question]

We have 6 & 3 yr old boys who don't often get to go on the computer or our phones (especially the 3 yr old) but we're feeling a lot of pressure for "Santa" to deliver an ipad this Christmas. We intend to have the rukes delivered with it for restricting time etc and pre loading our selection of educational games etc content.
We are not very much of an IT family, my husband and I work in hospitality so our IT use is very limited therefore our knowledge to look for the right product is limited.
I've done some research on 'refurbished' tablets versus new which don't often seem to have any huge price differences anyway. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[phreddyl]

The returbs actually save you quite a bit. You can usually pick up an iPad Air 2 for around $400 for a 64 gig. I don't see it available right now on the Apple site but you have some time before Christmas.

 

[eyecrispy]

I never buy new electronics for the kids. They destroy them. I get them from Craigslist or something and they've been fine. I am careful and make sure I find good working used devices for them (to destroy).