I got my (now) 7-year-old boy the cheapest iPad and AppleCare+. The latter was an excellent purchase as he’s managed to smash the screen three times, and we have used AppleCare to replace it. My 10-year-old daughter has used AppleCare four times on her iPad, too, over two years, so it’s a steal at 4€ a month!
Rugged cases and screen protectors were used on both (from Otterbox), but kids will be kids, I’m afraid, and they still manage to break them.
So, thanks to Applecare, my children have had seven iPads for the price of one (plus Applecare!)