📱 Old iPad from years ago still technically works, worth keeping or finally time to upgrade?

Have an iPad that is now genuinely seven years old, still technically powers on and functions for very basic things, checking email, browsing a few simple websites, reading, but it has become noticeably sluggish for pretty much anything beyond those specific basic tasks, and a growing number of apps I would actually like to use have apparently stopped supporting this particular older operating system version entirely at this point. Part of me feels like it is genuinely wasteful to replace something that still technically works in some limited capacity, especially given how much these devices originally cost when first purchased new years ago, but another part recognizes that continuing to use something this outdated is probably not the most efficient or genuinely practical use of my own actual time and patience going forward, especially when so many everyday tasks now take noticeably longer than they reasonably should on this specific aging hardware. Looked into whether the battery itself could realistically be replaced to at least extend its practical usable life a bit further, but a repair shop I actually visited mentioned that finding genuinely compatible parts for a model this specific and this old has become considerably harder and often even more expensive than it once was when the device was still relatively current on the market. My kids have actually started using it occasionally themselves for simple drawing apps and basic educational games, which does at least give it some genuinely continued practical use even if it is clearly well past being anyone's primary actual device for daily general use going forward. Thinking about finally getting a newer tablet for myself specifically, and simply letting this genuinely old one continue serving as a basic kids' device for those particular simple activities it can still reasonably handle without much noticeable struggle or slowdown for that specific limited purpose. Has anyone else kept an old tablet like this around specifically for kids or basic limited use after upgrading themselves to something newer, and did that arrangement actually work out well practically, or did the old device eventually just become genuinely too outdated to be worth keeping around at all even for that more limited specific purpose?

Tried getting my old iPad's battery replaced at a local shop last year, quoted almost half the price of a decent new budget tablet just for the part and labor combined, decided it made more financial sense to just upgrade instead. Parts genuinely do get scarce and pricier once a model ages past a certain point, exactly what you are running into now it sounds like.

My own kids inherited an even older iPad mini from years back, still going strong purely as a bedtime drawing and simple puzzle game device long after it stopped being useful for anything else in our house. Feels less wasteful this way, at least it gets real daily use instead of sitting forgotten in a drawer somewhere collecting dust for absolutely no good reason at all.