How young is too young for your kid....

[Shack70]

My boy will be 2 at the end of april. Right now he likes me to goto www.playhousedisney.com and do some of the activities. He is more into the music and all the buttons to puch on my PC. once he figures out how to actually use the mouse(right now its cool cause it has a button), Ill build him a small PC for him to play with. Internet access is another thing. That wont be hapening for a while and definately not alone....

 

[CKDragon]

He has an LCD monitor... I'm jealous of your two year old!

CK

 

[creedog]

can I borrow tht game when hes done, looks cool

 

[PullMyFinger]

I don't think there is a set age when you should introduce a computer. It all depends on the childs wants and abilities. Our daughter turned 2 in December and the daycare we use has a computer in each class room. It's great, they get a chance to use it everyday, comes complete with kid size mouse too. She also likes to sit with me at home and go to the Playhouse Disney site. In the next year or so I'll probably piece together a small system for her, by then we should have kid #2 on the way.

 

[ChrichtonsGirl]

My son's been using the computer since he was about 3, and now at 10, he runs his own website. One of my nephews (he's 4) has his own computer (not connected to the 'net) loaded with pretty much nothing but Tonka and Lego games and stuff. I don't think you're ever too young to be exposed to a computer, but I don't know how much meaningful stimulation they can get off of one (nope, not talking about pron) until they're probably 3-ish.

 

[Murphyrulez]

We got him an LCD because his table is too small to hold a decent size (17+) monitor, and yes I was worried about his eyes because he does only stand 1.5 feet away from the monitor. It's only a 15" KDS. $350 at Walmart! They are nice.

But he is on the internet, he loves Nickjr.com and MSN Zone kids games. He has learned how to switch CD-Roms, he is very careful about sticking his finger through the hole to pick them up so he doesn't get fingerprints on them. He is very adept at clicking and dragging to reposition a window, and he loves to click on the Maximize button to make windows big. Of course when he wants my attention he comes to my desk and takes the mouse and closes all my windows... Ack.
He used to use the mouse two handed, now he is using one. It's great!

Thanks!

 

[randomlinh]

my only fear for kids starting young w/ computers is keeping correct posture and not to develop andy wrist problems. and keep em away from the yahoo chat rooms

 

[Geekbabe]

<< As soon as my kid can sit up, I am going to have her/him sitting at the computer with me. >>



That is the best way, both my girls are good on the computer with the 18yr old being really talented with graphics
software app's, but their younger brother is much better with hardware and with knowledge of various OS's. My grandkids will have even more knowledge and at much younger ages, the 5 yr old already insists on "helping" me when I've got a new system to build.

 

[amdskip]

Good for you, this will educate them and give them a head start.

 

[sheselectric]

i dunno, i don't think kida need their own computer until high school. me, i grew up with a computer in the house, but of course this was before internet so no one spent much time on it anyway. but still, i don't think kids need their own computer growing up to become computer savvy. bad for the eyes! (speaking from personal experience)

my first post! woohoo!

 

[Geekbabe]

<< i dunno, i don't think kida need their own computer until high school. me, i grew up with a computer in the house, but of course this was before internet so no one spent much time on it anyway. but still, i don't think kids need their own computer growing up to become computer savvy. bad for the eyes! (speaking from personal experience)

my first post! woohoo! >>



1st welcome to anandtech !!!


I disgree with you there, obviously you want a kid to spend time with family/peers but computers are rapidly moving away from their mysterious,difficult to understand statuts and are fast becoming like just another appliance that we use to conduct our daily business. I want my kids and my grandkids to have every tool available to them, a personal computer is a cheap investment in helping them be comfortable with the tech that will play an increasingly important
role in daily life and how we conduct business.

 

[TuffGirl]

<< me, i grew up with a computer in the house >>

You'll fit right in here.

Welcome to the boards and happy posting!



~EDIT~

Oh yeah Murphyrulez, cute little carrot top you got there! I too am envious of his LCD.

 

[LaBang]

I'd say it is never too young. I started before I can remember on my dads old comodore 64. I had computer class once a week since kindergarden.
It is very important however that your kid doesn't spend much time on the computer. He should spend lots more time playing with friends and learning how to be social than sitting at the computer.

 

[chasem]

i was breaking my first computer when i was 8, i am now 17.

i remeber we had 'Geoworks' as an operating system..

good times..


We use Prodigy as an ISP. and payed by the minute

 

[AU Tiger]

>> your kid will have a jumpstart on the world! <<

Today, Thomas the Tank Engine
Tomorrow, The World!!!

 

[cthulhu]

My daughter started using our pc at either 2 or 3 - I can't remember - and she is 6 now. My 3 yr old has been using our pc for about 4-6 months now. My wife and kids took over our first pc when I built my own.

 

[Dead3ye]

I built my kids PC outta parts I had left over from upgrading. (see sig.) They were 2 and 3. They're 4 (boy) and 5 (girl) now. I sit back and watch them without them knowing it. It's unbelieveable what they have learned from it so far. I buy them mostly educational software now with the occasional fun game once in awhile. The boy isn't even in preschool yet and he can read simple stuff and write his own name. They both look like they have been using a mouse for years (good hand/eye coordination). I feel they will both be ahead of most of the children their age at the start because of it. I don't think the computer should totally take over their educational learning. I do believe parents still have to read to their children and work with them to apply the skills the have learned. My wife and I do and we know the computer helps them. The internet will wait unless they are supervised.