Software (and Appropriate Input Device) For a Toddler? 417
An anonymous reader writes "I have an 18-month-old who loves bright screens (TV and computer), loves loud noises, and loves to mash buttons. He targets my laptop with the button-mashing, and I sort of hate having to tell him 'no' when he wants to explore a computer. I was wondering if anyone knows of some fun (and maybe educational) age-specific PC software that also comes with an age-appropriate input device. I've seen those big-button devices in retail stores that seem to just hook up to the TV, and I've also seen some PC software that requires keyboard/mouse input, which does not seem like the right input device for a toddler."
Every parents' problem (Score:2, Interesting)
I was thinking about getting a used rugged laptop and putting a very simple console editor on it, since my 18-month-old does seem to like what comes out when he bashes the keyboard, and there's enough to do with ASCII.
OTOH, he also likes to play simple games, like tux racer. The main problem is that the software is designed to receive precise input. Any program that can't be quit, paused or otherwise disabled would do the job of letting him explore. I was planning to put together a couple of simple games for him in Blender but haven't got to it yet.
Playtime (Score:4, Interesting)
We used to let my son use the computer a lot. He seemed to enjoy it, but we noticed that that was all he did. For the past few months we have completely banned him from the computer. Since the banning (and getting over the initial withdrawal) he has been much happier most of the time. I would recommend giving your kids toys (blocks are the best thing in the WORLD no matter the age of the child) and let them play with them.
Re:Normal (Score:1, Interesting)
I second this. I grew up looking at a VT100 emulator, keyboard and all. By the time I was three-ish the video terminal became a full-blown 386. I wasn't exactly allowed to play with both as I wanted, but I did figure out pretty quickly that the 386's screen saver lock could easily be bypassed by hitting the reset button and waiting for the system to boot back up, and at that rate my dad didn't see fit to find alternative ways to keep me off those. Now I'm a computer engineer. YMMV but I'd say it's best to let your kid play around in the environment he's going to be using when he grows up.
Re:Well... (Score:5, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Please reconsider (Score:3, Interesting)
This reminds me of the people who hold up the retail value of their home theater setup as some measure of their own intelligence in audio reproduction. "This $500 wooden volume knob definitely improves my stereo's sound playback. Take my word for it, I have a thousand dollar Marantz Reciever and blahblahblah..."
Not saying anything about you personally, but lots of people who know nothing about raising children still have them.
Software for learning the alphabet and keyboard (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Fisher-Price (Score:3, Interesting)
Call me me weird, but the first thing I thought of when I read this was a specially reinforced ASR-35 Teletype (maybe ASR 33?) keyboard they had at Standford's Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences (IMSSS) for Koko the gorilla [koko.org]. Although she knew Ameslan [wikipedia.org], they also taught her to use a keyboard with pictures on the keys (apple, ball, etc.). I only met her once and wasn't there when this happened, but the first time they showed her how to use the keys she apparently enthusiastically made her first key press ... and pushed the key right through the bottom of the cast iron bottom of the teletype.
I don't know if this applies to toddlers. :-)
Re:Normal (Score:3, Interesting)
At 2, I formatted the hard drive and gave him the disk to install himself. He did it with no problem. I then used that to mock anyone that claimed that Linux was too hard to install.
At six, he does more general gaming, so he runs windows most of the time now, but he does periodically boot up Linux in VMWare to play around with some of the simple games on it.
There is nothing inappropriat about an adult computer for a 1 year old. Keyboards are cheap. Mice are cheap. If you are paranoid about the wires, just get a wireless keyboard and mouse.
Re:iPad is a great device for kids (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes, it's a much better idea to sit them in front of an $800 - 2000 device with latches, ports, springs, hinges, and cords, and other moving parts all over it.
So here's a crazy idea: don't leave the 18-month old child unattended around expensive and fragile electronics of any sort!
I sat with my 22 month old nephew and we played with an iPad for about 2 hours on a recent visit, and he loved it. He had a blast playing with a few different pieces of music software I loaded (Leaf Trombone, Ocarina, some keyboard/synthesizer application, and a drum pad app that he really liked), as well as a couple basic games. Other than a lot of fingerprints all over the screen, it survived just fine, despite him landing a few full force slaps and thumps on the screen.
If you have an iPad, the kid isn't going to destroy it unless you hand him a hammer, an iPad, and walk away for 15 minutes while he stands above a floor surface made entirely of jagged chunks of granite.
Re:Some classical music playing in the background (Score:3, Interesting)
It's not the interactivity, it's the lack of wide, strenuous movements. Considering how rapidly children develop and grow until about 4 years of age, they should be as active as possible to develop and strengthen. Plus if they sit around a good chunk of the day, when it's time for bed, they're still going to have a shit-ton of energy to burn off, and you're going to have a bitch of a time putting them to sleep.
(Musical) Electonic Keyboard (Score:3, Interesting)
Seconded. Especially a virtual analog synth that has friendly knobs which will immediately affect the sound being produced when tweaked.
Or, you could go for a real analogue synth like the Korg Monotron [korg.com], a tiny, simple true analog synth able to create all kinds of neat sounds.
None of these things will have the bright screen to draw his eye, but they are far more intuitive and engaging for a young mind: pushing different keys and twisting different knobs will effect a definite and immediate change in the sound he hears, whereas pounding on the keyboard of a laptop will generally result in little onscreen action. Synth programming is real programming, too, without the complexity of dealing with language. This will foster his creativity more greatly than any other electronic device, especially if he plays with it as he begins to understand the structure of music.
Korg Monotrons can be bought new for under $80. The only problems I foresee are that Dad might be having too much fun with it to let his son have a try, that adults have a low tolerance for atonal, high-pitched sounds, and that nobody wants their kid to be a starving artist when they grow up =)
old guy advice (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm in my 40s, and my son is rapidly approaching 3.
Get him a pretend laptop - Something like this [toysrus.com]. (although maybe not in lurid pink.)
Honestly though, keep him away from real computers. At that age, they basically amount to TVs with (mashable) buttons. The interaction is no more significant than you'd get with a Fisher Price toy, and they don't need to be glued to the computer (or TV) that early. The less time in front of a computer or TV, the better.
Re:Please reconsider (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Don't (Score:5, Interesting)
I've always found the American preoccupation with "giving the child a head start" strange. I live in Finland, and our older kids are six now. They have just started preschool, and will start primary school next year. Here most kids learn how to read at seven. Before that interaction and focus skills are taught through play and simple exercises.
Despite learning reading this "late" the Finnish school system still manages to give you a world class education.
I firmly believe that play is the most important thing for kids to do. Is the situation really so bad in schools elsewhere that we have to take away the spontaneous play of early childhood just to keep our kids from "being left behind"?
Re:(Musical) Electonic Keyboard (Score:4, Interesting)
My grandmother had an old Hammond C3 [wikipedia.org] - later on, my great grandfather passed and one of the things that was left was a pair of old Yamaha synths. Similar to the DX7 but not those... I can't find them by image, so meh.
I've turned into a hobbyist composer and musician. I especially love playing around trying to create my own patches.
Re:Please reconsider (Score:3, Interesting)
You forgot to mention that it's very important that the children have physical activities so that they'll tire themselves.
If they are not tired physically, they tend to resist sleep, and as a parent, you'll never get a rest either.
For young children (I'd say below 10), it's very important that they sleep their complete nights.
As they'll age, sleep will reduce.
Using electronic devices reduces a lot the amount of sleep, because it keeps your brain awake.
Re:iPad is a great device for kids (Score:4, Interesting)
You know, despite the contrary responses, you are right. A kid is a kid, and should be given kid appropriate toys. A kid at 18 months doesn't know the difference between a Frisbee and an iPad, except the iPad probably makes more interesting smashey noises when they're done with it.
My daughter is about 3.5 years old now. Sure, I have a plenty of computer gear for her to play with. I've given her pretty much anything she is interested in. Folks have given her all kinds of presents. For Christmas, she was more interested in playing with the boxes, and coloring on them, than the actual contents. Really, despite the cool packaging, most of the toys sucked.
Right now, her favorite toys, in order of interest, are....
Crayons or markers and blank paper. She can do a pretty decent job of basic shapes (lines, circles, triangles, and squares).
Coloring books, until she gets bored with the actual pictures, and draws what she wants over them. She's fascinated by car washes ("car showers" in her terms), even though she's afraid of them. That's one of the things she draws frequently. That and "daddy's car". It's not a technically accurate depiction, but it does have wheels and something resembling a body over it.
Digital cameras. She loves taking pictures, and being able to see the picture right away. She likes *her* picture taken more though, so she'll make me take the picture and show her what it is.
She's interested in computers, but only as far as seeing daddy type 100wpm, so she bangs on old keyboards to type along.
She loves her etch-a-sketch. She can draw, and make it go away so she can start over. She likes to see me draw and write, so when I write things on it, I spell it out, and say the word.
And I made the tragic mistake of showing her http://icanhascheezburger.com/ [icanhascheezburger.com]. She wants to see the kitties doing silly things. It's not just seeing them, she has a commentary about each one. It's nice hearing what she sees in the picture, rather than what us adults have learned to see in them.
She has a few shows that she likes on TV, and is amazed that I can show her the same ones on the computer. It just sucks to have a kid take away *MY* toy. :)
On, and on the car, she loves telling me how to drive. "Green light daddy!", even if it's red. She's not confused about the colors, she just likes me to drive fast. For the sake of safety, I just stay in a lower gear so she can hear the engine roar. "Fast" to her is where the engine is running faster, not how fast we're actually driving. :)
Then there's balls, blocks, and other assorted kids toys.
Her grandmother got her a Disney toy that hooks to the TV. She lost interest in that in less than 5 minutes. She likes to dance on it though, even though she's not playing the game right. Hey, whatever, she's having fun, and I didn't waste the money on it.:) It doesn't even need to be hooked up to the TV for her to enjoy herself. :)
She likes to be read to also. She talks about the pictures in the book more than trying to comprehend the reading.
So, for any kid, give them the opportunity to do anything they want (that they can do safely), and you'll appreciate them more.