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The Internet Education Technology

When Should Children Be Introduced to Computers? 94

Posted by Cliff from the minimum-age-requirements dept.
cjsteele asks: "When should kids be introduced to computers and the Internet? I'm torn between the prospect of giving my children a technological edge versus giving them an appreciation for more traditional ways of learning and researching (and entertainment, etc.) Though the question is open for rampant conjecture, what does Slashdot think? Early and often or slow and controlled?" Slightly tangential to an issue that was covered earlier this week, aside from the average video game, what is the ideal age for kids to begin seriously learning about computers.
"All of this comes as the result of my kids (3 & 2 years old) getting a Fisher-Price InteracTV for Christmas. This is the first step towards 'e-learning', and after watching my kids adapt to how the system works, I began to wonder in what ways this method of learning shapes later cognitive development. The big concern I have here is that the KIDS had to do the adapting, not the technology -- that means the way THEY think is being affected, which gets me a bit queezy. Any thoughts or advice?"
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When Should Children Be Introduced to Computers? More

When Should Children Be Introduced to Computers?

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  • If ever something cried out for a poll... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by andreMA ( 643885 ) on Saturday January 08, 2005 @03:29PM (#11298375)
    () first trimester
    .
    .
    .
    () Cowboy Neil is my Daddy
  • Give them technology as soon as they can handle it without breaking it...or if the break it it's fixable, or doesn't matter.

    My father sent me to work programming in basic from textbooks when I was 4. I found this a wonderful thing, as I could make the computer do what I wanted. I learned syntax and other important elements of programming, and now as I write this, the computer has stuck with me ever since. This is why I'm a computer science major.
    • And I was writing assembler at age 3.

      So you were reading a textbook (which implies that you were reading a lesson) and then following the instructions to create your program?

      You'll pardon me if I'm skeptical.
  • I don't see why the computer shouldn't be a part of their daily living environment from the beginning, like the TV or radio. But just like TV, their use should be monitored so that they don't get into trouble, and so that they spend enough time playing, reading books, socializing, and all those other critical life skills developed early in life.
    • "I don't see why the computer shouldn't be a part of their daily living environment from the beginning, like the TV or radio."

      Some of us don't think that TV should be 'part of their daily living environment'.

      A.
      • Agreed on that. My parent forbid me to watch TV week days until I grew up ... and they were damn right.

        Give them books and make them play outside or sports. Computers/TV/Videogames will come soon enough in massive dose.

        Ok, I know I got no children (yet) but still ...

      • I can agree with this too. While my parents didn't care about my TV input, I didn't watch a lot of it. I would read most days or go outside to play or ride my bike around. Heck, I still get messed up when some group of people talks about X TV show from the 80's - no clue...

        At the same time, the computer should be introduced around 4-5'ish. I know a 3 year old that can get up in the morning, turn on the computer, get online and pull up his favorite kids website. While I don't think this is a good thing (jus

  • What are you asking me for? (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I believe there's much better places to ask about this than Slashdot. If you think slashdot is the right place to ask this, perhaps you shouldn't have children at all...

  • I don't think that it's as important at when they are introduced, but how they are introduced. The only time that they ever really start to need a computer is around the fifth or sixth grade, for school projects. Before that, they should be playing outside with their friends instead of surfing the internet. But if you want to teach them before, that's fine. As long as you do it right. At least try to make it so that they don't see the computer as a chat program, and can actually type properly. Maybe you don

  • Keep very young kids away from electronic media. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by isaac ( 2852 ) on Saturday January 08, 2005 @03:47PM (#11298561)
    This is a no brainer. Trust your instincts; all signs indicate that young children require real human interaction to grow into healthy, well adjusted human beings and should be kept away from electronic media.

    Children as young as 2 or 3 shouldn't be spending ANY time in front of a screen. Older children and teenagers shouldn't have TVs or computers in their rooms - keep the electronic media in a common area where you can monitor what's being consumed.

    Once your children are a little older (say, able to read and possessing the motor skills to use a keyboard and mouse), consider introducing them to creative tools rather than merely "interactive tv" or worse, media designed to be consumed passively. Think paint programs, basic programming tools, animation programs, music programs, etc. (Of course, these tools shouldn't totally take the place of physical crayons and paint and clay and musical instruments) Let the kids find entertainment in creating rather than blasting aliens (even if it's "educational" and requires you to solve a math problem first).

    As an aside, I'd keep TV out of the house entirely rather than attempt to limit what's watched - TV priveleges or loss thereof almost always end up becoming a reward, which tends to increase its allure.

    Just MHO.

    -Isaac
    • When I was in kindergarten, they began to try and teach us about computers. It was a nightmare, because the computers didn't have Windows and very buggy. Keep in mind this was about 8 years ago. That summer, my dad went out and got a PC for us. I started out just playing educational games, but gradually began to move into new things. Throughout middle school, I have begun to start learning much more advanced things. I have started programming, learned how to build PCs, etc. I think they should get on to a c
    • Trust your instincts;
      My instincts disagree with yours, so whose should be trusted? :-)

      all signs indicate that young children require real human interaction to grow into healthy, well adjusted human beings
      of course

      and should be kept away from electronic media.
      Whoah there, cowboy. That's pretty extreme. Got any documentation for this?

      Children as young as 2 or 3 shouldn't be spending ANY time in front of a screen.
      Well, my instinct is that kids of any age at all shouldn't be spending more than, sa

  • Why is the computer different? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by BigZaphod ( 12942 ) on Saturday January 08, 2005 @03:48PM (#11298573) Homepage
    I imagine they have TV access. Maybe video games. Radio. Books. Etc. Why would computers be any different than any of those other technologies they have to adapt to?

    Kids are built to adapt. They come into the world with pretty much a blank slate and continuously discover and adapt to the world as it is. This is exactly what you want them to be doing because otherwise they won't be able to deal with reality later in life. It is their job to do the adapting at this point in life.

    They should be exposed to as much as possible in a controlled manner while they are young. The control is there so that they can pace themselves and don't get hurt. It is your job to protect them but also to get them ready for an adult life. Contrary to what most parents want, kids will not be kids most of their lives. The worst thing you can do to them is deny them access to knowledge of key elements of their world. Bring the computers to them early just like everything else. Teach them to pace their lives. Teach them the priorities you believe would be best. Then sit back and let them adapt to the world. They will be infinitely more prepared for the future this way and will be able to adapt to the next big things that come down the line in 25 years when you're sitting on your couch in front of your old-fashioned PC connecting to the Web with all of your other elderly friends while the youngsters moves on to other things.
    • It is your job to protect them but also to get them ready for an adult life.

      I just have to challenge this, since it is one of my personal bugbears. Kids are kids, legitimate people in their own right, not "adults-in-training". They are not people-in-progress, they are people right now.

      One of the reasons I think that children should avoid computers until high school (see my post in this thread) is that they should spend their precious and brief childhoods just being children, and doing kid stuff, not sp
  • ... the learn to drive. Seriously, kids have better things to do - like being in the outdoors doing kid stuff - than sitting in front of a computer all day.

    Read Clifford Stoll's Silicon Snake Oil. Would you rather kids going on field trips, or clicking on websites (he uses CD-ROMS as an example, the book's a few years old)? It's full of that stuff. Computers are useless, even detrimental in education, between the ages of 5 and 16.

    The Western world is facing an epidemic of obesity - most likely because kid
    • I call bullshit. I never learned a damn thing on the field trips I went on in school. But the time I spent playing on the computer, fixing it when it broke (or trying to), and just generally tinkering with it was, I think, a very good experience for me. I began playing ~11.

      And we're seeing obesity mainly because people decide to eat pre-packaged or fast "food", instead of actually cooking or eating healthy.
    • I'll have to disagree. Although you do bring up a valid point, of course kids should be going out and doing regular kid stuff, socializing, etc, waiting until a child is 16 is far, far too long, unless you don't care at all if your child has any technical aptitude. I'm not saying that someone has to be taught to be able to use a computer prior to 16 in order to be functional with it, but rather by the time they're 16, many of their interests will have already formed and technology will probably not be one

  • This is a chance for good parenting (Score:3, Interesting)

    by SunFan ( 845761 ) on Saturday January 08, 2005 @03:54PM (#11298627)

    I think computers would be vastly superior to crappy Saturday-morning cartoons, with careful attention. For example, setting up your firewall such that the child's computer can access _only_ the IP address ranges you specify would go a long way to making the WWW a very positive thing. Online encyclopedias, dictionaries, kid-oriented websites, etc. could be whitelisted while everything by default is blocked. This way, no accidental trips to goatse.cx would occur, sparing your child expensive counseling later on.

    With the firewall being your point of control, you can feel comfortable dual-booting your computer into Windows for games, too.

    Once the kid is old enough (say 16 or 18 or 21, you pick), you can remove all the blocks for the full on-line experience. Just make sure you _ALWAYS_ knock on the door. Please, don't take this advice lightly.

    • If goatse causes your child to need conseling, you've done a shitty job as a parent. I first saw it when I was maybe 13 or so. I thought, "That's disgusting", closed the window, and went on with my life. If you seriously believe that parents should limit a 16-year-old's internet access to a whitelist of dictionaries and kid-oriented websites, I want some of what you're smoking.

      • The whitelisting is best for young kids, and the parent needs to choose when the whitelisting can be lifted. I didn't mean to suggest that 16-year-olds aren't mature enough for the WWW, that was just an example. Also, there are much worse things than goatse.cx out there (dead body fetish sites, animal porn, scat sites, religious cult sites, and so forth).

  • Having a teenager, I may have some insight. I don't think computers are an advantage until the child can read, so before seven is probably too early. Sure, there are some neat games, but at that age they should be doing more physical play to develop their physical skills.

    After he starts reading, then it's okay to introduce them; have him ride shotgun with you while you surf. It's sort of like watching parents when they drive. The child picks up the rules of the road. Let him guide you to surf things he's i
    • I don't think computers are an advantage until the child can read, so before seven is probably too early.

      Err, what part of the modern developed world do you come from where kids younger than 7 definitely can't read? We were taught to read in first class at age 5ish. I could already read to an extent as my parents had started teaching me the basics when I was younger.

      Reading ability is a wonderful skill to develop as early as possible. Hence, to the extent a computer can help children become familiar with
      • What I meant by seven years-old is twofold. First, younger than that age kids should be developing their motor skills, so I wouldn't encourage them to be couch/computer potatoes. Second, although children begin to learn to read younger than seven, there's a certain degree of foundational literacy that they won't pick up until around seven.

        I don't think you could argue that a five year-old will have grasped sufficient literacy to surf the web. That's what I'm driving at.
        • First, younger than that age kids should be developing their motor skills, so I wouldn't encourage them to be couch/computer potatoes.

          Kids can do both surely? There's enough time in the day for them to be out playing games with friends, and spend some time in early evening with parents learning to read?

          Second, although children begin to learn to read younger than seven, there's a certain degree of foundational literacy that they won't pick up until around seven.

          If you delay teaching them to read, sure
  • Just anecdotal advice (no kids yet):

    My wife is a kindergarten teacher, and getting to use the computer is a big motivator for kids to learn their ABC's (as simple as typing their name in Word is a big thrill).

    When I was that age we had a Commodore 64 at home, and needing to be able to type LOAD"*",8,1 and RUN to play a game was a big motivator for me to learn my ABCs :-) (To this day I still pronounce that as "L-O-A-D-quote-asterisk-quote-comma-eight-comma-o n e"--it took me a long time to realise it sp

  • Just stick 'em in the basement with a computer and a broadband connection and see what happens, it's the American way.

  • when they are interested (Score:3, Insightful)

    by carstenw ( 560097 ) on Saturday January 08, 2005 @04:25PM (#11298859) Homepage
    my daughter is 7 now, and since she was 6, and even a little when she was 5, she has been interested in my computer. i have bought a learning-english program for her (i live in germany with a german girlfriend), and allow her to play it in small doses, ie. about 1 hour at a time, max. she doesn't notice herself when she gets grumpy from too much time in front of the computer, so it has to be supervised. i also allow her to have fun on certain fixed websites, from time to time, but less so. she loves all this, and i don't detect any problems with respect to setting priorities in life, or dealing with other people. the key point is moderation, and supervision. the computer is not a babysitter, but i believe that kids who are comfortable with computers will have less problems later on. she also likes the paint program, but just for 30 minutes at a time. finally, we also do some two-with-computer work, with me doing 3d modeling and her making the calls, and occasionally helping out, so she can get a glimpse at the larger picture.

  • Now would be the time... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Saturday January 08, 2005 @04:43PM (#11298992) Homepage
    There are certain aspects of technology and programming that are akin to natural languages, and a person's ability to pick up languages is at its peak around at around 4 years of age. I'd say teach them as much about controlling / programming computers as you can.

    While I would love to emphasize the printed word for research purposes, let's be honest: they're never going to use the dewey decimal card box system. Yes, give them books. Even more important than that, read to them and with them. Take them to the theater, the park, the zoo, the library, and on trips. Teach them to assemble and dissasemble electronics, wood, etc. Teach them to sew. But definitely teach them to program. We would be living in a far more advanced world if everyone knew how to script with the same intimacy that everyone knows how to talk. While they may not have the background in mathematics to create a program which calculates PI to arbitrary precision, it isn't hard to code up something that makes a star dance under the pointer. Or to make a birthday announce website for their friends. Or a script which runs when they login that blows up the screen. Use external librarys for the difficult stuff.

    Keep them the hell away from television. They'll get enough of that through other sources anyway. As for games, be very choosey. If you aren't a gaming guru, try to find one with an background in educational gaming. Might I suggest MindRover [mindrover.com]? Sim City is also great, and will pay for itself a thousand times over when your kids go to college and get credit cards.

  • I'm facing the same question (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Elivs ( 43960 ) on Saturday January 08, 2005 @04:48PM (#11299022)
    As a father of a six monther, my wife and I have discussed this question. Really it is up to you as parents to decide what's right for you, but here are our ideas and logic.

    Our opinion is basically that our computer is part of our everyday life. Our son should learn to use it as soon as he is technically able. However having said that, I would expect his learning to be slow and over many years as he matures. We want to teach sensible and safe use of a tool.

    We use our computer as our "digital" hub. We have been doing this for many years. It sits in the lounge with all our music (mp3) and photos (6000+ scanned negatives going back 30yrs for both of us), and occationally dvd/video. The photos are on the screen saver. We are the kind of family that only watches TV 1-2hrs per week. We get outside and are active.

    Here are our ideas
    1) When my son is able and wants to I'll teach him how to put on music. Judging by my niece that could be when he's quite young, 2-3 yrs.
    2) I'm happy to give him an email account when he is able to write to friends. I suspect this will be around the time he goes to school.
    3) Web etc. will ALWAYS be done on the family computer under supervision until he's at least 15yrs.
    4) He might get a computer in his room at around age 10-12 for music, homework, photos etc. This machine won't have general internet access.
    5) I'd like to teach him to program like my father did for me. Logo, basic, and games with programmable parts.

    I'm sure every one has their own ideas about what's right for their child, but I think the most important principals are:
    1) your child must want to learn
    2) it should be staged to what is useful for them at that age
    3) it must be "safe"

    Remember computers are a normal part of life, just like TV, radio, alcohol, stoves/ovens/cooking, cars. It's your job as parent to teach them when to use them, how to use them, and how to be safe/healthy.

    Elivs
    • 3) Web etc. will ALWAYS be done on the family computer under supervision until he's at least 15yrs.

      Although that's quite good in theory, let me suggest a problem with it. I have some psychology that makes me more worried and less able to function when people are watching me...in piano lessons, in tennis practice, and on the computer. I know I'll be able to work more effectively/enjoyably if I don't have to worry about fitting someone else's standards (which are, in my mind, unbearably higher and stricter
    • 5) I'd like to teach him to program like my father did for me. Logo, basic, and games with programmable parts.

      "It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration."
      -- Edsger W. Dijkstra

      I agree with you about Logo and programmable games. Use Python or similar instead of BASIC though. If something better than BASIC had been available when I was learning to program, I s
    • (5) I'd like to teach him to program like my father did for me. Logo, basic, and games with programmable parts.

      Don't forget Lego Mindstorms. The creative freedom of Legos with the intellectual benefits of programming, for only twice the already inflated cost. Still, it's worth it.
  • hey, im eighteen, im becoming a third generation software engineer (my grandpa worked for the navy and such) and i was introduced to computers when i was really little. when i was eight, i put together my own and taught myself to code on it. i tellsya, i have a much deeper appreciation for literature and art than my computer-illiterate peers. hell, i love opera (been to like 20 now, lol), and so do a significant number of my computer geek buddies. the people i know who weren't exposed to computers when the

  • 3 years old (Score:3, Informative)

    by mshiltonj ( 220311 ) <mshiltonj@NoSPaM.gmail.com> on Saturday January 08, 2005 @05:03PM (#11299133) Homepage Journal
    My oldest girl is now 4 1/2 years old. She has been using a computer for about a year now.

    She goes to playhousedisney.com, nickjr.com, pbskids.org and a few others. These web sites are very educational as well as entertaining. She knows how to use bookmarks. She's sent me some email postcards from the these sites. (we have a list of family emails taped onto the monitor.)

    She groks the whole WIMP interface. She plays Pototo Guy and Tux Paint.

    We have a number of age-appropriate educational software titles that we have to boot into Windows for her to use.

    Now that our family computer primarily runs Linux, I see that children's educational software is a giant hole in the Linux offerings. Even the basic stuff you buy in the discount bins at Office Depot is many times better than any of the open source "educational" software packages. I wouldn't mind so much if I could get *any* of the commercial Win packages to run under WINE, but none have worked so far. (I've only tried a few). The lack of a shockwave/director player/plugin for Linux really hurts as well.

    She plays this game a lot lately:
    http://www.freeworldgroup.com/onlinegames /map/inde x.html

    And now she recognizes most of the states.

    On the hardware side, I've taken the computer apart a couple of times (when upgrading hardware) and she was right there with me, looking inside at the guts of the system. I pointed out the ram, processor, hard drive, etc. She enjoyed that.

    And it's not as if she spends an inordinate of time on the computer. She still plays with dolls. She still plays in the dirt in the back yard. Our refrigerator is still covered in crayon drawings.

    <proud daddy>
    I firmly believe this exposure, and a child's natural curiosity, has gone a long way toward helping her read at a 2nd grade level at 4 1/2 years old. She got several Captain Underpants and Magic Treehouse books for Christmas, and she's already read those to herself!
    </proud daddy>

    Kids take to computers like a fish takes to water. My second child is just now 7 months. One of her toys is an old keyboard with the cord removed. I don't see a "minimum' age at all.

    • I should point out the following as an addendum:

      I've been reading to my kid daily since she was about 18 months old.

      We don't watch commercial TV, but I do subscribe to netflix.

      Mozilla's adblock extension keeps her away from ads when she visits web sites.
    • You're proud that your daughter is reading well at 4-1/2, and attribute this to computers. But perhaps she's just talented, and computers have nothing to do with it. Perhaps they even slowed her down. How do you know? You have no comparative data.

      Two things I am sure of are that (a) my 6-year-old daughter is also far ahead of her age group in reading, without significnat exposure to computers (or TV) even now, and (b) I had no trouble learning computers starting at the age of about 15.

      Look at the "e

    • One of her toys is an old keyboard with the cord removed. I don't see a "minimum' age at all.

      Same here, but you want to keep an eye on her. Mi son had his keyboard privileges removed once he discovered how to pop out the keys (hint: it involves "banging" and "floor"). Those things are real choking hazards.
      Just a heads-up from a peer :)
  • computers. There has been a computer in my house as long as I can remember. The difference between myself and my peers that did not grow up with computers is night and day. I was born in 78 and my age group is part of the group where few grew up with computers as compared with teens now who all grew up with computers. I consider myself fortunate to have had a head start and would not be where I am today without that head start. Technology changes rapidly, if you are not there to keep up it is hard to jump i
  • At its vaguest, I'd say old enough that their brains have been able to learn via other stimuli (not TV, not computers) and young enough that that by the time they need it in school (grade 3?) they'll be able to at least be able to get around enough to write a document in Word or whatever.

    Take it for what you like, but people I know who've been raised with a large focus being TV or computers at very young ages tend to be less empathetic than others I've known.

    Now that I've offended about 99% of the people
  • I was gonna pick up IPAL Creative Coloring Book Station [radioshack.com] this week, so my kid is only 20 months old, we'll play together.

    my only tidbit- are you prepared to give the kid their own computer- or to give yours up? the tivo in my home hangs over my computer, and for some reason, my son loves watching barney standing between me and my keyboard. sometimes he will allow me to sit him on my shoulders and type

    there are a lot of 'keyboard banger' games out there, try baby keys [mothergoose.com] from here in full screen

  • wait (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Computer cases have this flame retardant in them that causes autism in younger children (Slashdot had a story about this). You shouldn't even allow children in the same room with a computer until they're old enough to be unaffected.
  • Just make the computers available and let the children see others using them and they will figure it out for themselves.

    For example: A friend of mine whose son is Down Syndrome [ndss.org] always had Macs around and his son saw others playing with them and using them. When the child was only 2 1/2 years old (and noone was watching) he went over, got out a game he wanted to play, inserted into the Mac drive, and began playing.

    Just my $.02 inflation unadjusted.

  • Oh, about the same age you give them thier first shotgun, so 5 or 6 oughta do it. Yee-haw!
  • As much as you would like, you won't be able to mold your children into the ideal human beings you imagine. Just let it be - give them access to any technology feasible, and if they're interested, great. If not, great as well. Also, it's now the year 2005. Really, there is no such thing as "introducing children to computers" anymore. Computers are part of their lives in all sorts of forms from the day they are born. Denying or forcing computer usage will only make them maladjusted compared to the rest
  • Now, actually. Children can even point and click before they can read, so the question is "when should they be given books", not the other way round.
  • I introduced my daughter to computers at age 4--on a Data General Nova III minicomputer. She knew how to bootstrap it (from a 14-inch platter) and call up/run some simple programs I wrote for her (BASIC, FORTRAN). She later started programming in BASIC. June 2003, she graduated medical school--not that that is in any way related.
  • Give them access to the computer within reasonable limits (no you can't spend all your time on it), answer any questions they have intelligently and clearly, show them about programming (Logo still rocks) if they have an interest in it. Share your skills in such video games as you feel are appropriate for them.

    But don't do this at the expense of all the other things you have to offer them as a geek. Expose them to science fiction. Teach them the names of the stars and show them how to build a copy scop

  • Avoid them until adolescence (Score:4, Insightful)

    by SofaMan ( 454881 ) on Saturday January 08, 2005 @10:47PM (#11301304)
    Based on the other comments in this thread, I have a feeling I'm going to be flamed to death, but here goes:

    I'm a professional educator, who teaches Design & Technology at a secondary level (before this I was a web designer for almost a decade), and I'm fairly strongly of the opinion that students really have no business being given any significant exposure to computers before high school.

    Some have made the argument about "computers are part of the world" and "get them used to them as early as possible". The first statement is true, but in no way justifies the second.

    Firstly, learning in the primary years has a very strong social component, where students are not primarily learning facts and "how-to's", but are fundamentally learning how to interact and communicate with others and the natural environment. Computers can impair this in subtle ways, since they are not fundamentally interactive, but only give the illusion of being so - no matter how many choices a computer program gives you, they are still finite in number, and have been decided upon by someone else (i.e. a program designer). A bucket of sand is more interactive and valuable for a child than a computer. Even interpersonal interaction via computer (i.e. IM, email, etc.) have been stripped of key interpersonal cues (facial expression, voice tone, gesture, etc.) vital to a mature understanding of meaning in communication. Once children become more mature in the fundamentals of social interaction, then we can consider introducing them to computers, as they are in a better position to be aware of their limitations.

    Secondly, unexposed children's computer knowledge appears to catch up quite quickly with those who were exposed early if they are exposed in adolescence, with the added benefit that they are more likely not to have had any social skills compromised through excessive computer use (and less face it, children's computer use is far more likely to have been relatively uncontrolled by parents, rather than carefully monitored).

    I could also talk about the role of handwriting in effective language formation (as opposed to keyboard use), but what I've written is a good preliminary argument - I may expand in reply to the reponses of others if it seems to need it.

    In summary - computers are a tool, not a way of life. They have good applications and bad ones. Adolescents are better equipped than young children to be able to distinguish the benign from the harmful.

    Cars are a part of life too, but we don't teach young children how to drive - we wait until they have the necessary maturity to be able to use that tool effectively, and even then we are frequently disappointed.

    Computers are not as physically dangerous as cars, granted, but there should be a recognition that they are a powerful tool nonetheless, that can shape people in important ways. As with cars and any other powerful tool, we should attempt to impart the maturity to deal with and use them effectively before handing over the keys.
    • I'm an about-to-graduate college student. I'd just like to chime in, and figured replying to someone who made an intelligent post was a good place to start.

      I spent a significant amount of time on the computer from grade 8 to grade 12, and I'd say that I *still* spend quite a lot of time on the machine when there's nothing else to do. That being said, I have a great relationship, a good job, good academics, and some good friends.

      Being able to program has been a huge influence on my college career. But I th
  • My daughter had a Mac before she turned 2 and is on her 4th PC (a laptop) now that she's 5. She's a little rough on downloading spyware and junk, but she's as proficient as my boss. She can download a game or put in a CD and install it, send email, send IMs, go to websites that she knows the URL for, knows her email address, types messages in a friend's CaringBridge guestbook, etc.

    Start with some simple software. Maisy's Playhouse was the winner for us. The one-button mouse of a Mac is easier on little
  • I am already introducing my son into the world of computers with my PlayStation. His time is limited, and we spend the time together. But he is learning how harsh a mistress computers are. He is also learning the general rules about computers. One, don't do things at random. If you don't know what it is, don't touch it. Two, computers are sensitive. Scratch that disk, and you're never playing that game again. Three, computers crash every once in a while. The reason why Ratchet isn't moving anymore is becaus
  • Being 14 years old, I may have some insight into this. I was 9 when my dad showed me C, only after I showed an interest in computers. I suggest you take a passive approach and continue to use computers around them, and let them decide on their own interests. Please do not restrict use of technology bluntly without reason; If you feel your teenager is spending excessive time indoors, talk to him/her - restriction depends on whether your child is rebuilding a linux kernel or playing on the xbox. Above all, s
  • No later than 1-2 weeks after burn in.
  • I got introduced to computers when I was 4 or something. It's a good thing, I liked it and still do.

    My father introduced me to Basic because he thought it might interrest me (this was later, not when I was 4..), he DID NOT introduce me because it would give me an 'edge' or whatever.

    The only thing that's important to kids is to have fun, not to learn 'things about the computer'.
    Learning things about the world is more important than learning to program.
  • I'm guessing you know a fair amount about computing and how to use a computer, and that you use a computer at home?

    Most children will show an interest in what their parents are doing, simply answer their question truthfully, and show them what you're doing and why. This should be enough to interest them. Perhaps find a simple game they can play. I remember when I was a child of that sort of age (not too long ago), my mum owned a BBC Micro, she showed me how to turn it on, and play some games. We were also
  • If you want your kids to be l33t hax0r dudez put a BBC Micro/Sinclair Spectrum/Commodore 64 in their bedroom ASAP.

    Seing that coding properly on modern pcs is difficult to learn (visual basic/PHP are NOT real programming languages) your best bet is to get them an old school computer. Just getting games to run requires some BASIC knowledge (run "elite".....memories).

    This way you know that if your kids use them, they're really interested in computers, and not in using computers (ie MSN). When they're older y

  • I received the following book for Christmas: Failure to Connect: How Computes Affect Our Children's Minds -- and What We Can Do About It by Jane M. Healy (ISBN 0-684-85539-9). I put it on my "Books to Get" list a long time ago for reasons that escape me now, apart from general interest.

    I haven't read it yet, so I can't tell you what I think of it. Still, you might have a look.

    • Yeah there are lots of books out there (nearly always authored by women) saying that computers are bad for kids.

      There are also lots of actual academic studies that show otherwise.

      Its just further validation of my own observations that many women have an illogical hatred of computers.
  • I don't mean to be too harsh or anything, but about a third of the comments from real parents are shit. I won't claim to be some kind of authority on children (despite the fact that I was one not too long ago) but this sort of thing can vary wildly. At 6 I was a proficient BASIC programmer. Could every kid do this? No. Could some kids do it faster? Sure. Would *every* kid want to. Absolutely not. The child defines their own pace and interests and you can't do anything to speed them up. All you, as a paren

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