As a spin-off on the cell phone question, how old will your kids be when you let them have their own computer?
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We'll give them supervised access very early; I remember programming when I was seven, and I loved it.
But they won't get unsupervised access until much, much later.
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My LO is 11 months and we're actually gonna get a Kindle fire so we can read interactive books on it. An actual computer/laptop will have to wait til she's school age with homework,....that is, if computer are still around then.
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Probably when he can buy it himself. I didn't have my own computer until I bought my first laptop when I went away to college (back in the stone ages).
We will have a family computer and everyone will have an account on that.
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You have to give your kids access early for school nowadays since they are all using computers at school by kindergarten. So like Mr. Bee said, the access will be early but supervised.
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i don't think my kids will have their own computers until they need it for school. they can share the family one until then. although the family one will probably end up being theirs anyway because i like my own computer and so does my husband.
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We'll probably let them start using a computer when they're 4? And will buy them their own when they're in high school, or maybe going off to college? Til then they can use the family/community computer we'll be setting up in the family room. I didn't have my own computer til I was in college.
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@Andrea: this is what I don't understand...not every home has a computer, so how can they, in public school, require that you give your kid access to a computer or the internet?
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@looch - maybe she means that since they have access in school, she might as well give them access at home? not that they require you to have a computer at home?
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Our kids probably won't have their own computers until they leave for college. Same with televisions. I don't like the idea of everyone in the family having their own because everyone retreats to their bedroom and isolates themselves instead of having conversations and having to take turns. I learned early on about scheduling too. I had to get my homework done with plenty of time if I needed the computer. Once my time was up, that was it. I had to let my sister on. Sharing the computer taught me some good lessons. And it was in a public area so there was no privacy...which I think of now as a good thing.
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@looch - would there be computer labs in public schools for the kids to use? all i know is that i hear from my friends that their young kids submit homework online now in public school so they need access somehow. so different than when we were kids!!
i read that the school i went to growing up (private) requires each student to have their own home computer starting from kindergarten. pretty crazy.
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I don't have kids in school, so I don't know if there are public computer labs available, to be honest. I can appreciate that a private school can place any requirements on a student they see fit, but in a public school, there's simply no way they can mandate that every student have a personal computer. There are computers available in the public library, IIRC.
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@looch - i haven't heard that they mandate it in public school but they do need to submit things online so it would seem to be a disadvantage for those who don't have a home computer and have to go find one.
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We will have a family computer accessible to them in a public space starting at a young age, but as far as having their own computer...maybe near the end of high school? I'd like to hold out as long as possible, but if we have several kids who need to use it for school I can see us caving sooner.
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Seeing we are very techy in our house, I would say early (but with supervision) and will allotted time slots. Same goes for video games, and clearly I promote going outside first.
@MrBee , you were programming at 7?! That's awesome
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I didn't have my own computer until I bought it myself before I went to college. So I'll probably do something similar with my kids. They'll, of course, have access to our computers, but it will be supervised. They won't get their own until they can afford one for themselves.
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My daughter is 5 and we are thinking about getting her a small laptop next year. She goes onto PBS kids and other kid websites. She even knows the password to my mothers computer.
I use to say she wouldn't get one until she was in high school, but we don't live in that kind of world anymore. We use computers for everything. They even have computers in her pre school.
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Either high school graduation or when they can afford one on their own. I would never consider a personal computer because of the dangers of not being able to monitor their usage. DH and I both own personal desktops and laptops, so the issue of them "hogging" the family computer won't be a big deal.
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@mrbee: what type of computer were you programming on when you were 7? I'm curious.
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We're going to set up a computer in the family room that will be the family computer. I will continue to have my laptop and DH will have his computer in his office that is off-limits (the whole office). The family computer is what our child will use until they head off to college.
Friends of mine have a computer that the kids are allowed to use at any time for school work. They each have a personal code for internet that they are allowed to use up to an hour a day (or more/less depending). I like that idea a lot.
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@Zippylef, you can block things.
We have parental controls through Verizon and the only websites our daughter can go to on the spare computer are pbskids.com, barbie.com, and nickjr.com
If she tries to type in something else, it will block it. So the only dangers are if you allow them to be.
Even when I was in high school, my father monitored our use. We were never allowed to use the computer if there wasn't a parent in the room and he changed the password to the computer often. I feel like the internet is only as dangerous as you let it be. -
@mrbee: You were programing at 7? I don't even think I knew how to turn on a computer at age 7. I think my first computer class was in second grade.
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Mine was a household big into video games and computers growing up: got a nintendo back in 1986, and a sweet 486DX for DOSshell fun. So yes: I don't think we'd deny Junior a small, basic computer if once he started showing interest.
Internet access on the other hand...nope. Not until it's required for schoolwork (and chances are it will be). Going to try and keep him engaged with sports, music and being outdoors as much as possible... computer dependency is inevitable (just look at ourselves right this moment).
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You may see this as extreme, but we won't be letting our kids use computers until they start high school. And even then, the internet access will be limited.
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@blushink: @bluestriped bee: @mediagirl: My dad subscribed to a magazine that had the source code to some BASIC programs listed out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASICSo I typed one of them into a PC and tried to get it to work. I eventually got it working, but was super disappointed by the whole experience, because the program turned out to be to help people calculate their golf handicap. I had misunderstood and thought it would actually cure handicapped people and allow them to play golf. Now that would have been one heck of a program!
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The public school I work in has laptop carts in almost every classroom. Sometimes 2 rooms will have to share. It's true that we do a lot use the computers pretty frequently and things like reading tests are almost exclusively online. We also use them to practice math and language skills but so far they haven't taken the place of our actual math or reading textbooks. In our school I can't think of any instances where assignments had to be submitted online without having had PLENTY of time in class to complete the assignment. If a kid isn't using their time wisely and therefore has to complete it after school at home then that's their problem but because not every student has access to a computer at home we have to give an appropriate amount during class to finish it.
For my personal kids, we'll probably give them opportunities to earn computer time (on the family computer, located in a public room) by doing chores, doing well in school, reading a certain number of minutes/books, etc.
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By the time that he's old enough to care for his own electronics, I highly doubt computers will be as prevalent as they are now. I can see him having a hand-me-down tablet (iPad) to care for when he's about 4-5 for trips and such. At home they shouldn't need computer/internet access until they enter school though. Video games are going to be the issue. My husband plays Call of Duty and we'll have to set allotments of time that he can use it or do some sort of chore chart that earns him time with video games.
Our house is rather techy and I think that it's a good thing for children as long as it isn't the first thing that they reach for or want. Playing outside is very important as is reading and imaginary play.
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