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At what age did your child learn to use the computer?
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Anonymous
| We have a 5 year old who knows what a computer is, but has never used one. She also has never shown an interest in anything technical. She likes to pretend play, and do arts and crafts. My dh just bought her a laptop, because he thinks that she is behind. She will be starting k this fall, do the kids work on computer skills? Is she behind? |
Anonymous
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She's fine. Hardly anything to be concerned about.
Both of my kids have been working on computers from a very young age, but it's really due to proximity to so much technology in our house. |
Anonymous
|
Playing "Baby Splat" -- 3 months to 6 months up
Visiting Dora, Caillou and other kids' websites -- from 18 months up Her own little play keyboard -- around two up Simple computer games -- age two-three up Some applications used in school -- preschool Using the mouse "to help mommy/daddy" or pressing keys -- now at 3/4 |
Anonymous
| She is not behind. Keep her off as long as possible! |
Anonymous
I agree, I don't see the benefit to early computer use. This generation will grow up with computers as a way of life, she will have no problem picking up the relevant skills when the time comes. In the meantime encouraging her to be creative and engaged in the world is much more valuable than sitting her in front of a computer screen. |
aprilmayjune
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| I don't think there's any harm in supervising her on some of the kids websites, letting her use "paint" or "word" if she shows interest in doing it, but other than that I really wouldn't worry about it. |
Anonymous
| I agree with the others in regards to keeping her off as long as possible. My children are five and six and I let them play Sprout Online once or twice this summer. |
Anonymous
| My brother put together a computer for our DD when she turned 3yo. She had been using our computer for some time before that for little games. Now at 4.5yo she can load and play her own games and knows how to search the internet for games or information. She is supervised the whole time and the time is very limited. When she asks us a question that we don't know the answer to or a subject comes up that she wants to know about we look it up together online. I do think it's a skill that they need to learn but they will learn it sooner or later. |
Anonymous
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She's not behind. She's just not interested - and that's fine too.
Some kids are more technology minded then others. Be grateful. The oldest boy I watch is about to turn 3 and the sight of a computer, phone, TV, or laptop sends him into fully techno mode. He regularly asks me "where's your bag?" and "where's your laptop?" because when I was taking classes this summer I often kept my laptop to work on homework while the boys were napping. He can do some simple things on the computer. ie: work the mouse or touchpad (a little tricky but he can do it) and click on things. I filmed some video of my very long train trip to Maine (he's obsessed with trains) and he is able to go from one video to another on iPhoto or some surf some simple kids websites with supervision. That said, I don't allow him to use the laptop very often and rarely bring it with me anymore as I'm not taking classes at the moment. He's also quite expertly typed nonsense into the keyboard and managed to bring up all kinds of windows. I did not have access to the internet and when I asked him what he was doing he told me he was checking the weather. Hah. I also saw him once surfing through apps on his Uncle's iPhone and select a couple of kid friendly apps (or something) that were on there. It really depends on a kid's interest and exposure. I don't think kids really need to learn about computers until they are in early elementary, if not later. |
Anonymous
My parents got a computer when I was six. None of this point-and-click nonsense-- I had to learn the dos commands to run my little games! 
(That said, my three-year-old isn't doing anything on the computer yet, except watching cartoons while I shower.) |
Anonymous
| Different opinion here from the mother of an elementary school aged child. Yes, your child will be behind in K. Our child has been using a computer since age 3 and an itouch for the past year that we have had them. She has her own laptop now. When she started K, the class started off with the assumption that everyone knew elementary skills like using a mouse and a touch pad, how to save documents, use the drawing tools, etc. As in, the teacher tells them to turn on their computers, open a certain program and complete a certain task as a warm up -- could be "open the picture of the puppy," could be "use the drawing tool to make a smiley face," etc. After the warm up, they learn something new or explore a new program like using a math program to practice facts. If your daughter is uninterested in technology or intimidated by it, she may be uninspired, uninterested, afraid to speak up and say she has no idea how the drawing tool works or what double clicking is. |
Anonymous
| 3 years old. |
Anonymous
| My 3 year old doesn't use the computer. I'd love to keep her off for a few more years if not more. She'll get plenty of screentime over her lifetime. |
Anonymous
What school is this? If my DC was in a K class like this, I would switch schools in a heartbeat! |
Anonymous
| began at 3 yo. They're whizzes at that age bc they have no fear of clicking here and everywhere. |