Anonymous
Post 06/03/2025 21:02     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
Anonymous wrote:I'm considering buying a laptop for my son, who is starting middle school next year. I want him to be able to complete whatever homework assignments/research/printing he needs to do independently. I also have no objections to him playing video games for a limited amount of time each weekend assuming all the homework is completed. What I am trying to avoid, however, is unlimited computer use for gaming and socializing at night and on weekends. My son tends to lose all self-control when it comes to computer usage, and I'm worried that having a personal computer in his room will exacerbate the problem. Any thoughts on how to give him what he needs while keeping his computer usage under control?


If this is to carry to and from school, be sure to get a good carry case or it will be broken fast. Modern laptops aren't as durable as the ones from two decades ago. They never really were that durable though, but really fragile now.
Anonymous
Post 06/03/2025 11:05     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP, why can't your child do homework at the kitchen table?


...or on the sofa in the living room, or on the living room floor, etc. Anywhere but in his own bedroom. OP says the only options are the son's room or the parent's office but OP, try to find somewhere else. He really does need the computer (they all do, now) but you know that if it's in his room he's going to be distracted. And if he's behind a shut door in your office, it'll be the same. Put him in a space where you can walk through occasionally while still doing other things you need to be doing.


None of that will keep a kid from doing things they shoudl'nt be doing. My kid was the master at sitting at the kitchen table within view of us doing inappropriate things on the internet. I sat with her for all homework for a full year after that. She hated it, but she coudln't be trusted. (And the darn school wouldn't accommodate paper work)
Anonymous
Post 06/03/2025 09:31     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why does he need to have it in his room?

The only other place to put it is my office, which I am not sure I want to share. Besides, it makes more sense for him to have his computer where his homework is - i.e. his room.


No it isnt. He will use it all the time, especially if he already has no control. My daughter is in 10th and never needed her own computer and she is in a magnet. Her phone is charging in the kitchen at 9pm. Rooms are for sleeping and reading only.


He should be doing hw in a common/work area. Room is for sleeping
Anonymous
Post 06/03/2025 08:55     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
Someone revived a 10 year old thread. A lot has changed since 2015.
Anonymous
Post 06/03/2025 07:18     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
Chromebooks do not let you limit Internet time, which is important.
Anonymous
Post 06/02/2025 09:35     Subject: Re:personal laptop for a middle schooler
jsteele wrote:Both of our sons have Mac laptops. The Mac OS has built-in parental controls which are pretty easy to use. I have set a time that they are allowed to login and a time by which they must logout (or be logged out automatically). During the time they are allowed to be logged in, there is also a time limit. I will grant extra time on days that they have earned it. The parental controls also control which programs can be opened and which websites can be accessed. One caveat is that the parental controls are somewhat broken on the current version of the OS and don't always work as expected. Hopefully, that will be fixed soon.


+1 my kids all have Mac’s, they are lovely and can sync with an iPad if school provides one. Costco has really good prices on them, they are very affordable. The parental controls are easy to use. I also have a rule that all electronics sleep in the family room or my room at night.
Anonymous
Post 06/02/2025 09:23     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
I bought a Chromebook for my middle schooler. It has parental controls where you can specify when it can be used and you can alot how much time each day they can be on it. You can also indicate if you want only specific sites they should access.

I have him only use it downstairs in our study/dining area. No issues and he understands why. Make rules at the start and stick to them.

Also, I used chatgpt to create a guide of internet safety that I could review with my son. I found it helpful to review the topics with him.
Anonymous
Post 06/02/2025 09:19     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
My MS kid has a MacBook she got in 7th grade, but it lives downstairs and she uses it at the DR table. Got it for her because all chromebooks and pcs we have had have been crap and basically unusable after a few years. This Mac should get her through HS without issue.
Anonymous
Post 06/02/2025 08:02     Subject: Re:personal laptop for a middle schooler
My usual recommendation for this type of use case is a used/refurbished business laptop (HP Probook/Elitebook, Lenovo Thinkpad, or Dell Latitude/Precision) that is about three years old. These are readily available, well built, reliable, and repairable, unlike most cheaper laptops available new.
Anonymous
Post 06/01/2025 21:53     Subject: Re:personal laptop for a middle schooler
Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't do a Mac, unless you're rolling in the dough. Something cheaper and simpler will do the trick.

I'm a high school teacher, and the school has invested in a bunch of chrome books this year. I kind of love them, but you can't have any applications (like Microsoft office) - you can only work with online platforms.

That said, most kids use Google Docs/Presentations for their work now anyway. And they're like $200.

i agree. most acedemic programs, thesises, and debate teams etc etc run on google docs. macs are so propreitory you cant do shit with them.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2015 23:01     Subject: Re:personal laptop for a middle schooler
We have limited internet, so I won't ever consider a Chromebook. I want something on the computer, not everything in the cloud.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2015 14:18     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
Anonymous wrote:A nice think about a chromebook is that you can turn off your wireless router and control your kid's computer usage (since the chromebook won't work without an internet connection).


Well, it sort of works -- you can edit documents, for example. But it really cuts down on distractions.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2015 09:43     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
A nice think about a chromebook is that you can turn off your wireless router and control your kid's computer usage (since the chromebook won't work without an internet connection).
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2015 23:00     Subject: Re:personal laptop for a middle schooler
Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't do a Mac, unless you're rolling in the dough. Something cheaper and simpler will do the trick.

I'm a high school teacher, and the school has invested in a bunch of chrome books this year. I kind of love them, but you can't have any applications (like Microsoft office) - you can only work with online platforms.

That said, most kids use Google Docs/Presentations for their work now anyway. And they're like $200.


Middle school teacher here and I cannot agree more. We are recommending Chromebook to any student or parent who asks. Every student has a Google account, so it is easy for them to complete their assignments on Chromebook.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2015 19:37     Subject: personal laptop for a middle schooler
Anonymous wrote:OP, why can't your child do homework at the kitchen table?


...or on the sofa in the living room, or on the living room floor, etc. Anywhere but in his own bedroom. OP says the only options are the son's room or the parent's office but OP, try to find somewhere else. He really does need the computer (they all do, now) but you know that if it's in his room he's going to be distracted. And if he's behind a shut door in your office, it'll be the same. Put him in a space where you can walk through occasionally while still doing other things you need to be doing.