Computer Booster

September 15, 2008 at 11:16 am, by GoodyBlog

KidDesktop has come up with a delightfully simple computer program for
little kids. When your child signs on, she’ll get her own bright
screen, customized by you. She won’t be able to access (or delete) any
important documents or inappropriate websites, even by accident. You
decide ahead of time which websites she can visit, pictures she can see
and games she (and you) can play.
There’s
even a one-click photo upload capability (I can see this feature
turning the tables a bit—you using the kids’ easy photo program to
quickly upload and view the weekend’s pics).
But the biggest perk
for you is probably the timer. You set it, and an icon at the top of
the screen keeps track. For kids, the start screen and tool bar are
completely icon-driven and include spoken help, to make it easy for
even non-reading preschoolers. With that, the recommended age range is
3 and up.
So how old do you think kids should be before getting
computer time? Also, would you prefer something like this, that doesn’t
need too much direct intervention, or would you rather stick to web
sessions where you’re more actively involved?

2 Responses to “Computer Booster”

1. September 15, 2008 at 11:21 am, by Jen

   I don’t see any problem with computer time as long as when they’re young it’s being used as a learning tool. I figure the younger the better, they’re probably going to be using computers for the rest of their life anyway so getting them familiar with it early couldn’t hurt. The program sounds pretty great to me also, I’ll be looking into it.

2. September 16, 2008 at 8:58 am, by Steven

   My wife and I have been discussing whether or not it is alright for my 2 1/2 year old to be playing learning games on the computer already. One comment I read suggested that letting your kids use the computer too early leads to a serious computer addiction later. But we feel that the early she learns these tools the better; we now live in a time where tomorrow’s possibilities are not even apparent today, so why limit our kids? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U