POLL: When did you start computer time with your kids?

[hopefulfaith]

When did you start allowing regular time on the computer for your child?


My kids have sat on my lap and typed their names in Word, for example, or picked out a coloring page from the google results that they would like me to print. They've watched YouTube videos, too.

However, we have not yet started permitting video games/websites with kid content yet.

I have the opportunity to purchase a used computer for $60 and I was given kindergarten software recently; I am wondering if this is even a door I should open with my five year old (started kindy this year).

My kids were screen-free for 3.5 years; we just introduced TV last year. I just have reservations on principle: shouldn't they learn to _read_ before I start computer stuff with them??

What do you wise mamas think? What have you done/will you do with your own kids?

Thanks for any input you can provide.

[Drummer's Wife]

My kids all started using the computer pretty young - I'd say 2 or even before that. My 3.5 yo, for example, can use a mouse and keyboard and click on icons and websites and all that. He can use a computer better than a lot of adults I know.

My older kids are 5, 7, and 9, and are also proficient w/the computer.

I don't think learning to read should be required before computer usage; if anything, I think using a computer helps with learning to read. At our school, they start computer lab with the preschool kids. My 3 yo has computer class once a week - and is doing starfall there now... something he has been doing for quite a while at home.

I guess I happen to think that starting sooner rather than later gives children an advantage considering how frequently technology is used nowadays. I would feel like my older children were at a disadvantage if they were just now allowed to use the computer freely. My kids can use powerpoint and photoshop and other programs many adults struggle with.

We do have web protection software installed (where certain sites can be easily blocked), and all computer useage is done so in our living room - so out in the open, in case the kids run into problems or need help.

[lyterae]

B. just started in the past two months (she is 4.5). My DH is a programmer and a PC gamer, computers are a big part of our life. He fixed an old computer up for her so she can play on there.

[Alyantavid]

2-3. We started with simple games and now my 8 year old has a few game sites he goes to and some educational stuff. My 4 year old plays a few educational games online with some help. I'm always in the room with them to supervise although I usually let them do their own thing, I'm doing something else unless they need help.

[limabean]

I voted "5 to 6" because you said regular computer time. My DS has been using the computer to some extent (websites like kneebouncers.com) since he was 2, but he wasn't really interested in it on a regular basis until he was about 5.

He probably asks to play on the computer about twice a week, and gets bored after about 30 minutes, so we've never had to place limits on his computer use as of yet.

[laohaire]

My DH started DD on the computer around 3, I think.

If it were up to me, I'd start her around 10. So much for that.

At least DH will be teaching her hardware and we'll teach her a little programming skills too, so she's not just a user. (Later, of course - not at age 5).

My reservations on computer use for children are:
- Exposure to icky stuff. We'll add parental controls soon (we haven't taught her to navigate sites yet, though).
- Exposure to poor writing standards. I understand teens these days are so used to writing short, abbreviated sentences that even their English papers are the same. Most of us were raised reading books that passed publishing standards, and I think that really helps with literacy. It's not that I think she will suddenly become illiterate if she reads some barely literate post out there but consistent exposure to poor quality communication is bound to have an effect. (Effect, yup, not affect.)
- Addiction to screen time, inability to regulate time and also sleep. DH has this problem majorly, and I have it as well. I'm a teetoler by personality, so if I didn't work my job on the Internet, I'd Freecycle my computer. I'm serious. And here I am wasting time while I'm supposed to be working. What a time suck.

But the positives:
- The information is incredible. The things I have learned on the Internet have profoundly affected (yup, affected not effected) my life. Almost all for the better (because I systematically avoid the bad stuff. I don't even read the news. I only learn news indirectly, like if someone on MDC is talking about some current event).
- As a disabled person, it has enabled me to be a productive member of society. I am multiply disabled, yet am the primary breadwinner. Go figure.
- It really helps me to keep in touch with my family, who is across the country.
- While I strongly believe in the value of a face to face community, the ability to find a virtual community of people with similar values or lifestyles is invaluable. For example, I'm planning to move to a yurt. I MIGHT be able to find one or two people in my town who think that is interesting, and who might even support me in that choice, but I feel safe saying that nobody in my town has ever lived in a yurt. So I can use the Internet to reach out to those few people in the world and learn from them and connect to them.

I guess I went off topic, but anyway, I do hope that I can help DD traverse the computer/Internet mindfully, so she gets mostly the good stuff and keeps the bad stuff to a minimum.

[laohaire]

Oh, I forgot to mention - my DD could spend all day on the computer. Unfortunately. The good news is that she only asks for computer access when she's really bored and neither DH nor I are available to her (cleaning or whatever). I would say she uses the computer about once a week or every 10 days, but when she does, it's for a couple of hours and I'm the one who says "enough."

[Llyra]

We did no TV at all until 2. Then we introduced it, but with strong limits. My kids watch about one show or movie a week.

My kids have all been exposed to the computer in indirect ways as babies-- like nursing while I watched You Tube for instance, or to watch home movies on it. But I never sat the in front of it to do something like play a game until they were at least three. I think DD1 may even have been older. And even now, the twins are going on four, and if they sit to the computer to play something three times a month, that's a lot. DD1 does probably about an hour a week total, although not all in one sitting-- she's six.

I don't buy the idea that waiting puts them at a disadvantage. I didn't have a computer as a young child. I manage to use one just fine. For most adults over about 35 or so, that's the case. There's nothing on a computer that a child can't learn easily in a very short amount of time, but nothing can bring back the hours NOT spent running and rolling and jumping and reading and cutting and pasting and building and playing pirates and princesses and firefighters and jumping on the bed.

[ALittleBitCrunchy]

Mine were probably 2, maybe 3, when computer games started. At 8 and 6 they can go online, find the right bookmarks or type in the site they want, etc. They both play games online and on the computer and have been for years. Right now they are in love with my facebook games and with Annoying Orange videos on youtube. As homeschoolers (until this year) both had online work as part of their kindergarten curriculums, even.

However...we have never been a screen-free family so this was something we never really talked about. It just evolved because they saw us on the computer and wanted to see it.

[Marimami]

I work in the computer industry and DH did too before becoming a SAHD. So, computers are a big part of our life, but we are adults. DD has used them very little now at age 6.

Computer use isn't rocket science. She can click and navigate just fine with remarkably little exposure. She has never been to a kids website. She has never played a video game on our computer. She knows what Google and wikipedia are and often requests that we look things up for her. We're always looking things up on YouTube together.

We use Explode the Code in roughly 10-15 min. increments a few times a month. I only use it to reinforce a reading/spelling concept. It's not part of our core activities (we homeschool). I sit with her when she works with it.

We use a laptop for things like educational DVD viewing, and she often sends me chat messages from it during the day. That use has been great practice for her reading and spelling skills.

We remain TV and movie free except for the aforementioned educational shows, and those are extremely limited. All of her computer use is with me or DH. I feel quite strongly about that.

Holli

[puddle]

DH is a software developer and our house is full of computers. DD started using one really young. I had a part time job from home for a year that required me to be on the laptop a lot, and the only way I could manage to use it was for her to have her own laptop to play with. Once she stopped ripping the keys off, she got her own old leftover laptop. She could use a mouse and play games well before she was 2. I initially tried to avoid screen time with her, but with a super high needs kid, I had to let go of that in order to survive.
I prefer the laptop to TV since it's at least interactive and playing games is good for hand-eye coordination.

Computers can be a useful tool when used in moderation.

[Daffodil]

My kids started doing Starfall, Paint, etc. as 2 year olds. They both learned to use a mouse at around 2 1/2. I let them do stuff on the computer pretty much whenever they want to, but it's not something they ask to do regularly. They have occasional days where they sit for a couple of hours or more doing Starfall or Line Rider or watching You Tube videos or something, but they also go weeks at a time without ever using the computer. So we haven't seen the need to set any limits so far. I don't like the addiction potential of computer games, and I'm not sure to what extent I'll let them play games as they get older.

[MJB]

My second started playing Starfall at 2-3. From 3.5 to 4 we had a subscription to time4learning.com which he used several hours a week; with that as his main teacher, his reading level went from K level to 2nd grade level in 4 months. At the ripe old age of 4.5 he uses the computer for nonsense like googling "how to spy" and watching Lady Gaga videos on youtube. I do think computer/internet skills are important but we limit it.

[dawncayden]

I think he was 2.5 or 3. I treat it as 'screen time', so I set a timer and he can play treehouse, pbs or starfall until the beeper goes off.
We are pretty strict about screen time in our house, he gets to watch one show (on our apple tv, so no commercials) in the morning. I only use the computer if I really need him outta my hair for 20 min. So he uses the computer probably once a week. I'd rather use the computer and not the tv for this purpose because at least it's interactive and he's usually learning something in my opinion.

[4evermom]

Ds started climbing on laps and commandeering the mouse and keyboard at 18 months. I wasn't sure whether to check when he asked/begged/demanded or under 5. I went with under 5 but it was 18 months.

[One_Girl]

My dd started playing PBS games when she was three with me and four on her own. She doesn't do it all that often because it doesn't interest her that much, but she can use a mouse, type in Word, and google images and games she is interested in as long as I okay it.

[bonamarq]

I put not until she asks/beg start in school - but she was in a pre-k that allowed some time to do the starfall.com site - so her first experiences were around 4 - she still gets no "regular' computer time, but will occasionally ask for some computer game time at pbs.org - she's almost 7

[leighi123]

Ds is allowed to play starfall (maybe once every couple weeks), and the only 'tv' he watches is an occasional youtube video that I have prescreened, usually in response to him asking a specific question. For example in a book there was something about a volcano, he didnt really understand what one was so we watched a 30 second clip showing one. And then went and made one from clay/baking soda/vinegar!

So nothing regular yet. I dunno how that will change though, I was using one of the first apple desktop computers by the time I was 5 for programs like 'the playroom' and 'kid pix'

[meemee]

my dd has been pounding on the keyboard since she was 3 months old. i would bring work from home many a days and she loved 'copying' me. in fact just a keyboard was one of her favourite toys at that age. but she prefered the real thing.

i never really kept dd away from the computer.

she used it as a 'tv' or keyboard from 3 months old, but didnt really start using it till she was in first grade. seh wasnt truly interested in before that. i mean she used the computer before. by the time she was 3 she was quite proficient even with google. at 5 she helped me with chat. and was confident looking for her favourite shows on youtube. or email or chat with friends. her first messages were mooooooooooooooo or something similar.

she self regulates. so far i have not had to restrict acess. she was given a few preschool games but i was totally against her doing any kind of reading or 'learning'. i wanted the computer to be a pure fun activity.

just the same way she just naturally one day started cooking, she one day just naturally started doing more interactive work on the computer.

[hopefulfaith]

Thanks, everybody, for your voting and the kind, thoughtful responses here!