Preschoolers on the Computer - Page 2

[~Quse~]

So, I'm wondering how I would get dd to stop using the computer, you see...I'm on it a lot, here at MDC mostly, now that I have the new baby and find that nursing and forum surfing are very complimentary . I am not setting a good example, but don't make me stop, PLEASE!!!!!

I could easily make it so that she can't pull up a browser to get on her site but this will lead to fits.

Oh well, I'll just take it as it comes...

[RedWine]

I could have written the original post, right down to the specific website my 2 1\2 year old enjoys (www.uptoten.com). She alternates between that and starfall.com.

We have made it a part of her daily routine. She eats lunch, plays up to 30 minutes on the computer (at one of those two sites), I read her a few stories, and then she takes a nap. She is only allowed to use the computer at that specific time of day. I too worry about too much screen time at that tender age, and I also see no benefits to being hooked on the computer. We are also a TV-free house, though she is allowed one Signing Time DVD every other day or so. However, both of the above mentioned sites seem gentle and somewhat educational (starfall, especially), so I donàt mind this bit of screentime. I would feel uncomfortable with more, however.

[dharmamama]

My daughter is about 3 1/2. She does not know how to use the computer and has shown no interest in learning how. She does, however, sit on my lap occasionally while we look at things together. She likes Starfall, American Greetings (she likes to see the animated cards), and the music video page of Noggin. I will also find and show her pictures of whatever she's currently interested in: trains, giraffes, comets, etc.

We probably spend about 30 minutes a week on the computer. I probably won't let her work on it alone until she's ... I don't know, seven? (Same for my son!)

Namaste!

Ps. With a 2 1/2 year old, I would limit computer time to 15 minutes at a time, with a max of 2 sessions per day.

[PancakeGoddess]

I regret starting out so early with computer, slippery slope and all. With this new baby, I'm hoping to hold off a lot longer. We'll see.

and I know this is nitpicky, but am I the only one who doesn't think 2.5 is "preschool" age? Anyway... no biggie.

Unschoolma, I see you're reading Thich Nhat Hanh (on your blog) - that was an amazing book I thought - did you like it?

[LeftField]

Originally Posted by benjalo

and I know this is nitpicky, but am I the only one who doesn't think 2.5 is "preschool" age? Anyway... no biggie.

Nope! I also don't think of it as preschool age. I think of it as a toddler, still a baby in some ways. I've also been confused by the amount of people who have talked about their older children using the computer in this thread. I thought we were talking about 2 year olds and whether or not computer use was Ok for them. I probably get confused too easily though. :LOL

[PancakeGoddess]

nah, it's ok. I think that happens a lot on this home-ed board though, because so many of us DO have older kids. Still, it can be misleading to the moms of the really little ones because of course what's working for an 8yo is not so much cool for a baby.

[Willowrose]

My 4 year old son can navigate the computer well. He's learned the basics, which I feel will be enough to equip him in schooling.
As a limited tv family, we do the same with the computer. I have found that although there are some great educational programs, I have found it too similar to video games and tv. My son is very active and does not really enjoy that kind of thing anyhow. In the years to come, we hope to use it as a tool for homeschooling. Something that he will use to look up information, learn typing skills, etc....
We will continue to limit its use in our home.

*As a side note, I limit *my* time on it as well. I find it is way too distracting to my everyday life and ends up taking so much of my time that could otherwise be more constructive.

[KaraBoo]

At 2, my daughter really didn't have an interest in computers apart from banging on the keyboard or pretending to type. I gave her an old keyboard to play with and she was OK with that for a long time. I think it was around four that she started to want to play games and stuff on the computer because she saw us (her parents) do it.

[RubyWild]

We don't have a TV, but I also wonder about computer use. The solution we have now is that she only plays games on the computer at the library, and that is limited to 1/2 hour once or twice a week.

I don't know what we'll do in the future, but, for now, this is working for us.

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by benjalo

and I know this is nitpicky, but am I the only one who doesn't think 2.5 is "preschool" age? Anyway... no biggie.

My 2.5 year old is most definately a preschooler.

He's not terribly interested in the computer, though. He likes starfall.com, but not enough to sit in front of the box and play with it all day, just a few minutes here and there. He'd rather run around, crash his cars, or read real books.

[RubyWild]

Originally Posted by benjalo

and I know this is nitpicky, but am I the only one who doesn't think 2.5 is "preschool" age? Anyway... no biggie.

I know what you're saying. A 2-1/2 year old is a preschooler the way a 12 year old is a teenager. They may act like it, but they're not. I wouldn't have a toddler on the computer because of the neural networking that's going on in their brains. Computer and TV use has an impact on that, which is to say, it reduces some of the networking in areas of "fluid" intelligence.

[UUMom]

I totally agree. I am also always shocked when people talk about 8 or 9 yr old as 'older kids'. Freaks me out. Babies are babies , toddlers are babies, 'preschoolers' are near babies. 9 yr olds are 'little kids' 11 and 12 yr old are older kids. 13 -15 are young teens and 16-19 yr olds are older teens.

I just don't get why people rush this or think that babies are big kids. ??????

To what end?

And I also worry that so many people apply older kid motivations to tiny children (3 & 4's etc) who might hit.

We're gonna be alive for 90 or mor eyears. i think we need to cut the little ones a bit of slack.

I hate being in the minority about this , however.

[LeftField]

Originally Posted by UUMom

I totally agree. I am also always shocked when people talk about 8 or 9 yr old as 'older kids'. Freaks me out. Babies are babies , toddlers are babies, 'preschoolers' are near babies. 9 yr olds are 'little kids' 11 and 12 yr old are older kids. 13 -15 are young teens and 16-19 yr olds are older teens.

I hate being in the minority about this , however.

I guess I'm also wondering how it's defined. Is it a strict across the board thing or is intellectually based or overall developmentally based? When my oldest was hardly 10 months old and my sister's youngest was the same age, she was calling them "toddlers" and he just wasn't a toddler to me. To me, a toddler is not only a baby that walks (and mine wasn't walking yet), but one who is developmentally at a much older point. A walking baby was...well, a walking baby to me.

I guess I thought of my oldest as a "preschooler" at 3.5. He was doing some intellectual things suited to an older age before then, but his overall emotional maturity was not that of a preschooler. But what is a preschooler? I mean, is it an age range? Or is it based on academic skills that kids do? So a 2yo that reads is a preschooler, but a 4yo who doesn't is a toddler? YKWIM? I think it gets messy if you try to use academic standards to define this rather than general age stuff.

But, isn't preschooler a relatively new term anyway? It seems like it has more to do with classifying kids who attend K4 (and now K3!), kind of like a "kindergartener". If I have a 5 yo who is homeschooled, is he even a kindergartener? I would guess preschooler just ended up being applied to non-preschool kids of the same age set of those who do attend. If I'm not making much sense, it's because I'm really exhausted right now. *yawn* I should probably step away from the keyboard!

[annethcz]

My DS played on the computer quite a bit when he was 4/4.5 or so. But he started becoming obsessive about it, and it was the ONLY thing he wanted to do EVER. So I cut him off. I really don't think he's missing out on anything that he would learn otherwise, and I know that it's better for our family when ALL of us keep our electronic media usage to a minimum.

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by UUMom

I totally agree. I am also always shocked when people talk about 8 or 9 yr old as 'older kids'. Freaks me out. Babies are babies , toddlers are babies, 'preschoolers' are near babies. 9 yr olds are 'little kids' 11 and 12 yr old are older kids. 13 -15 are young teens and 16-19 yr olds are older teens.

I just don't get why people rush this or think that babies are big kids. ??????

To what end?

And I also worry that so many people apply older kid motivations to tiny children (3 & 4's etc) who might hit.

We're gonna be alive for 90 or mor eyears. i think we need to cut the little ones a bit of slack.

I hate being in the minority about this , however.

I hate it when people decide that they know my kids by their age, and then tell me that "It's impossible for a baby/toddler" to do that, after I just finished telling them that my child *wasn't* a baby/toddler. Development of the child must play a role in these things, otherwise you have people asking ridiculous questions and telling you that your child is an anomaly. But I digress.

We're not all gonna be alive for 90 more years. Some of us will be lucky to see 65, and I'm certainly in that crowd. The way I see it, a baby is small child who can't walk and hasn't got any danger sense (walks into streets, approx. 0-12 mos avg), a toddler is a small child who walks and has a danger sense and can communicate (if inneffectively) with their parents (approx. 12-36 mos, avg). A preschooler is a young child who communicates well with their parents and strangers and has sense enough to ask questions about the world around them (approx. 24mos-5 years); a young child is any child under 8, a tween/older child is 8-12, young teens are 13-15 and older teens are 16-19.

I can't say I hate being in the minority on this, because it's only on MDC that I seem to have a problem with it. Most parents can tell if their child is a baby or a toddler or a preschooler all by themselves, without reading a set of guidelines that someone else has imposed upon them, especially if they've dealt with young children before. And now, I'm going to shut up. :ignore