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When Should Children Be Introduced to Computers?
cjsteele asks: "When should kids be introduced to computers and the Internet? I'm torn between the prospect of giving my children a technological edge versus giving them an appreciation for more traditional ways of learning and researching (and entertainment, etc.) Though the question is open for rampant conjecture, what does Slashdot think? Early and often or slow and controlled?" Slightly tangential to an issue that was covered earlier this week, aside from the average video game, what is the ideal age for kids to begin seriously learning about computers.
"All of this comes as the result of my kids (3 & 2 years old) getting a Fisher-Price InteracTV for Christmas. This is the first step towards 'e-learning', and after watching my kids adapt to how the system works, I began to wonder in what ways this method of learning shapes later cognitive development. The big concern I have here is that the KIDS had to do the adapting, not the technology -- that means the way THEY think is being affected, which gets me a bit queezy. Any thoughts or advice?"
I think computers would be vastly superior to crappy Saturday-morning cartoons, with careful attention. For example, setting up your firewall such that the child's computer can access _only_ the IP address ranges you specify would go a long way to making the WWW a very positive thing. Online encyclopedias, dictionaries, kid-oriented websites, etc. could be whitelisted while everything by default is blocked. This way, no accidental trips to goatse.cx would occur, sparing your child expensive counseling later on.
With the firewall being your point of control, you can feel comfortable dual-booting your computer into Windows for games, too.
Once the kid is old enough (say 16 or 18 or 21, you pick), you can remove all the blocks for the full on-line experience. Just make sure you _ALWAYS_ knock on the door. Please, don't take this advice lightly.
-- Microsoft is the most expensive commodity operating system and office suite vendor in the marketplace.
There are certain aspects of technology and programming that are akin to natural languages, and a person's ability to pick up languages is at its peak around at around 4 years of age. I'd say teach them as much about controlling / programming computers as you can.
While I would love to emphasize the printed word for research purposes, let's be honest: they're never going to use the dewey decimal card box system. Yes, give them books. Even more important than that, read to them and with them. Take them to the theater, the park, the zoo, the library, and on trips. Teach them to assemble and dissasemble electronics, wood, etc. Teach them to sew. But definitely teach them to program. We would be living in a far more advanced world if everyone knew how to script with the same intimacy that everyone knows how to talk. While they may not have the background in mathematics to create a program which calculates PI to arbitrary precision, it isn't hard to code up something that makes a star dance under the pointer. Or to make a birthday announce website for their friends. Or a script which runs when they login that blows up the screen. Use external librarys for the difficult stuff.
Keep them the hell away from television. They'll get enough of that through other sources anyway. As for games, be very choosey. If you aren't a gaming guru, try to find one with an background in educational gaming. Might I suggest MindRover? Sim City is also great, and will pay for itself a thousand times over when your kids go to college and get credit cards.
The ______ Agenda
As a father of a six monther, my wife and I have discussed this question. Really it is up to you as parents to decide what's right for you, but here are our ideas and logic.
Our opinion is basically that our computer is part of our everyday life. Our son should learn to use it as soon as he is technically able. However having said that, I would expect his learning to be slow and over many years as he matures. We want to teach sensible and safe use of a tool.
We use our computer as our "digital" hub. We have been doing this for many years. It sits in the lounge with all our music (mp3) and photos (6000+ scanned negatives going back 30yrs for both of us), and occationally dvd/video. The photos are on the screen saver. We are the kind of family that only watches TV 1-2hrs per week. We get outside and are active.
Here are our ideas
1) When my son is able and wants to I'll teach him how to put on music. Judging by my niece that could be when he's quite young, 2-3 yrs.
2) I'm happy to give him an email account when he is able to write to friends. I suspect this will be around the time he goes to school.
3) Web etc. will ALWAYS be done on the family computer under supervision until he's at least 15yrs.
4) He might get a computer in his room at around age 10-12 for music, homework, photos etc. This machine won't have general internet access.
5) I'd like to teach him to program like my father did for me. Logo, basic, and games with programmable parts.
I'm sure every one has their own ideas about what's right for their child, but I think the most important principals are:
1) your child must want to learn
2) it should be staged to what is useful for them at that age
3) it must be "safe"
Remember computers are a normal part of life, just like TV, radio, alcohol, stoves/ovens/cooking, cars. It's your job as parent to teach them when to use them, how to use them, and how to be safe/healthy.
Elivs
i think it has to do with the math. theres something fundamentally balanced that i see in a lot of art, and my exposure to computers (especially programming) gave me a fine tuned sense of that kind of balance. not to mention the exposure to the precepts of logic, something some people don't get until high school (damn the man!).
computers are a tool, not an end. i think that's key. otherwise, computers are good for kids!
oh, and disregard my sig in relation to computers, as its an allusion to lotringer/baudrillard and not explicitly refering to internet porn. lol.
When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
When I was in kindergarten, they began to try and teach us about computers. It was a nightmare, because the computers didn't have Windows and very buggy. Keep in mind this was about 8 years ago. That summer, my dad went out and got a PC for us. I started out just playing educational games, but gradually began to move into new things. Throughout middle school, I have begun to start learning much more advanced things. I have started programming, learned how to build PCs, etc. I think they should get on to a computer early. Computers are already a part of our normal lives, they should learn to use them as soon as they can.
Scott Simontis