Slashdot Mirror
Computer For a Child?
jameswing writes "I am thinking of buying a UMPC, such as an Eee PC or a Wind for my son, and wanted to get input from Slashdot. He is almost 2 and really curious about our computers, and anything electronic. I want to foster this in him, without having him on my desktop or laptop. I also don't really like the idea of getting one of those cheap 'Learning Laptops' that have a tiny screen and are really limited.
Does anybody have one that they use with their children? How sturdy is it? Will it stand up to a 2-year-old? If not, what are good alternatives?
What are your thoughts? Suggestions?"
Yeah, I know every parent wants to think their kid is a prodigy. I had to listen to it time an time again from my brother about how his son had an extremely high IQ and was smarter than everyone in the room put together. So he filled his head with this idea and let him get away with anything he wants. Now he's in his late teens, no real idea of what he's going to do with his life as far as a career and even though he still presents himself like he's on the ball about everything the fact is he knows precious little about anything. And it's not that I'm expecting him to be besting me but I have seen other teens of his age and talked to them about technology and science, they helped me set a high water mark and this kid is drowning in a really bad way.
So instead of trying to fill your own head with visions of your child being a prodigy and pushing him in a direction let him go with the flow. If he's really something so outstanding there are professionals who can help foster that gift but we're not those professionals. I don't know how much they can tell you about your child at the age of two but maybe they can bring you back down to earth as your chance of having a real prodigy on your hands is about as likely as me winning the lottery.