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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?"
Your son is not a prodigy. At "nearly 2" he's about ready for playing "What sound does this animal make?" games. With you though, not with some electronic babysitter.
This question is nonsensical. Come back in 3 years, and we can talk.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
You're joking, right? It sounds like this is more for you than for your son. Look, we all want our children to be interested in what we're interested in, but don't you think that this is a little overkill and a little pushy? All children are interested by lights and sounds, etc. but that doesn't mean that he is ready for his own real computer. Buy him one of those toy ones that make sounds and have big flashing lights, he'll like it better and when he breaks it, you'll only be out twenty bucks.
I'm a first day Give One Get One (G1G1) buyer of the OLPC, and although it certainly doesn't match the specs or convenience of the newer UMPCs, it is amazingly good at what it is designed for - an easy to use and super durable computer for children. Two is pretty young, they need to know not to smash the screen, but aside from that the OLPC has an excellent interface. There really isnt any competition. They just restarted the OLPC G1G1 on Amazon, but you can probably find one at a decent price on eBay - dont be in a rush and you'll get a good deal. You'll find it fun to play with too!
I ordered Elonex ONEt+ http://www.elonexone.co.uk/ for my neice.. She will be 3years old in March.
It is currently available only for pre-booking and will be delivered by Christmas.
Give him one of your old computers, an internet connection, and a Gentoo boot disk. Let him figure it out from there.
Let's get realistic here. The kid doesn't read or even understand what the different keys on the keyboard are at this age. A conventional computer won't teach him that. Maybe you should set the bar within his reach for the next couple years. A toy computer that presents him with challenges that are appropriate for his cognitive level will be far more educational.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Two-year-olds are not old enough to understand how to treat things gently. I don't think it's possible to make a laptop that can stand up to a two-year-old unless you encased the whole thing (including the keyboard) in about a two-inch thick layer of plastic. Two-year-olds throw terrible tantrums. They're known for it. They'll often smash things up when they're angry. When my step daughter was two and upset, she ripped every page out of Blueberries For Sal. They don't understand the consequences of their actions. Whether or not he's curious about computers, age two is too soon. Wait, at least, until he gets to an age where he doesn't throw tantrums (which will probably be a little before age three if you don't make a practice of giving in when he throws tantrums and will probably be about age fifteen otherwise).
At three, he'd at least be less likely to break it quickly. Personally, I'd probably wait until age four or so since he's more likely to have the needed cognitive skills to do things like recognize symbols at that age. But regardless of whether you wait until age three or age four, "almost two" is significantly too early for a computer.
A two year old is going to have a hard time manipulating the keyboard and touch pad of any netbook. Consider one of the Fisher Price things you hook to a regular TV. If you are insisting on a real computer, the XO-1 from OLPC is available on Amazon for $400 ($200 tax break for the G1G1 program). Sugar bothers most adults but my five year old (now six) took to it well, and it has lots of interesting software. For the less adventuresome, the Classmate from Intel (distributed by CTL) is also available on Amazon. It uses a modified Edubuntu build so has a lot of educational applications. Unless your kid is some kind of bio mechanical freak, that can handle mice, keyboards and touch pads at two, I'd suggest buying something designed for that age and holding off on the netbook for a couple of years.
You need to "foster" Computer & Gaming interests in kids? Ever read the news? You need to force them to stop playing video games and DO HOMEWORK or go outside! You don't need to "teach" them to look at shiny blinking lights..... Why does this person as a parent frighten me?
I have a nephew around the same age (slightly over two). He loves playing with my Nintendo DS and Mario 64 on the Wii (which, of course, he doesn't quite know how to control yet, but the freedom to just run around is fun even to him).
What would be a good portable I could get him that would be more his age? I don't think he's a prodigy or anything, I just want to get him something fun.
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
A box of crayons and a cardboard box big enough to sit in. Turn it on its side for cave-y goodness (2 is a bit too young for spaceship goodness).
--
Lost you job? Keep one eye open on craigslist.com http://www.bigattichouse.com/oneeyeopen.html
meh
My daughter who is almost 3 has been really interested in electronics as well. I picked up an old used laptop (I think it's a Pentium III 800 or something) that someone was giving away. I loaded it up with Debian and installed GCompris. She absolutely loves it - and GCompris is great. Problem is (like most kids her age) she picks it up to move it and drops it, tries to forcefully "integrate" her other toys with it, occasionally spills something on the keyboard... you know - normal 2 year old stuff.
Unless you've got the cash to not care about your kid wrecking and mucking the thing up in 6 months of use - I say load linux on an old used beater. The kid doesn't know the difference.
Just disrupt the deflector shield with a tachyon burst.
I learned to read with that age, which was considered a prodigy in my city (and a freak, BTW, in equal proportions).
I really dug into encyclopedias, and was very interested in science. Until I stole a book from a dad's friend.
It was COBOL. I was 4. Now I'm a sad CS teacher finishing my ph.D. in high-performance computing. And I have 12 euros in my bank account right now.
Let him live. And when time comes, guide him to a law school.
he says he's going to 'check his email' and sits down at the computer. i dont know where he got that from. not me, cause i never say something like 'ima check my email'
then he proceeds to remove keys from the keyboard. he's gotten quite good at this, even employing other objects as a lever to pop the keys off. i then find them scattered about the house, in his mouth, outside, in the toilet, in the refrigerator...
if you have a child of this age, the only computers that are going to stand up to them are made by fisher price etc.
i don't think it would be worth it until about 5 at the earliest
Stick it in the bath? Eat the battery? Lick the power supply?
Are you crazy? Do you realize how much a choking hazard keys are? I know ThinkPads are durable but they're not indestructible. Spend the 20 bucks on a toy that has the same intellectual return value. These toys are designed with the safety of a child in mind, a ThinkPad isn't.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
The best thing to do is read to him every night. By doing so, he will learn that reading is a rewarding activity. When he gets older, reading will not be a struggle, and from there he can do whatever he likes.
And he will want to use Daddy's laptop, even if he has his own.
Give the 2 year old a fish & you have fed him for today.
Teach him how to fish & you have fed him for life.
Why buy him a computer. Take him to Frys or something.
Let him pick out the parts & make his own computer.
Once he is done, point him to one of the Linux sources - he
can build his binaries & install it.
An Asus EeePC or an MSI Wind are not to be considered UMPC. The concepts are different. UMPC are overgrown palm devices (or shrunken tablets, depending how you see it), with a touchscreen, and an emphasis on watching/listening media. Hence the name. They are usually quite expensive, do not have a normal keyboard or lack one completely - you are supposed to use the touchscreen for that, and since you are not expected to type a lot, that should be ok.
The category you are talking about should be called netbooks. They are notebooks which are smaller, cheaper, and slower than a typical notebook. Most of all, they are very portable without the price premium associated with an ultraportable notebook. The points here are price, form-factor, and intended purpose. Your typical netbook has a (smallish) notebook keyboard, perhaps not so much storage, but it will let you do - and expects you to - all the things you do with a normal notebook, providing you can put up with the small screen and keyboard.
, Ok, I will stop being a dick now and answer your question. Since so many people told you not to get any kind of computer, I won't do the same, but... anyways, consider an OLPC machine. It is supposed to be more sturdy, and the Sugar interface is (IMHO) a great way to teach children what computers are all about without being tied to the dominant GUI/OS.
That said, no matter how gifted your child is, he is still a 2 year old and so he is bound to shred the computer to little pieces. And eat them. So either get the cheapest one, or get a very sturdy one.
Where is that guy who'd die defending what I had to say when I need him?
Talk a lot, play and bond, and let it learn directly from you. Computer is not a substitute for parenting.
That said, once your child is ready and interested get HP 50G programmable graphing calculator and let it master it! (RPN and simple but powerful programming constructs are available).
The device is still small and capable, but there is nothing like the satisfaction of knowing how it truly works.
Computers of today are too abstract and too separated from the metal, and you can't really feel you intimately know it any more (you know that feeling we had back in our childhood when we knew our Commodore 64's ROM addresses and functions they do. You don't get that any more).
As the island of our knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.
HEY! She could swallow those small keys and choke to death.
Do you want to be charged with inadvertent manslaughter charges?
My 3 1/2 yr old son pried off EACH key of my iBook a year ago when left alone with it. I mean every single damn key on the keyboard was on the floor when i entered.
Thankfully he has NEVER eaten anything not fed by me or his mom (no off-floor eating, etc). So he was safe.
Imagine if he put those things in his mouth?
NEVER EVER do that again, Understand? Unless you are planning to get rid of your daughter (you can drop her off at a Nevada hospital, you dumbass) Sorry am angry, but i still remember my scene vividly.
"Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
Note to self: another justification for that new Macbook: the keys don't come off
Have you got him his slashdot account yet? Since the UIDs are already in the millions, by the time he's in his teens and ready to really start using slashdot, OK- ten, that number might be as high as 2 to 2.5 to maybe even 3 million. So save that "low" single million UID now so he'll have built in cred in a few years.
Just imagine that proud moment in only a few years when he's asking you about Natalie Portman and hot grits! Or when he wake's you in the middle of the night because he clicked on something expecting to see a goat. Good times! And why wait when you can get him started now?
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
give him a break... for a couple more years...
and btw. he will always end up on your laptop (even if you give him 10 alternative computers to play with) since forbidden fruit is always the sweetest...
Because a computer is pretty limited for them until s/he is able to read. Reading to your child from a book is a great way to not only socialize and bond with them, as well as getting their imagination active.
He might still want on your computer, which is fine, but find something simple for him to do (you might consider having a look at http://virtualapple.org/ for some old, but good games.) and put him in your lap while he does it so you can help guide him, and keep your equipment from getting destroyed. No 2 year old should be on a computer alone.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
The sort of response you are chastising is very typical of ask slashdot responses. And there is nothing wrong with using the computer (or the TV) as a babysitter now and then for a short time, in the same way that you give a child a toy to play with by themselves.
If you spent every waking moment with your child you would both go insane, and you'd never get anything else done - meals still have to be cooked, dishes have to be cleaned, clothes have to be washed, etc, and everyone needs a few minutes to chill out and relax for a few minutes.
Obviously if you expect your child to spend every waking minute in front of a TV or on a computer then something is wrong, but the OP never said that, and never even implied that.