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Software (and Appropriate Input Device) For a Toddler?
An anonymous reader writes "I have an 18-month-old who loves bright screens (TV and computer), loves loud noises, and loves to mash buttons. He targets my laptop with the button-mashing, and I sort of hate having to tell him 'no' when he wants to explore a computer. I was wondering if anyone knows of some fun (and maybe educational) age-specific PC software that also comes with an age-appropriate input device. I've seen those big-button devices in retail stores that seem to just hook up to the TV, and I've also seen some PC software that requires keyboard/mouse input, which does not seem like the right input device for a toddler."
Check out your local Wal*Mart like store for stuff like this Fisher-Price edu-toy. My nephew has something a little less complex (and more appropriate, possibly, for your situation) but I cannot remember the name of it, only that it's from Fisher-Price. (:
This might be helpful, too.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
Try the Leapster system. My 2 year old figured out the Dora game on that pretty quickly. Needed some help to get started initially, but great for learning numbers and letters before the age of 3 and it can handle the rough treatment from a little one.
Meus subcriptio est nocens Latin quoniam bardus populus reputo is sanus callidus
Both my kids started out with a great little app called Keywack.
I took an old Mac Classic sitting in my basement, ran Keywack and the kids loved it. Never trashed the computer either, which I was sure they would do.
Keywack runs on anything, Win/Mac/Lin, and helped me get my kids learning about tech at around 18 months. The fact they are both capable programmers (one a senior in high school, another im middle school) might have something to do with their early comfort level, or it might not. But give it a try...
"The pie shall be cut in half and each man shall receive.....death. I'll eat the pie."
I've been using BabySmash! from http://www.hanselman.com/babysmash/ with my 7 month old since she was around 2 months old.
She can press any key on the keyboard to get sounds and shapes/letters. She absolutely loves it.
I'm now looking for software that is slightly more advanced, but there seems to be a lack of games in this age range...
An iPod touch or an iPad aren't bad options.
The interface is about as intuitive as you can get, and there are child-friendly apps available. My 21mo daughter loves to play with the touch screen, and can figure out that she needs to touch the icons to get it to do stuff. A friend's slightly older daughter does about the same with their iPad. Both are also synced with a computer, so it's difficult for them to do irreparable damage. Purchasing music/video from the device requires you to enter your iTunes password, so it's not likely they'll be able to buy stuff either.
The downside is that they're fairly expensive, so if your kid is big on jelly-fingers or throwing things, it might require keeping a very close on them.
Just buy him a copy of Duke Nukem Forever. It'll be age appropriate.
Numerous studies indicate that is is best to keep children under 3 away from all tv's, including dvd's, normal tv programming, movies, video games,etc... and to limit video exposure only increasing allowed hours per day gradually as the child gets older.
No tv under 2, limit to under 2 hours for 3 year
No tv under 2
Anarchists never rule
starting age 2½, it was an expensive machine when I was young, but under supervision. What matters most is spending time with your child ad teach him/her LOVE, and yes, he should learn the meaning of "no", it's important, you know better than him/her, electronics (tv, computers) can wait a couple of years.
Tomorrow is another day...
That should be about the limit of technology your toddler should be exposed to. The American Academy of Piedeatricts actually discourages parents from letting kids under 2 watch television. I'm sure computers are the same.
Monstar L
As a father of five, I can testify that as long as you don't abuse it, computers are just as healthy and stimulating as a block of legos. My two year old spends most of his time with cars, blocks, and books; but he enjoys getting on the computer as well. We password protect it so he can only get on with our permission, but he has his own account configured with links to youtube videos of planes and bugs, toddler friendly websites, and games such as Minesweeper and Portal. We fully supervise when he is on the computer and limit how much time he can be on it, but overall it's quite beneficial. He no longer has a paranoia of bugs and he's improved quite a bit with identifying different types of colors and shapes. We credit his ability to recite his ABCs to his Vtech and the games we play with him, but the reinforcement from the computer certainly helps.
Regardless, no matter how a child is raised, it is mostly important to be involved with their day to day actions. Watching them soak up information and apply it is a huge testament to how incredible they are, which is also why it's important to remain involved and direct them.
I'm a virgo and on Slashdot. Coincidence? Yes.
As babies smash on the keyboard, colored shapes, letters and numbers appear on the screen. Baby Smash will lock out the Windows Key, as well as Ctrl-Esc and Alt-Tab so your baby can't get out of the application. Pressing ALT-F4 will exit the application and Shift-Ctrl-Alt-O brings up the options dialog.
My daughter was doing fine with the keyboard and mouse. By the time she got to 2.5 years (she'll be 3 this month), she realized that when the mouse hovered on an object in the Reader Rabbit games, the objects would respond and she was intelligent enough to place the object in the correct place. At 18+ months she, and now her sister, just enjoyed the sounds and moving the mouse around.
Now, I have been trying to find a decent child's keyboard. I've found some, but they've been unrealistically expensive. I can understand $30-$50. But I've seen some in the $100 range. I'm also thinking of a trackball for the pointing device, but they seem to do well with a mouse.
Just make sure to keep the cheap computer out of reach and use an older monitor, CRT if possible. They can take the hits. A lot of the games don't need special graphics (the Reader Rabbit games were designed at 1024x768 or 800x600 and have a definite Windows 98 VGA feel to them.)
Oh, and let me add that there are some pretty cool videos on youtube for kids. Do a search for children songs or on nursery rhymes. They Might Be Giants "Here Come the 123s" and "Here Come the ABCs" are faves, as well as Eric Herman songs.
It's not as CUNT funny as Tourette's.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
When they're old enough, why not? Or did you miss the part about "old enough" or "under close supervision, and specific direction."?
Did no one else get to sit on their parents lap and steer the car?
Or learn to drive a stick by shifting from the passenger's seat because their dad needed his other hand to hold a beer?
There's a perfect xkcd for my sig but I'm too lazy to look it up. sudo someone go find it.