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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."
We used to let my son use the computer a lot. He seemed to enjoy it, but we noticed that that was all he did. For the past few months we have completely banned him from the computer. Since the banning (and getting over the initial withdrawal) he has been much happier most of the time. I would recommend giving your kids toys (blocks are the best thing in the WORLD no matter the age of the child) and let them play with them.
Heheh, I set up an account for my daughter in the UID 700k range. She's 4 now...
Trolling is a art,
A little addition to this. Even some appropriate TV is fine. My daughters love Baby Signing Time. Before they can talk, they can communicate with sign language. It is really awesome when they come to you signing "milk", "juice", or "water", instead of just crying out for it and letting you guess what they want. Or, more typically, saying "ba", "ma", or some other nonsense and letting you figure out what the context the "ba", "ma", or "da" is about.
I've always found the American preoccupation with "giving the child a head start" strange. I live in Finland, and our older kids are six now. They have just started preschool, and will start primary school next year. Here most kids learn how to read at seven. Before that interaction and focus skills are taught through play and simple exercises.
Despite learning reading this "late" the Finnish school system still manages to give you a world class education.
I firmly believe that play is the most important thing for kids to do. Is the situation really so bad in schools elsewhere that we have to take away the spontaneous play of early childhood just to keep our kids from "being left behind"?
.: Max Romantschuk
My grandmother had an old Hammond C3 - later on, my great grandfather passed and one of the things that was left was a pair of old Yamaha synths. Similar to the DX7 but not those... I can't find them by image, so meh.
I've turned into a hobbyist composer and musician. I especially love playing around trying to create my own patches.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
You know, despite the contrary responses, you are right. A kid is a kid, and should be given kid appropriate toys. A kid at 18 months doesn't know the difference between a Frisbee and an iPad, except the iPad probably makes more interesting smashey noises when they're done with it.
My daughter is about 3.5 years old now. Sure, I have a plenty of computer gear for her to play with. I've given her pretty much anything she is interested in. Folks have given her all kinds of presents. For Christmas, she was more interested in playing with the boxes, and coloring on them, than the actual contents. Really, despite the cool packaging, most of the toys sucked.
Right now, her favorite toys, in order of interest, are....
Crayons or markers and blank paper. She can do a pretty decent job of basic shapes (lines, circles, triangles, and squares).
Coloring books, until she gets bored with the actual pictures, and draws what she wants over them. She's fascinated by car washes ("car showers" in her terms), even though she's afraid of them. That's one of the things she draws frequently. That and "daddy's car". It's not a technically accurate depiction, but it does have wheels and something resembling a body over it.
Digital cameras. She loves taking pictures, and being able to see the picture right away. She likes *her* picture taken more though, so she'll make me take the picture and show her what it is.
She's interested in computers, but only as far as seeing daddy type 100wpm, so she bangs on old keyboards to type along.
She loves her etch-a-sketch. She can draw, and make it go away so she can start over. She likes to see me draw and write, so when I write things on it, I spell it out, and say the word.
And I made the tragic mistake of showing her http://icanhascheezburger.com/. She wants to see the kitties doing silly things. It's not just seeing them, she has a commentary about each one. It's nice hearing what she sees in the picture, rather than what us adults have learned to see in them.
She has a few shows that she likes on TV, and is amazed that I can show her the same ones on the computer. It just sucks to have a kid take away *MY* toy. :)
On, and on the car, she loves telling me how to drive. "Green light daddy!", even if it's red. She's not confused about the colors, she just likes me to drive fast. For the sake of safety, I just stay in a lower gear so she can hear the engine roar. "Fast" to her is where the engine is running faster, not how fast we're actually driving. :)
Then there's balls, blocks, and other assorted kids toys.
Her grandmother got her a Disney toy that hooks to the TV. She lost interest in that in less than 5 minutes. She likes to dance on it though, even though she's not playing the game right. Hey, whatever, she's having fun, and I didn't waste the money on it.:) It doesn't even need to be hooked up to the TV for her to enjoy herself. :)
She likes to be read to also. She talks about the pictures in the book more than trying to comprehend the reading.
So, for any kid, give them the opportunity to do anything they want (that they can do safely), and you'll appreciate them more.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.