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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."
Just buy, beg or borrow an old electronic keyboard. Much more fun for an 18 month old. (Was for mine)
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)
Your son is obviously autistic.
His actions are highly unusual, get him in to an autism specialist immediately.
With early treatment he has a chance of leading a semi-normal life. Good luck!
The best toy for a kid that age is a good sized cardboard box. Nothing else comes close when it comes to stimulating their imagination, curiosity and social development. If you for some reason are opposed to cardboard boxes: How about some real world open ended interactive toys like blocks, teddybears, a tricycle, a pail and a shovel, some toy cars or a ... gasp... big red ball?
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."
18 months is waaaaaaaaaay to early to introduce stuff like that.
Let the toddler be a toddler. All that baby Einstein-esque crap has been proven to be nothing but trouble for your child's NORMAL development.
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...
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.
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
WARNING
...you may get this result.
If you leave this unattended...
> I'm sure computers are the same.
No, because computers are interactive.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Better yet, give him a Big Wheel and box full of Legos. Maybe spend time with him outside with a ball and mitt.
I know you mean well, but the kid's going to have plenty of time to develop a sedentary lifestyle and sit in front of a screen and keyboard. Let him at least have a chance to be healthy and active for a little while. Maybe he'll develop some good physical habits before becoming a computer geek like Dad.
I'm joking about "being a computer geek like Dad" but not about letting the kid run around and play and get some exercise and wait until he has a use for a computer before you plant him in front of one. How about this? When he comes to you and says, "I need a computer so I can..." THEN, you can set him up with a nice Ubuntu box, but only if he wants to do something worthwhile with it.
Take good care of that kid. The habits he forms now will most likely stay with him forever. Don't assume that because you love sitting and working at a computer that it's the best thing for him.
You are welcome on my lawn.
The best devices I've found have been both input and output. To wit:
Sure, it's great until the kid spontaneously decides to pick it up and throw it across the room. 18 month olds do not have good impulse control and are just barely starting to perceive that actions have consequences. I guess if you have lots of money to throw around you could give your 18 month old a fragile $600 device, but I think the smarter move would be to go with something designed to survive the kind of abuse kids that age tend to dish out to their toys.
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...
The real issue here is whose device the kid wants to play with. He doesn't want to play with *his* fisher-price (or other) Toy, he wants to play with *your* laptop, because he sees *you* using your laptop. The kid wants attention, not the toy. Put the laptop (or whatever) away, and get him involved with something you can both do together.
Having two boys, ages 2 and 4, I know that they do not want their daddy to pay attention to his toys, rather, they want daddy to pay attention to *them*.
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.