Ask Slashdot: Best Computer For a 7-Year Old?

First time accepted submitter Boldizar writes "My son turns seven next month and I'd like to buy him a cheap computer. I'm looking for the Slashdot hivemind opinion on what would be the best computer for a child. I'm looking for a computer that will teach him basic computer literacy, and hopefully one wherein the guts are a bit exposed so that he can learn how a computer works rather than just treating it like a magic object (i.e., iPad) – but that would still keep him interested and without leaving him behind in school. For the same reason, I prefer a real keyboard so he can learn to type. I don't know enough about computers to frame the question intelligently. Perhaps something in the $300 range that would be the computer equivalent of an old mechanical car engine? Another way to think about it: I'm looking for the computer equivalent of teaching my son how to survive in the forest should the zombie apocalypse ever come."

Comments

First...why?

[MindPrison]

Firstly, I'd ask you WHY you'd want him to learn anything in particular, than - everything?

A computer is just ONE part of his life, if you want him to be "computer smart", you know...understand todays technology, just give into his curiosity, it's very dangerous to "force" a kid into anything, it's better to just let them stumble upon anything in their way, and support them there any way you can.

I'm sure it will come naturally. If he's a gamer, let him play with consoles.
If he's curious how these things are made, introduce him to a computer with a simple Programming IDE set up for him...like Python and SDL. (Just like we grew up with C64 and basic, you know...)

etc..

Commodore 64

[Hatta]

Get him started off programming BASIC, and then inlining bits of machine code. He'll be a natural in no time.

Home Build

[A10Mechanic]

Why not build it together, with your child. The experience of putting something together and making it work will far exceed any other expectations you may have.

Even better

[AliasMarlowe]

Pick one: a PC or a circular slide rule...
Seriously, a 7-year-old has too much to learn about almost everything. He is better off with his own account on a shared PC (e.g. a family PC, where our kids started), where he can dabble and can sometimes look over an adult's shoulder. Give him his own PC, and he's likely to still want to use the same one as dad or mom.

Re:Even better

[hairyfeet]

Well I gave my boys their own PCs around 8 or 9, somewhere in there, but to be fair I was working at a PC shop at the time and we had shitloads of the Compaq SFF deskpro so it was easy enough to just get the boss to hand me a couple.

I'd say the way to teach kids about computers is the carrot and not the stick. Too many people try to overload them and make it as boring as any other class and just kill the fun. I loaded them up with emulators filled with killer games and when they asked "How can this play NES games without it being a NES? And where is the cartridge?" it was THEN that I started explaining how one chip could be emulated by another, and how they were all computers.

Kids are curious creatures so you expose them and soon enough they'll be the ones asking the questions. Because there was all that "ZOMFG DOOM teaches kids to be killers!" crap in the news I used that as a perfect excuse to give a lesson, so I stuck their pictures on the walls of a DOOM level. Of course they thought that was cool as hell and wanted to know how I did trhat. That led to a nice long lesson on how to edit games, and how games at their heart are nothing but collections of skins and artwork that when put together give the illusion of enemies smart enough to dodge you. It was quite educational and instead of being bored they were rapid firing questions a mile a minute.

So whatever you do make it FUN and let them come to YOU, don't try to force it down their throats. That way they are learning at their own pace and aren't overloaded with ideas they aren't ready for.

Re:Even better

[The Grim Reefer]

Seriously, a 7-year-old has too much to learn about almost everything.

This. I predict 99% of the people who are going to reply below this line will have no idea what a 7-year-old is like.

Expose him to computers, sure, but don't try to make them a central focus in his life.

Give him his own PC, and he's likely to still want to use the same one as dad or mom.

This as well...

Wow. I have to totally disagree with you. At least in the case of my daughter. She's had her own computer since she was 2 years old. She's now 9 and is on her second.

I work from home. She was curious about what I was doing at my desk one day so I installed a "edutainment" game that I picked up on sale several months earlier on clearance. I figured math and the alphabet wouldn't change much by the time she was ready for it. She thought it was great and wanted to be on my computer constantly. So I pulled an old computer out and set it up for her. By the time she entered kindergarten she could read, add, subtract and do some simple multiplication. Not that this was totally due to the computer. My wife and I read to her and always explained things when she would ask. At one point she asked for a game that I misread to be for 6-7 year olds that was actually for 6 to 7th graders. She was playing games that taught her about dominant and recessive genes. A while back she wanted some programs that needed a little more power than her computer had. That was the only time she wanted to use my computer since getting her own. So I got her a better system.

When she was 6 the only thing she wanted for Christmas was for me to put her computer on the internet. After some worry I finally did. But I don't allow her to get on chat rooms and Facebook etc.

I agree, it should not be a central focus. But it's an important tool to understand how to use. Frankly writing is started to be dropped in favor of typing in some schools. So I'm not sure way a keyboard an mouse shouldn't be of similar importance to crayons these days.

What I would do

[kiriath]

Is buy parts for a PC off of some website, get a case with a clear side. Build it with him, teach him the importance of discharging static etc. Let him put the pieces together, tell him what each piece does.

You should be able to get parts for a standard PC relatively inexpensively.

Load the operating system with him, and explain what it does.

This is essentially how I got my start, I was about 9 years old I believe, it was an awesome experience! My Dad bought the parts from a magazine, we waiting the grueling week for it to come in. He watched over my shoulder as I assembled it, making sure I didn't do anything wrong. My Dad is awesome for many reasons and this is one of them.

I applaud your effort to get your son involved at an early age, and with the right mindset!

Don't Coddle

[JoeCommodore]

This article should be inspirational:

http://changelog.complete.org/archives/7562-i-introduced-my-5-year-old-and-2-year-old-to-startx-and-xmonad-theyre-delighted

The thing is kids can get stuff pretty quick if you don't put the fear of knowledge in them.

Get a computer that isn't a PC (or MAC)

[AK Marc]

Get him a programmable robot. The act of learning how a computer "thinks" is the best takeaway from an early computer experience, and even involves some programming, even if not in a language he'd ever use again. Plus, you get the reward of seeing it actually do something. Otherwise, get him a WoW account and treat the PC as a gaming console for all he'll learn from a computer.

So many here have the nostalgia of their first PC. Mine required that I program just about anything I wanted to do with them. I'd buy the magazines with fold-out programs in them, and spend hours typing and saving it to an audio tape. Then load it up later and play. Choplifter was the only game that I had to play that wasn't programmed by me.

Playing with the computer should require learning about the computer. The closest I've seen are the programmmable assembly-required robot kits where you can build what you want, then program it how you want. For the home PC, they made it so easy now, it's like learning about microwave communications by heating coffee in a microwave oven.

Instead

[arthurpaliden]

At 7, get him a set of throw away clothes and tell him to go out side and explore and don't get angry when he comes home filthy.

Wash, rinse and repeat...

Plenty of time for computers later.

How about books?

[man_of_mr_e]

Or a better idea..

For $300 you buy a shitload of books, especially if you go to the used book store.

Re:How about books?

[Kittenman]

Or a better idea..

For $300 you buy a shitload of books, especially if you go to the used book store.

Damn right. Get him to share your PC, and buy him a set of Harry Potter/Tarzan/. Computer nerds are a dime-a-dozen. People who can use both language and a computer sensibly are harder to find.

However, this is /. - no doubt someone will soon suggest that you give the kid a block of metal and a smelter and get him to make his own PC the hard way, the way they did it.

Re:dude you're getting an old dell

[ColdWetDog]

I'm not so sure I like the idea of a 7 year old opening a desktop machine with mains voltages available.

Unless it's a dedicated battery system (say a Raspberry Pi) I would not allow a 7 year old unfettered access to any hardware. Too dangerous.

If the goal is to teach a kid about basic electronics / logic or similar, the Lego Mindstorm sounds like a much better idea.