I have a 2-year old daughter, and I've been asking myself the same question. Given how intersted she is in my and my wife's laptops, might there be a child-resistant and inexpensive computer for her?
I read through the various postings, and frankly I was surprised by some of the negativity expressed there. We read to our child every night before bedtime, we take her outdoors for running around, and we fill her day with appropriate activities. AND she still wants to play with computers. I think this is a legitimate question.
I've set up an old laptop for her to play with. No screen saver / password, stripped of most apps, just word processing so she can see her letters and sing ABC. She doesn't touch her toy laptop (the ones that cost around $20 at Wal-Mart). To be honest she only plays with her "real" laptop for about 5 minutes. Most of the times, she just wants to sit on our laps and do what we do. LOL.
I think this is a very good question. I have an undergraduate degree in computer science, and have worked at startup companies for 10 years now. The current company I work at is one I started and got to funding. While I like to think that I remained technical, I've had to branch out and learn other skills as well.
I think that the other writers have said the major points, and they can be summed up as:
(1) It's good to have goals, if you want to achieve certain goals. This is not to say that without goals you won't achieve anything, but rather that having goals will increase the chances that you will achieve those goals.
(2) It's important to make adjustments along the way. You can't expect to be successful by sticking rigidly to your goals in the face of changing circumstances and needs.
(3) Whatever you decide to do, remember to have fun. As they say, it's the journey that counts, so make the most of all that you do along the way.
This is why I liken this process to navigating. You can decide to wander around the world without setting destinations and have a great time at it. But you might be better served by setting a goal/destination, and then making adjustments along the way to get there.
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I have a 2-year old daughter, and I've been asking myself the same question. Given how intersted she is in my and my wife's laptops, might there be a child-resistant and inexpensive computer for her?
I read through the various postings, and frankly I was surprised by some of the negativity expressed there. We read to our child every night before bedtime, we take her outdoors for running around, and we fill her day with appropriate activities. AND she still wants to play with computers. I think this is a legitimate question.
I've set up an old laptop for her to play with. No screen saver / password, stripped of most apps, just word processing so she can see her letters and sing ABC. She doesn't touch her toy laptop (the ones that cost around $20 at Wal-Mart). To be honest she only plays with her "real" laptop for about 5 minutes. Most of the times, she just wants to sit on our laps and do what we do. LOL.
I think that the other writers have said the major points, and they can be summed up as:
- (3) Whatever you decide to do, remember to have fun. As they say, it's the journey that counts, so make the most of all that you do along the way.
This is why I liken this process to navigating. You can decide to wander around the world without setting destinations and have a great time at it. But you might be better served by setting a goal/destination, and then making adjustments along the way to get there.Hope that helps!
-TS