Do You Let Your Little Kids Use the Computer?

My daughter has been using technology (iphone, computer and now ipad) since she was 2.5. My husband is a computer application developer and I was in my former career as well. So, we basically breath the stuff around here. So, when we got our iphones, we downloaded educational apps to keep her busy on long car rides. She loves learning on the computer and it's good for her motor skills to use the mouse. Now, at age 4, she has an actual computer class in preK.

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Yup, since they were all little.
We are a computer family. We're all programmers, electronics engineers, and general gadget junkies.I learned how to count in binary on my fingers in second grade from my dad, in the 70s.
We do have rules and limits. They don't have unlimited access whenever they want.
They do learning activities a lot on them. They use them for school projects and research.
We don't let computers replace a good old book or face to face time with family and friends.
There are so many benefits to a well used computer!

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No idea of the numbers/ what other parents do...

...but we started letting out son use the computer at age 2.5. He's had his own since he was 5 (old hand-me-down pc), and saved for 3 years to buy his own macbook when he was 8 (he's now 9).

He does/uses it for games, schoolwork, email, research, calendar, music, video editing (adobe aftereffects, mostly), sound editing (garageband, mostly), scripting/programming, skype, photos, movies... tons of stuff.

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I haven't read the other responses, and please don't be mad, but I think you're holding your kids back by not letting them learn the computer. The world is technology driven now, we can't change that. By the age of 2 all 3 of my kids were familiar with starfall.com and playing color, number, and letter games. Now they are 8, 6, and 4 and they all have their own computers (my husband is great at fixing old free ones!) and they love to use them. Time is limited of course, but they learn great things from using the computer, so why not? And just sit and watch them while they use it!! Don't be afraid if it gets broken :).

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I let my 5 and 3 yr old play on mickeymouseclubhouse website. My 5 yr old has been able to play the games on their without since she was 4. Her school is suppose to have a computer skill class for the kindergarteners this year too.

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I let my grandkids play on my computer ages 3, 5 and 7. They just have to treat it correctly, they know the rules. They love the webcam.

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My son's been using our home computer in some kind of way since about 2 1/2. Playing on Starfall, watching videos, "typing" etc.

We have a children's browser "Kidoz" that only allows access to specific sites I put on there (clicks on the thumbnails), and gives him an email account that can only get and send messages from/to the contacts I add (and they route through my email). So he does that stuff pretty independently.

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Yep, my kids have been using the computer since they were little. (they're 10 and almost 8 now). I really noticed they were figuring out their way around on the computer when my 5th grader was in 2nd grade. She had to so some research online about animals, and had no problem doing all of it herself. I looked over her shoulder for awhile, until I figured out she didn't need me. In my opinion, you might not be doing your kids any favors by keeping them away from the computer. I also have a laptop (a mac, which isn't cheap) so to make it safe I put it on the table in the kitchen and make sure it's level and that no food/drink is anywhere near it. And if my kids are playing around online I take a peak at what they're looking at every once in awhile. Neither one of my kids has figured out how to erase the history of online searches, so I do check to see what they were looking at. So far it's only been things like American Girl. Sometimes they google things like "the world's biggest fart" which always makes me laugh. I'm going to look into some kind of parental control thing soon. I'm afraid my 5th grader is going to begin looking for (or accidentally finding) inappropriate things. Anyway, I think it's good for kids to play on the computer and learn how it all works. Last year, in 4th grade, my daughter had to do a big power point presentation for school. She'd never done pp before, but she opened up the program and just ran with it. I think familiarity with the computer in general helped her figure it all out - without mom's help.

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My now 10 year old started using our computer when he was 2. I would pull up alphabet, number, matching, etc games. We are a very tech savvy family, and he would sit on our laps and watch us do stuff. He was reading before Kindergarten, not that computers did that to him, but it certainly helped. Computers and technology are not going away, you have to allow the kids to work within reasonable boundaries on them. And no, my son does NOT have a facebook. We have strict controls on the computer, but he uses it daily and often and we got him his own laptop for his birthday.,

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My kids have pretty much taken over my iPad, but I NEVER allow them to use the laptop or desktop--far too easy to mess up things on a Windows-based machine.

The iPad is easy for them, small, and I can take it away when needed and put it out of their reach or hide it.

ETA: My kids are 4 & 2, so the answer will probably be different in a few years.

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My daughter starts her computer classes next year in school. She has been using my laptop since 2.5. I actually bought her a special mouse since the laptops are a little more complicated w/ your finger as a mouse :) We have taught her how to go straight to her favorites(pbskids, nickjr, etc) and click. Now we have a Ipad2 that we have completely decked out in military grade protection. LOL. She was using this right out the box with no instructions. She has entire workbooks on it and her own games. She is just starting to get familiar with letters on keyboard to type. She has no clue how to go online and access things. You can easily block them from doing that.

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My children have their own computer. My daughter has been using computer games since she was two years old and my son often sits and watches her and sometimes plays his own age appropriate games. My husband is very into computers so their computer it in the room with his. My daughter knows her password and how to log in and go to the internet and go to her favorites, which is a list of websites she is allowed to visit. Sometimes we sit and play with her, other times we're in the same room and still other times we are doing our own thing and checking on her. We've been lucky that she has never come across a website that is not age appropriate. I am very happy with her knowledge of computers and how well she can use them! I think it's important for kids to know how to use them!

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My daughter plays my laptop and computer - she is 3.
My son has been playing since 2
I would say definitely the minority.

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my son has been playing with our pc since he was about 3. he plays games on sprout.com, nickjr.com. etc. maybe once a week, not often. but it would be different maybe, if it was a laptop? i don't know, i've never used one so to me that's kinda scary lol. he does great with the pc though. :)

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When my son was in pre-k, we let him play games like Reader Rabbit, sesamestreet.com and starfall.com. We got an older desktop for free and bought a touchscreen monitor since he wasn't good with the mouse. It helped him learn letters in a fun way.

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my son is 8 he has been on the computer since probably kindergarten we have 4 in the house he uses the one in the kitchen where I can see him. As long as they are monitored and you use your parental controls the internet is not as scary as people think. My son went on last week and set up his own fantasy football league with his brother cousins and grandparents he was so excited.

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my son is 3 in december and he uses computer to play on Starfall.com. he also plays angry birds in dad's ipod when we're in the car

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My kids are 6 and 4 and they have been on for at least a year. We also have an older machine that is deemed the 'kids' machine and they only have what we allow them to have. My husband has set it up with parental controls that only allows them on the websites he specifically allows - nothing more. If it's not added in the 'allow' list, they can't access it. My DD is in 1st grade, and starting in K, they have computer class at least once a week.

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My kids are allowed to use the computer for educational games. My son started using it at 3yrs old and when his sister was 2yrs old he was 5 1/2 and teaching her the games he played. Now that she is 3 she is very computer literate and LOVES to play starfall!
They both understand what I mean when I say "Click the mouse on ..., close out that screen, select the tab on the right..." so and so forth. My son was SO excited when he found out they play the same games at Kindergarten as he did at home, and I hope they are on track for knowing how to navigate a computer at the pace they need to be for future school projects.

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Yes my son uses ours too, mostly PBS kids online and superhero squad games.

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Yes, I think your kids are in the minority...hehe. We have an extra computer that the kids can use. They start using it at around age 2 on up. They don't spend a ton of time on it. The only stuff on the computer is learning games and things like that. It's not connected to the internet, so they can't browse that. They have a little kid mouse (very small to fit little hands) and a kid keyboard too.

We figure since it's a computerized world, they should learn how to use computers. But I don't think there's anything wrong at all to wait until they are older! Our kids have enjoyed having it to learn on and draw with, etc.

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Yes we do.
They know how.

Both my kids have computer class at school... this is for my son in Kindergarten and my daughter in an upper grade level.
My son is only 5 and my daughter is 8.
They both, know how to use the computer.

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I keep the laptop on the kitchen table and they can play on it there. There are certain rules like no eating while playing (I hate crumbs in the keys) otherwise they are respectful of the computer - ages 4 and 7.

Now I have to keep my toddler away from it. He likes to bam on it and pop the keys off - that's not ok.

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Yes, the computer is in the main room of the house. It is always facing where everyone can see what's on the screen. The kids have their own icon to log in with. Their passwords are words they can spell and can remember.

The 7 yr. old loves to go to sites like barbie.com and play dress up games with the paper dolls. He likes to go to hot wheels and other sites like the electric company.

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My 4yo does occasionally, usually pbskids.org

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My father made my son his first computer before my son was 2 years old. He is now almost 4 and plays tons of games (mostly educational) on it. Of course he started using it immediately. My father was telling me that in some schools they don't even teach cursive anymore since everyone is using computers now.

I would be scared to let my son use my own computer--maybe you could get one built with the minimum standards to play some games, type...etc.

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My daughter has her own computer since she was 3... it is not a laptop though... it's a desktop and she is a wiz on it now (at almost 6). We don't have tv though, not even a dvd player. But the computer can play her movies and she can watch pbs shows and play some games. It works for us... everyone in our family has their own computer/laptop. My daughters computer is in our family room though, so we always know what is happening! OH....... and she has never broken the computer, but we have been through one keyboard! lol!

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Hi M.! Yes we allow our son, who is 6 to play some games on the computer. He has these "Jump Start" games that he plays that are educational and fun. We do restrict the time he plays on the computer. He also loves to go on my game "Rollercoaster Tycoon 3" and take virtual rides on the rollercoasters that I build. He has a blast doing that. :-)

If you don't allow your kids to use the computer, there is no harm in that one bit. :-)

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We started our daughter young on the computer. Teaching her the proper way to use the mouse, not to touch the screens. It was sort of like teaching her how to behave around our cats.

Both her father and I used the computer through out the day, e-bay side job for me, work and entertainment for him. She saw us and we saw no harm so long as we were in the room with her.

She uses my desktop and laptop up to an hour a day playing her "games".

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my two year old watches the classic winnie the pooh on youtube, but never uses it alone.

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I don't bc I figure there's plenty of time for that later in life. We did let our oldest (almost 7) do a math game for a bit but it was limited and then we just let it fade away. I think looking at the subset of homes that have computers, we're probably in the minority. I don't worry about them breaking our computer but I don't like the idea of starting computers so young and taking time from imaginary play, exercise etc. I figure computers will ruin their eyes at some point but I'll delay it as long as possible!

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My kids are almost 12 and 9 and only use the computers at school. We don't have internet access at home. My mom lets them use her computers (she has THREE) when they visit her and right now all 3 are in the shop being de-bugged and getting rid of the virus'....enough said!!!

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I let them use the computer occasionally when I am sitting there with them. I have the same concern; we have a laptop that we cannot afford to replace if something happens to it, so I don't let them use it too often. Mostly we sit there and use it together, but sometimes I will let them use it on their own while I'm in the same room (folding laundry or something so I can still keep a close watch). I also sometimes let them use the computers at the library; libraries usually have kids' computers that they can play games on.

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My dds (ages 13 and 8) have been using our computer since they were 2. I bought a laptop in November when my youngest was 7. Both are allowed on the laptop. I just have a few rules: no eating or drinking while on it, no carrying it around and no putting it on the floor. No damage has ever been done to our computers by the girls.

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We never did let our younger kids use our computer especially when it was new. I do let them use it every now and then now to do their Spanish and typing lessons but they're 8 and 10 now. Before now we never let them. I know some kids my kids' age that are on facebook.

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I let my granddaughter use the computer at 6. She is now 11 and knows more in some ways about the computer than I do.

Since yours is a laptop just be sure it's on a level surface and she understands to not move it. Start with supervising her.

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My 7 y/o can get on whenever he wants and my 3 y/o will occasionally ask me to help him play a game on one of the learning sites. The laptop sits on the bar/island in the kitchen so I can see what they are doing at all times.

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Mine have been using the computer since age 4. It's my old work laptop and they are the only ones who use it. My daughter just turned 7 and she can get the laptop out, plug it in, open it, turn it on and get on her websites all by herself. She keeps a notepad of websites she would like to try and any usernames and passwords that she creates. They use it at the dining table or in the living room at the coffee table. They are supervised and respectful, otherwise I would take it away......

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We have a "kids computer" - an older desktop that has parental safety features on it where they can't access the internet sites unless we preapprove them.

Our school has sites that the kids are allowed to access through user ids and passwords. So they like playing the math games and such.

I would NEVER let my kids use an unprotected computer or have open access to my own computer - too many wierdos, obscene sites and inappropriate content for kids.

I think there are GREAT free websites and programs for kids. I think it is an excellent tool.

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My 5 year old is very comfortable on my laptop and our desktop. She is NEVER unattended, but we let her tool around and play. I'm not saying she's on facebook....but she does know her way around YouTube.

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My daughter turned 4 a month ago and I just decided this week to start letting her play on the computer - I just let her on starfall.com, letting her play some games and hopefully start picking up more reading skills. Her time allowed on there was very limited. Interestingly, she was all fascinated by it the first few days and today was the first day she didn't ask to go on it at all or even talk about it. She got pretty good with the mouse and clicking on what she wanted while remembering not to touch the screen or click on anything else.

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My son(6) plays some of the easier games of FB. He loves Bejeweled and the social city game.

He is never allowed to use it allow and only in small doses.

My four year old will get on nick jr. every once and a good while. It is good for him because the hand eye and brain recognition he is developing because he has to know where to click play and what not to make things go.

Small amounts that are being supervised I think is ok.

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Yes, my daughter is 3 and loves PBS games and Starfall- occasionally Nick Jr and Disney Jr. She uses a mouse really well already. She usually plays twice a day (10-15 min. each time).
Maybe you would feel more comfortable with your daughter using your computer if you were sitting with her while she uses it. Or maybe get her a really inexpensive or used one.

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I think your children are in the minority. I began letting my oldest play pbskids.org when she was three, just so she could pick up basic computer skills. Now, she can navigate (by typing, no shortcuts) to the site she wants (still pbskids) and can use a computer like a little expert. She does online schooling, and while the emphasis is still on paperwork, books, experiments, and other things away from the computer (she's 6, first grade) at some point more of her learning will be online. Besides the games, she also does a typing instructor program we started last year.

If you start early and teach them properly, and of course supervise what they are doing, they aren't going to break your computer! :)

Also, my young one started on a laptop. It was placed on our very sturdy desk, and I'm not sure she ever knew it was "portable" to begin with, nor was she allowed to open or close the screen. I really, REALLY don't think you have to worry about them breaking it if you teach them proper care, don't allow them to move it, and supervise.

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My kids were not allowed on the computer, other than some learning games, until they were in school. Before then there is no need.

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My kids are very hard on the keyboards, they are both special needs so they don't realize as much what they are doing. What I did was purchased a wireless keyboard and mouse for them to use with my laptop and then they are able to use it with my very close supervision also.

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My 16 yr old has been on the computer since she was 2. We got a V-tech ( it still works!) so she would have a laptop like daddy's.

She was on Jumpstart Toddler by 3 and has loved the computer. She has had her own laptop since she was about 12. She uses it a lot for school, power point, excel, word, etc.

When she was in preschool they had computer labs. I substitute teach and the computers are used daily starting in K for language Arts, math, research and games.

Just monitor your child. You'll be amazed at how much they know just from school!

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I understand being worried about them breaking the laptop but if you give them their own "account" on the computer that has been locked down by the administrator on the computer they can't mess up files and if you have rules about where to sit etc. the chance of them breaking it is slim. I let my son use my laptop from time to time since he was 4, I set it on the couch next to him, he isn't allowed to bounce around while using it and he is only allowed to use the mouse or the touchpad...I think it is a lesson not only in computer use but also in respecting property.

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I don't let my sons (almost 3, 4, & 5) or my stepson (9) use my computer. They really don't have any business being on it AND I don't want them to break it- 'cause I'm positive that they would. My stepson is allowed to use his mom's and he broke her screen.

My oldest is 4 and he has known how to use the computer since he was two (mostly education videos at first). Now he like playing the educational games on it. We did get a basic laptop inexpensive one so he doesn't break ours. Both our two sons share it my youngest is two and he is starting to use it now.