Looking to Buy a Computer for My Pre-schooler....

My son is 4 1/2 and he's had a Dell Mini-laptop for the last year. It is just his size and has done a great job entertaining him when needed. I don't know if he could have handled a bigger one. He has trouble with my parents' full sized Macbooks. The Mini Dells are cheaper, but still let you download games and stuff from the internet. No DVD, but my parents put videos on a little SD card for him to watch. He takes it back to them periodically and they put different ones on for him.

Hi, my name is V., my husband and I have recently started a computer repair and sales business. We would happy to assist you in purchasing your daughter a new computer. You are welcome to call ###-###-####, explain the nature of your call and let him know that V. referred you. We are a small business, who believe in giving quality service and treating our Customers with the upmost respect.

My son is 5 and has been using my Dell Inspiron for the last couple of years and loves it. We are a family of 4 and have 2 Dell desktops and 2 Dell laptops and after many years and alot of use they are all still like new.

Check on circuitcity.com they have some great buys starting around $380.

i would personally upgrade the home desktop computer for a few hundred dollars, by shopping around for the right parts. then you could teach her internet safety and get her age appropriate games for the PC. my 12 yr old and 5 yr old share the same computer with me and hubby (who upgrades ours every few years with just a few parts as mentioned and no he's not a computer tech wizard). i don't see why kids need their own computer.

My friend's son, who is 9, has one of those mini-laptops that cost around $300. She said he loves it and she even uses it when she has trouble on her own laptop. She said it runs really fast because there aren't as many programs loaded onto it. Plus he can get on the internet to play games. I have no idea if it has CD or DVD, but one other mom suggested was good - putting movies onto a flash drive (memory stick) to play on the computer because all computers have USB ports nowadays.

But, I would also agree with the person who said that your daughter needs to do other stuff too. I would really suggest downloading some free printouts from online sources that your child can do, kinda like homeschool worksheets. Check out www.abcteach.com or www.kidzone.ws or www.zaner-bloser.com or www.superteacherworksheets.com or www.tlsbooks.com or edhelper.com These are all great sites with FREE downloadable printable worksheets.

Good Luck!

We have a family of 3, daughter is 14. We all 3 have Dell laptops. We LOVE them. We also have an old desktop.

My daughter and I have had our Dell's about 3 yrs. I have a small XPS M1210 and LOVE it. Daughter's is a little bigger, more sturdy Inspiron. Hubby just bought his 3rd Dell laptop and I think it is called a Studio. Hubby has also had the Inspiron and Latitude.

We did purchase the top of the line warranty program which is great. if you need any service, the Dell rep is at your home within 24 hrs to do any type repair. Also, each year, we get a new battery under this warranty, batteries are $150 retail. We've only had minor issues and to be honest, it was daughter's laptop because she would not close it when she picked it up and a screw came out which loosened the hinge.

The DVD drive is good to have. We have used the laptops on flights and watched movies, played games, etc. If you can, get the student version of office and a good security feature to protect against virus, etc. We all have Vista and sometimes it is a little quirky, but overall a good product.

We bought daughter's and my computers through Dell. Hubby bought his at Best Buy. We LOVE Best Buy. He still gets the black tie service warranty.

Best Buy has some great pricing on laptops. Hubby's computer was very reasonably priced. Prices have come WAY down on these products.

Our expectation is to use the computers about 4-5 yrs (if we are lucky) then upgrade. We will upgrade daughter in Sr high to get her through college. Our motto is to buy the BEST product available that we can afford (tip: if you offer cash, you can sometimes get a discount)

I think it is great that you've exposed your daughter to the computer. My daughter was on the computer around 2 and LOVES it. She runs circles around me with power point, etc. Her computers have really helped her with her school work.

Good luck and I hope your surgery goes well.