Kids and Computers

We all know that in this day and age it is very important for our children to learn how to properly and effectively use a computer. When is the right age to start this? Tough question to answer, or is it.

If you are a parent of a child already in school you know that as early as preschool there are computers in the classroom. Many elementary schools have wonderful teaching tools using different computer programs. Will this be enough for them to learn all they need to know?

I am not suggesting that you have your 6 six year old writing code and learning how to design websites don't get me wrong. I truly believe however, that some of the tools they are using in the schools may not be as much as they need. Children are, as we all know, little sponges when it comes to learning. So, how much is too much?

There are many websites out there that promote games for kids starting with preschool age that can be wonderful. Anything from Disneychannel.com to Noggin.com has a very good amount of games, activities and printables for our kids to nose through. All of these sites are great and I appreciate the effort they have put into our children's learning in a fun way.

Outside of this, it is up to parents to decide what the right age is to begin computer learning. I believe that if your child is 3 years old and doesn't know how to click a mouse around you may have some work that needs to be done. It is a good idea to have them ready to know the basic functions when they start preschool. We live in a time where they are using computers in preschool, as funny as that seems.

Children can begin using computers at a much younger age than a lot of parents believe. It does take time on the part of the parent to make sure your child is using it properly. However, if this is done right by the age of three you should be able to walk away and not worry about your hard drive crashing.

At around two years old is the time when you want to find the most basic games the internet or even CD-ROM has to offer, http://www.overclockers.com.au/ball/ball.php is a great game for little ones. All you do is move the mouse around that the little ball on a string follows. This will help teach them better hand eye coordination.

The better your child gets at these basic games the more you can move through the games and teach them beyond mouse control. If enough time is spent with your kids learning they can be using the arrow keys and space bar before you know it. Just remember to not rush them, if a game is too hard then scale back a bit. Keeping it fun for them is very important.

When the child becomes a little more independent you can set up an account on your computer that is just for them. Make sure that your account and any others on your computer have passwords and theirs doesn't. This way they can feel like they are a little more independent without you stressing out. If they know that is their account and all they have to do is click the little picture by their name it will help their self esteem by leaps and bounds.

I myself have two sons ages three and six. I have used these methods with them. We started out slowly with the games they found most interesting and now they can play games that most kids their age have never seen. Both of my boys favorite game right now is Pirates of the Caribbean online, it is very kid friendly as far as interactions go and you can sign up for a free account that allows two characters.

My sons have learned to scroll through their weapons and know how to teleport to different islands. Just about anything that I can do on that game they can do it too. And they love it. Beating high level enemies and sailing sail boats makes them feel like they are good at the computer just like Mommy and Daddy.

I do still put limits on how long they can play the game every day. They also have to earn their time. Now that they really know the fun of using computers and what they can offer it is a privilege and can be earned and lost. I find this to be a good bargaining tool.

The world we live in is more and more requiring of good computer skills. Why not give you kid an upper hand at it. It is the least that you can do for them. The 30 minutes they might get on a computer at school will not be enough in the long run. You will be amazed with the results if you give it a try.