Surfing the Web with Your Preschooler

The books have all been read, the movies have been watched (twice!), all the finger paint has been used up, and every song in the book has been sung, complete with elaborate hand gestures. Still, those two dreaded little words come creeping out of your preschooler's mouth: "I'm bored!" What now?

While it may not be the first thing you associate with entertaining the pre-K set, the Internet can provide a wealth of ideas, activities and educational materials to help with the daunting task of entertaining your child while educating them at the same time. But you can hardly be sure you're safe when surfing the web, let alone setting your little one loose. And are there even sites out there for them to explore? With a few steps of setup and a road map to get you there, you'll both be on the fast track to web based fun in no time.

For starters, lay down some ground rules for your preschooler, just as you would any older child. While it may not make much sense to them yet, it will lay the foundation for establishing expected online behaviors as they grow. Limit computer time to when you personally can act as their escort on the information highway. Even the smallest fingers can mistakenly click the wrong button and end up somewhere unsavory. Babysitters and older siblings, though they may be trustworthy, cannot take the place of you when your little one is online. Also, try to limit computer time to about half an hour, which is as long as preschooler's attention spans can stand.

As an extra precaution, consider installing parental controls on your PC, which act as a barricade to sites you don't wish your child to visit. Most Internet service providers now offer this as a standard feature, and it will become invaluable as your child becomes more Internet savvy and tries to sneak and go it alone.

Now that the boring, parenty, part is out of the way, the fun can really begin. To help your child's motor skills improve, consider investing in a special keyboard and mouse made especially for little hands. They're chunkier and more sturdy than your standard issue equipment, and have special features that your little ones will learn to use with ease. They sell at most electronics stores, and can save you the money of having to replace your own keyboard if your child gets, shall we say, overzealous.

So ground rules are set, we have our special, day-glow keyboard handy...now where to go? A simple keyword search of "websites for preschoolers" on Google will generate hundreds of possibilities, but to cut down on the time it takes to sift through all that mess, here are some of the ones most generally acknowledged as the best:

www.sesameworkshop.com: An interactive and adorably designed site, The Sesame Workshop features all of your preschooler's famous furry (or feathered) idols. Kids can play educational games, create music, and even "email" their favorite characters and get a response. One of the best parts of the site is the printable section, where you can print out pictures and books to color in. (Also see www.pbskids.org for links to other PBS kid's sites.)

www.lil-fingers.com: This site has printable books and coloring pages, as well as online storybooks, games and activities. As a bonus, Lil' Fingers is designed with extra large navigation buttons, perfect for the preschooler just learning to point and click.

www.playhousedisney.com: Divided up into sections by show, Playhouse Disney offers tons of stories (read to you by characters of the shows), educational games and interactive musical activities.

www.enchantedlearning.com: The perfect site for a rainy day, they have an archive of over 16,000 web pages of content for your use. The lessons are thematic, and they have a special preschooler section with games and learning activities just right for little ones.

www.seussville.com: Games, events, and stories from one of America's most beloved "doctors." Kids will love the bright colors and fun music that accompany your journey, and parents will appreciate the nostalgic feel of the site.

How you and your child explore these sites is entirely up to you. Sometimes it's fun to sit them on your lap and let them click away, just to see what they can discover on their own. Otherwise, lead them through the stories, games, and adventures you find along the way together. And make sure you print out some of those coloring and activity pages for the next time their two favorite words pop up.