Dad-O-matic: How Soon Can Your Child Start Using Computers?
hawaii
· 1 year ago
I have kids ages 4, 6, and 10, and all three are big fans of WebKinz and Club Penguin. I personally prefer Webkinz, but they definitely favor Club Penguin. They're having fun, and learning lessons even I hadn't thought they'd learn... like not saving passwords, else your siblings will wipe out all your savings and rearrange your igloo!
adjustafresh
· 1 year ago
Nick Jr's Playtime game area is great for younger kids. It's fairly easy for kids 2 - 4 years of age to navigate the site and play games without getting too lost or frustrated. Other than the occasional accidental right mouse click which reveals the Flash menu, my children have always found the site very fun and easy to use.
The Disney sites on the other hand tend to be more high maintenance and harder for the kids to use.
Adam Zand
· 1 year ago
This question is rapidly becoming second nature to young and old. My son was able to get onto Internet Explorer at age 2 and he has an internship with www.creaturepark.com (Ingeeni Studios in Somerville, MA) at age 9.
Funny you mention Club Penguin as I find most kids get bored of it pretty quickly. I', with Ryan and wonder if WebKinz has more staying power and of course commercial potential.
The other innovation in this space is combining test preparation and school skills to online tests that incorporate games. My son's school system has subscription/seats with http://www.studyisland.com as prep for state testing. Seems to keep him more interested and I like the ability for teachers and parents to monitor results and progress.
Let's get kids comfortable and interested in front of the computer or PDA, but make sure having fun outside or with friends or with a book or art project is the first choice. We don't want a generation of computer geeks like me and Chris Brogan ;)
All Comments
The Disney sites on the other hand tend to be more high maintenance and harder for the kids to use.
Funny you mention Club Penguin as I find most kids get bored of it pretty quickly. I', with Ryan and wonder if WebKinz has more staying power and of course commercial potential.
The other innovation in this space is combining test preparation and school skills to online tests that incorporate games. My son's school system has subscription/seats with http://www.studyisland.com as prep for state testing. Seems to keep him more interested and I like the ability for teachers and parents to monitor results and progress.
Let's get kids comfortable and interested in front of the computer or PDA, but make sure having fun outside or with friends or with a book or art project is the first choice. We don't want a generation of computer geeks like me and Chris Brogan ;)