Children’s Computers – A Tool to Consider in the Computer Age

The computer era has dawned. Going forward a strong technological skill set and knowledge base will be mandatory in both business and leisure. A weak or limited aptitude in technology will limit options available to everyone young and old. Not only will a lack of computer knowledge prove to be a burden in obtaining employment but it will hamper ones ability to research properly, network efficiently and maximize use of limited time constraints. Many parents, therefore, are encouraging their children as early as possible to get acquainted technology via a children’s computer.

Still, in spite of the widely evident and much anticipated on-going need for children to develop proficiency with regard to computer literacy, many parents still have reservations about the children’s computer. This reaction is quite normal considering the extreme gap that exists between the two generations with regard to technology. Many parents today had limited if any, exposure to modern day technology and certainly not to the degree available today. Many saw a computer as tool used in their place of employment or gadget for entertainment. A children’s computer to them may seem akin to a children’s telephone or a children’s VCR or DVD player. Nice, but not particularly essential to a child’s development. Other parents have the same reservations about a children’s computer that their parents had about the Television: it is a device that will hamper learning and decrease attention. Still others worry about the dangers that exist on the internet in light of the heightened awareness of predators and sites with

explicit content. While some of the fears are legitimate and concerns are well founded,they should not be allowed to eclipse the benefits of training children to be computer literate at an early age.

Those parents wishing to encourage their children to explore …