gaming... for a 15-month old

[Alan Johnson]

On Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 8:06 AM, Peter Dobratz <peter at dobratz.us> wrote:

> The suggestions for games for 3-year olds last week got me thinking
> about my 15-month old son.
>
> We've got a table set up at home with a computer running Ubuntu next
> to a computer running Mac OS X.  the 15-month old is tall enough that
> he can reach the keyboards and mice and he really likes to press the
> buttons.  He does seem to notice that he's affecting things on the
> screen, but it doesn't seem like he's doing anything on purpose.  It
> seems to be working okay at the moment as long as we keep an eye on
> him (and make sure to close Gnucash before he starts pressing keys).
>
> Is there any way to switch the computer into "toddler mode": where
> every keystroke gives some visual or audible feedback, and the hard
> drive and network are not written to?
>

<soapbox>
"They" say that children under 3 (some say under 2) get no "screen" time at
all, including interactive computer games.  It is much more important for
children to interact with real people at these ages.  If you look hard
enough, there are some very good educational tools out there, some which
have been mention on this list.  It is best to interact with your children
while they are doing these things and talk a lot about what's happening on
the screen, react to it and them, being sure to catch their eye some times.
Just hearing your voice say "square" when one appears, even if the "screen"
says it too, makes a big difference.  However, "they" say this is still not
ideal.
</soapbox>

That said, some times, you just need a few minutes to yourself and the
one-eyed babysitter is readily available tool that, while not ideal, isn't
going to significant damage to your children if leveraged conservatively.
Of course, raising children is about doing what's right for the family, and
if mommy is happier after a hot shower, that is likely to be more valuable
than any lost development due to the screen time necessary to distract the
kids so she can have it.  Happier parents are usually more interactive, and
happier partents usually raise happier kids. =)

When doing this, be sure to recognize it for what it is, limit the time to
only as long as you need, and pick something that is as beneficial as
possible.  The Between the Lions videos I mentioned meet my standards for
any age, and I found a couple of the Baby Einstein videos were OK for
younger kids as well: Baby Neptune (water), Baby Newton (shapes),
Neighborhood Animals isn't too bad, but the rest I know of are mind-numbing
junk, even for the youngest kids.

By age ~2.5-3, my son figured out the mouse enough that he would keep
himself distracted for as long as we let him playing with starfall.com.  So,
we certainly didn't shy away from the computer in our geek-palace either,
but have I mentioned that he was at a second grade reading level by 4? I
think I have. ;-)  I still don't mean to act like I know it all, especially
when it comes to some one else's kids, but I expect all that screen time
with starfall.com (mostly accompanied by an adult) had a lot to do with it,
so it comes down to just knowing your children and making the best guess you
can.  They are sure to blame you for everything no matter what you do. =)


> We do have some plastic "educational" toys that do something similar,
> but he's always more enthralled by the "real thing" (cell phones,
> ipods, laptops, desktops, remote controls).  He usually gravitates
> toward whatever the parents are using.
>

We take the batteries out of our old stuff and give it to our kids.  It's
cheaper and better for the environment.  Of course, you have to train them
out of putting things in their mouths before certain things are reused in
this way.  We even cut the cord off an old keyboard, put it throught the
dishwasher to sterilize, and let my son (8m at the time) bang, press, mash,
and drool all he wanted, so I'm as a big fan of old junk making nice new
toys as the kids are.  =)

Also, some friends of ours got them a basket full of common real-world
trinkets: measuring spools on a ring, whisk, shaker full of whole nutmeg (a
treat for all 5 senses), a solid glass candle holder, etc.  They referenced
some articles they read about real-world items with interesting textures,
etc., were more valuable to development than the
cheaper-made-but-often-more-expensive child versions.  I'll leave it to you
to guess if they played more with the real stuff or the fake stuff.
Thought, I'm still sticking with the play-version of knives for now.
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