Item id: 44426306
a day ago
I've been making little things for them with LÖVE. If I show them a Paint program and they say, "I wish I could draw circles," then I nod non-committally and then the next day it does circles. In this way I hope they will grow to expect to have agency over computers and not just accept what some app offers.
More details:
https://akkartik.name/freewheeling
5 hours ago
My kid has his own account, with the password something I want him to remember:. Our phone number, words he misspells, ...
a day ago
At 3-5? We gave them an old dead phone to play with. They made their own laptops from a couple pieces of cardboard, and drew a keyboard and screen on it.
a day ago
For a long time we setup a raspberry pi with screen and monitor for our kids to use. It was perfect, the gpu wasn’t strong enough to watch YouTube but it was fun to play some basic games and get curious about coding.
We have banned YouTube on our house, without an adult watching. But I make a private playlist that has interesting videos I see, mostly educational, so when we have time to watch we watch something of quality.
a day ago
Ah one more hack or idea. My kids LOVE books. Our local library has the Libby App and we get tons of free books for car rides and nap time. Get it and get them a kindle fire. Then completely disable games and only enable books.
19 hours ago
I let my son, who is 5, play around with gcompris qt. I think the chess game has helped him learn.
It helps with getting the mouse and keyboard down.
a day ago
Your child wants to spend time with you. Not with a computer.
And you both will be better off for it.
So put your child on your lap and let the computer be an excuse until you give yourself permission not to need an excuse. Because they are only little once, turn out amazing, get their own lives, and you miss them like hell. Good luck.
a day ago
First of all - totally agree. I work half-time so I get to spend extended time every day with the kids.
My post did not say anything about how I was going to use the computer, in fact we often do exactly what you said with his fake keyboard in between his other activities.
I also believe that it's my job to provide my children with the environment in which they can thrive and be independent. This post is asking for constructive guidance on how other people have navigated the transition into engaging with technology that all kids go through.
If you have any ideas, I'd be happy to hear them.
21 hours ago
My parenting advice is that your attention is on optimizing a non-optimizeable challenge.
The advice is based on experience. Imagine asking this question in 2002. That’s before social media, before ubiquitous data, before smartphones, before streaming.
Your job is to grow as much as your child so you can support them when they start having adultish problems; can just stop following your agenda; and the only tool on your toolbelt is being the kind of person they want to be around.
Screen time is rounding error on the quality of parenting. Stop arguing on the internet. It is pretend work.
12 hours ago
The only people who wouldn't agree with what brudgers is saying are obviously people who didn't have bad parents (bad, as in, resorting to any type of abuse because they are incapable of even sorting out their own thoughts and emotions)
a day ago
Love this response. Remember that having the time and space to give to your kids like this is a luxury not everyone has.
a day ago
It is not a luxury.
It is decision about who you are.