My Fabulous Life

Laptops for Kids?

How young is too young for a laptop?  I don’t mean the cutesy children’s laptops that are toys but an actual laptop that is functional to use for games and typing but not loaded with programs and applications like a business laptop.

While I admire my mom friends that are going tv free this summer (another one just announced it on Facebook, they’re dropping like flies!) and who don’t allow or encourage their children to play computer or video games, this isn’t our family dynamic.  Elijah, almost 7, loves his computer time.  I am considering selling our computer desk, though, since our kids are the only ones that use the desktop computer and it takes up space that could be better used.  I wonder if a basic student laptop wouldn’t work just as well for games and typing time (I play our own version of an alphabet game with Nevaeh where she finds the letters on the keyboard and loves seeing them on the Word doc on the screen when she’s right)

My husband and I both have laptops, so the idea of having one more in the house sounds pretty ridiculous to me (yet a desktop as well doesn’t?  Um…)  Another option, I suppose, would be giving up one of our laptops to the kids and getting a tablet pc for one of us – but which one would get the pretty new toy?  I’m also not sure that a tablet pc would be as useful as a laptop – obviously I need to do my research.  From those  that have them, I’ve heard they love them.  If you have one (iPad, Blackberry Playbook or other) do you love it?  Was it a worthwhile purchase?

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  • We got my daughter a netbook when she was 9. She’s had it almost 2 years now and still uses it daily. My youngest daughter who is six uses it too. They use it for school work and just for fun. It’s been one of our best gifts for them.

  • My mom just got a tablet (pandigital novel 9). She loves it but it cannot replace a Laptop. See it as a big iphone. Starting grade 4 the kids needs a laptop for research and to type their special projects. You can’t put Word on a tablet. I would sugest you buy a regular laptop for the kids; it’s going to give you more for your money in the long run. My kids are older and we have 2 workstations and 1 laptop and they are used everyday. The most important thing in a computer is speed of the process and internal memory. Those 2 things will make your computer fast and enjoyable to work with. There is going to be a lot of sales for back to school and Christmas. Best time to buy one. Have fun shopping!!!

  • These days I think it is important for children to experience technology at a young age. Provided they are using the technology appropriately, it can be an excellent source of early education. There are some amazing iPad/iPhone apps out there focused on educating toddlers and young children. One in particular that I would recommend is A Jazzy Day app.