Straight From Womb To The Keyboard

from the surfing-in-the-crib dept

Here's a story that just won't go away. As technology becomes ever more important in society, parents don't want their kids to "miss out" in any way, and have been getting them involved in technology at a younger and younger age. The trend has been spotted in mobile phone usage in the past and now many are beginning to wonder how young is too young for a kid to be using a computer. Some parents are apparently buying computers for their kids before they even turn one year old. Others, however, are afraid that such early exposure to computers is damaging for kids who learn to only focus on the computer and never learn spacial and physical things like how to play with building blocks. That might be a bit extreme, but it does seem that if you're still counting their age in months, they probably don't need their very own computer. This article is also one of the first I've seen that points out the fact that, whether the parents want the kid to use a computer, since the parents are using one already, it will just make the kids more interested. Thus, comes the rise of "lapware," where a parent can hold their child on their lap and play some sort of game on the computer, involving both the parent and the child, rather than just seating the kid at the computer on his or her own.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Scott Mace, 5 Aug 2004 @ 4:46pm

    Straight from womb to the keyboard

    Recommended reading: The Flickering Mind by Todd Oppenheimer. Keep those young 'uns away from the keyboard for a few years.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.