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Simon Donohue's son James.
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When should tots go online?
Simon Donohue24/ 6/2008
WHILE the PC pioneers of my 30-something generation will recall hours spent wrestling with the rubber keys of wondrous new machines like the Sinclair Spectrum back in the 1980s, computers are now a fact of life for today's youngsters.
Set a toddler down in front of a keyboard and mouse and there's every chance that they'll be emailing their mates at nursery school while mum and and dad are still reading the instruction manual.
But there's a serious point here. Do toddlers really need to know how to operate a computer before they can tie a shoe lace?
Janet Read is the head of the Child Computer Interaction group at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.
The group asseses the merits of hardware and software applications and says there are massive variations in quality.
She fears parents are being emotionally blackmailed into ensuring their children have as many opportunities as possible and the quest to match up to perceived requirements might even be hindering other areas of development.
"Fun"
"Computers can be fun," she says. "But what's the point of a child being able to use a computer mouse at the age of five if they can't tie their shoe laces or open their sandwich box.
"My concern is that computer skills come at the expense of other skills. You can pick up PC skills later on, but there really is no substitute for learning to read and write at an early age.
"Don't get me wrong, there are some incredible good products on the market for young children, but there are some terrible ones too. The industry gets away with some shocking stuff. Some software is verging on tragic, but people still buy it."
Attaining a level of competence at the computer keyboard is deemed so important by educationalists that it is a `desirable' achievement of children at the Foundation Stage of education, which relates to studies between the ages of three and five.
Integral
Beyond then, computing skills are an integral part of both the National Curriculum and through into adult learning.
For Rachel Stoop, 33, and her partner Wim, 37, the realisation that there really wasn't anything suitable on the market led to the creation of Puters For Kids. Concerned about the wires and unwieldyness of the household PC when their children Ruben, four, and Alexandra, five, first started showing an interest in technology, the husband and wife team of entrepreneurs set about building a bespoke machine of their own.
Parents can now buy a PC from Puters For Kids, with systems designed not only to sit neatly in a part of the house where parents can keep a watchful eye on proceedings, but also to be easy to use.
"The idea came when I wanted to develop my two sons' keen interest in our home computer - but struggled to find a child friendly, real computer designed for little hands, or a child-sized computer desk and chair on the high street," said Rachel. "The compact design of the Puter is ideal for installation at home or in the classroom and it is available in three levels - Nursery, Deluxe and Entertainer, which can be upgraded with your child's growing needs and learning ability.
"Computers are an important part of everyday life and we think we've found a way of helping parents provide children with an essential skill from an early age."
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