How can I use my computer and/or Internet to educate my 3 years old son?

Answer 1

My son was 3 when he began using the computer. Now He is 7 and knows more than you can imagine that a 7 year old would know. There are so many free sites that many have listed here. Plus there are several CD games and programs for preschoolers. Just look around in any store that sell them and you can choose what is right for your son.

Answer 2

Go to the library for free CD roms. Do NOT let him use other game systems (except perhaps portable ones and those only on special occasions away from the house....like if you want some quiet time at a restaurant). Do it with him at first. Three year olds do well with Jump Start, Baby Rom, & Reader Rabbit programs. I prefer the Reader Rabbit. Oh yeah, Busy Town are great ones for boys too!

Answer 3

This is a great site for online stories with audio to share with your child.
http://www.beenleigss.eq.edu.au/requested_sites/audiostories/index.html
Have you tried...
discovery.com
yahooligans

(this is from about.com - I use it from my computer)
Online games for preschoolers just for fun or to teach early computer skills, pre-reading, letter and number identification.
1) Nick Jr. Games Online
Click on Nick Jr. Playtime to open the games window. All are great games for little ones and your child should have no trouble navigating through them.
2) Build a Neighborhood Online Game
An online build-a-picture game, it's fun because kids get many choices and the quality of the pictures is very good. Move the pictures around, zoom in and out, well done game from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood at PBS Kids.
3) Sesame Street Games Online
Lots of games so your child shouldn't get bored. Graphic quality, learning potential, and ease of use make these games winners. Somewhat clunky navigation back to more games and the games are fairly slow loading. Overall, a great destination for online preschool games.
4) Fisher-Price Online Games for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
That's right, infants. These are really quite cute. The toddler games work for preschoolers too. Nice job at Fisher-Price.com
5) Orisinal Online Games
The prettiest preschool games online are at Orisinal. Choose one of the pretty watercolor pictures for a game that flows at a less than frantic pace.
6) Noggin Games
Fun games with characters your child will recognize, even if you don't get Noggin. We like the Doodle Pad with cute stickers, watercolors, and glitter paint.
7) Poisson Rouge - Online Games for Young Children
No reading required but your child will easily follow the toys and games in the room. We especially love the paint box where you can mix colors and wash your brush.

Answer 4

Three years old? Frankly, this reminds me of the 20's yacht salesman who told a man who asked what a yacht cost: "Sir, if you must ask what one costs, you can't afford one." As arrogant as that sounded, the salesman was correct.

In the same sense, if you must ask how to use a computer to educate a three year old kid, you can't.

I recommend getting some good books, something traditional, like the Billy and Blaze series of books, and read aloud to him. The 1981 or earlier LITTLE DUCK books are extremely popular among three year olds as well. The newer books are too often PC and/or pagan based.

Performance in school and in life is often related to parents reading to kids when they were small.

Once he is maybe 4 or 5, and can tell letters, then is a good time to let him type stuff, though you can teach him letters by letting him type them as soon as he knows the concepts of letters.

Answer 5

Hi, at 3 y. o. you might try listening to different kinds of music online, also there are fun educational games like on the Wiggles website (it's an Australian kids show) but you could also check into any PBSKids website for more ideas. I have a 3 yo and a 6 yo and neither one is really "into" the computer that much, but they sure love the hands-on time we have together. You might try researching bugs or whatever the boy likes together too. Anything you can do together is good. Boys need time and touch just as much as girls do, and they need to hear "I love you" just as much too.

Answer 6

There are many links to popular children shows on PBS and Nickelodeon that you can go to, but what I like best are the resources that it offers me as a parent.
You can find book lists, lists of activities for you and your child, games you can play together, wonderful educational trips you can take together and checklists for child development. I really don't like 3 year olds sitting in front of the computer that long. So use it as your tool then spend time exploring the world with your child.

Answer 7

I haven't heard of this problem. My 3 year old grandson spends most of his time learning on his own.......using books to teach him the flags of the world, etc. His mom and dad don't push him in any direction. He is a curious child and doesn't need to be entertained. His parents just let him help in whatever they are doing,ex. cooking, working in the yard, etc and everything they do together is a learning experience...naming plants or whatever. No child at age 3 should be asked to sit at a computer unless he asks to play a game or something equivalent.

Answer 8

I wouldn't suggest using the computer to educate small children, espescially a 3 year old. The youth of today are so wired and it's good to just go back to the basics by teaching with real items: crayons, papers, a parent's encouraging voice.

Hope I helped! :D

Answer 9

I'm a teacher and when I was working on my Masters, I researched computer use for pre-shchoolers and all research came up with Zero value before grade school. Actually found it to be detrimental, in fact, as kids aren't gaining skills they need to be. The computer screen is equiv. to plopping them in front of TV. They need to be acquiring social skill and using their hands to pick up and control movement of things, as they need muscles in fingers for pencil control, soon. They need to be developing big muscles, too, so need much physical activity. Mind needs sensory activities that can't get from a screen. This is a "helpful age". They love to sweep, polish, clean tables and windows and more. (Check out Montessori sites, too) There's so much a 3 yr. old can and should be doing. You can use the internet to educate yourself to educate your child, but your child needs nothing from it. And just because you can teach a kid to do something, doesn't make it a good use of time and brain. I can teach my dog to hit a particular place on my computer, but what value does that have? I'm getting so many kids behind in basic life, because parents are wasting these early years. My niece was not allowed to watch TV til a bit in grade school, her mom does computer tech. work from home and Dad is writer/college prof. She was not encouraged to use the computer at home. She has been in gifted edu throughout grade school and got her choice of gifted schools in NYC and is socially gifted, as well, which could've gone a loner route, but we left the computer and went and actually explored the world.

Answer 10

turn it off! take him for walks. let him help you 'shop' at the grocery store. (categories like fruits/veggies, colors, how many/we need one more) play games, sing songs! have fun! make up silly stories! look at the clouds! dream! the only think the computer can do is too teach him to sit quietly in front of a monitor. it can't teach him how to relate the knowlegde he learns with the real world.