Dilema: Raise kids on computers?

Question

I'm really concerned about whether to raise a child with full access to computers or not.

I was not raised with a computer and I feel like that was a good thing, especially given that computers change so much. I look back 20 years and think to myself, what if I had been raised on computers as kids seem to be now? Knowledge of computers 20 years ago would be of absolutely no use today. The time spent learning them would have been wasted.

So then the question is, do you think that the same thing will happen in the future? What if a child today spends most of its time learning computers, learning math on the computer, learning spelling on the computer, learning to write on the computer, etc., and then in 20 years the knowledge is useless and the child would have wasted much of its youth learning them? I know computers are so commonplace today, but I have seen them come and go over the years and I am worried about what might happen in the future.

I'm not suggesting that computers will go away in 20 years, but given the past history, they may be unrecognizable in 20 years compared to today.

Does anyone remember DOS and Windows 3.1? That was only 12 years ago.

Answer 1

I grew up on computers and would not have it any other way.

My family bought a Macintosh LC computer in 1990, when I was 6. That operating system is roughly equivalent to early Windows. Sure, my sister and I spent a lot of time playing on it, but it was time we would have otherwise spent watching TV.

I have never found the experience to be bad. At that time, most other children did not have an up to date computer at home, and in 6th grade I was showing most of my fellow classmates how to use Word. Even now, as a chemist, I am very fast at learning how to use new software at work. When you learn how to use a computer at an early age, you develop the ability to intuitively solve computer issues.

While a lot has changed in the 17 years since I first used a computer, in the grand scheme of things, Word and Excell are the most important programs to learn for job skills, and they don't drastically change, they only add new features. My childhood of messing around in Word translates to being an expert user now, and being at least exposed to Excell means that I can now easily pick up programs at work with spreadsheet formats.

Also, to "learn how to use a computer" is different for adults than for children. Adults without much experience have to work harder to learn specific tasks, like the steps to access an email account, or to format a Powerpoint show. A silght change in programs or operating systems means that the adult has to relearn all of the steps. But a child picks up computing as easily as the pick up a language, and the steps become second nature, even if something changes. And they are more adept at finding multiple ways to accomplish something.

Answer 2

The knowledge is not useless- the child will grow up with the changes so smoothly they wont notice. New programs will be used and they will adjust much faster than we can because they have always used computers and understand them more than we give them credit for.

The most important knowledge is how to find the answers. Once a child learns how to answer questions by using the computer they do learn how to do it without too.

In this day and age if your children are kept from computers it will damage them in their adult years when they do not know things they should have learned as children. There is no business that doesnt use computers at some time or another. Kids need to learn computers early and be monitored in their use until adulthood.

Answer 3

I think you grow with computers. As the programs change you adapt. Being computer savvy throughout life is a great thing because you don't have to learn about Windows all of a sudden--you already have a basic concept, you know? I did have computer classes beginning in first grade. They were very different then the computers we have today but I think getting down the basics has really improved they way I feel about and handle computer-based work. As others have mentioned, not allowing a child to have access to computers [in moderation] would only be hurting them. Taking it one step at a time will teach them how to properly use computers. That way at fourteen when they are required a computer course in High School they aren't in the dark. Interesting idea but I really think you just evolve along with computers as long as you use them frequently.

Answer 4

I think that in this day and age, with technology being a main staple of our world, you should most definitely teach your kids everything you can about computers. A class that I had used a computer so much that to not know how to use the computer would have been a handicap. And use of the Internet makes the world so much easier for children, for reports and things.

Answer 5

Anything in this world without proper control is not good for everybody. Make yourself a program or a schedule for them to acces the computer ,specially on the net. It's not advisable if we deprive them to use computers, only set some limitations.
It is not healthy for you to worry for the next 20 years. Ask me, I worry about tv...

Answer 6

In this day and age, a child needs to learn how to use technology such as computers. But that doesn't mean they need to spend all day using them. It makes me rather ill to hear about parents relying on software and TV shows to educate their children. Those things can be good in moderation, but that's it.

Answer 7

I don't think computers will fade out in 20 years. I think you are crippling a child by not allowing them the ability to become familiar with computers.