I am going to really go against the tide here and suggest allowing your children freedom and adding controls as needed so that they can better develop self-control and sound judgment by the time they reach their teenage years. Children will vary substantially in the amount of external controls. Of course, I am not advocating letting your 5-year-old use the computer at will. My children rarely touch the computer except at school during the early elementary years (prior to their 8th birthday). I much rather they developed reading/thinking and non-academic skills at the younger ages. However, my two younger children each received their own laptops prior to beginning 3rd grade (age 8). We discussed reasonable limits and safety concerns and reached guidelines. Interestingly, I did not need to worry about DD overusing the laptop (or her ipod touch) although this school year (5th), she regularly connects with her classmates online so it is a huge social tool. DS is more prone to "wasting" time on electronics (games & online sources) so we did have to come up with some loose time limits at some earlier ages. DS also accidentally landed on an inappropriate site once as well as fraudulent sites a few times, but they were excellent learning/discussion opportunities and now I feel like they have some protection because they know what to avoid and why. However, I am really proud to see that they are now great about self-monitoring. They are responsible for completing their homework, music practice and other responsibilities and know to avoid fraudulent and inappropriate sites.
My children have ipad/ipod touch and an android tablet but still uses the laptop for most of their academic needs partly due to habit. However, ipad/ipod touch as well as android tablets have word processing software (including Word on androids) designed for tablets. The difference is you may need that online connection and typing may be slower unless you connect a physical keyboard.
Last edited by Quantum2003; 06/02/14 11:51 AM.
