The Cutting Edge: Computing / Technology / Innovation : Monitoring the Relationship Between Your Kid and Computer
See child. See child compute. See child slip a penny into the floppy-disk drive, rendering it useless.
Kids are born nerds and seem to take to microchips almost as readily as chocolate chips. For parents, placing that beloved computer in those grimy little hands is a rite of passage akin to handing over the car keys for the first time--and just as fraught with peril.
Sure, it’s great they feel comfortable with the infernal machines. But with computers, new opportunities for learning entail new opportunities for mischief.
How does a parent protect the computer from the child, not to mention the child from the computer? Are computer-addicted kids just a different flavor of couch potato? Can kids call “Dibs!” on the computer the way they do on the front seat of the car? And then there’s The Expense, The Expense, The Expense.
None of this, of course, is enough reason to toss the tricycle off the information superhighway. For the most part, parents tend to balance their concerns and data catastrophes with the thought that the skills their little darlings pick up today can be employed later to help support Mom and Dad in their dotage.
Pasadena public relations executive John Echeveste is a computer-afflicted parent. Like others of his kind, he loves to boast about his two sons’ computing skills, and recalls only after much prodding the downside of kids and computers. Like the time a few years ago when Echeveste was in the middle of writing a major proposal and his younger son, entranced by the red light on the computer’s surge protector, crawled over and flicked the thing off.
“I lost everything,” Echeveste said ruefully. “So if you have a surge protector, don’t leave it on the floor. Those flashing red lights are like a beacon for small kids.”
Eight-year-old twins John and Kate McGlynn recently discovered that if they entered naughty words into a reading program marketed by their mother’s employer, Broderbund, the computer dutifully pronounced the words back at them.
“They thought it was so much fun,” said Erin McGlynn, sales support manager at Novato, Calif.-based Broderbund. The company’s sales force was less amused.
Computer consultant Charles Taft, who writes about family computing issues for several publications, recalls being stymied by a client’s unresponsive computer--until a Lego tumbled out of the disk drive.
“Right about that time, the 5-year-old dived for cover behind the couch,” Taft said.
These things happen when small children and big-ticket electronics end up in the same room. But there are gadgets and software designed to protect your machine and programs.
Physical locks or other impediments can be placed in front of disk and CD-ROM drives to ward off errant Barbie shoes, and form-fitted plastic sleeves can be slipped over keyboards to shield against chance encounters with apple juice. For repeat offenders, the entire computer can be locked inside a piece of special furniture, like a high-tech roll-top desk or a computer armoire, for when the parents aren’t around.
Parents can set up their systems so children are restricted to certain areas; among such software is KidDesk, by Edmark, which sets up a special computer desk just for children, locking them out of the grown-ups’ stuff. On the flip side, some children’s programs allow kids to set up special codes so the old folks can’t read their files.
But as in any child-related endeavor, the best defense is a good set of rules that are enforced with consistency, says consultant Taft, the father of 8-year-old Benjamin.
“You have to teach computer manners,” he said. “The computer is a valuable and expensive object in the house, and it must be treated that way.”
Taft said he and Benjamin have agreed to certain ground rules that include:
* “Don’t touch the screen.”
* “Never hit the computer, no matter how mad you get.”
* “Never use pirated software.”
* “Always scan outside software for viruses.”
“You set limits that are fair limits and you stick with them,” Taft said. “Infractions are summarily dealt with.”
FutureKids, a fast-growing chain of computer learning centers, teaches its youthful charges about computer etiquette before tackling clicking, dragging and other fun topics.
“We do take certain precautions in terms of food and other things,” said Peter Markovitz, co-founder of the Los Angeles-based company. “But computers are quite hardy, and children seem to find that no matter what, these things do endure.”
Fights between siblings or between child and parent over who gets the computer next can also be a good learning opportunity for such low-tech values as sharing and moderation.
“Most of our classes are cooperative so that there are two to a computer,” said Sherie Samstag, owner of the Irvine FutureKids franchise. “That’s by design, because you learn more with a partner.”
Sibling rivalry throws a more unpredictable element into the mix, Samstag acknowledged. Parents can ease those conflicts by strictly scheduling computer time, which has the added advantage of lifting the computer out of the realm of the toy box.
“This is a lifelong skill, and it’s a skill that you cannot afford your kids to get bored with,” Samstag said.
As for the other worries, lighten up, the experts say. Exercise the same sort of moderation you know you’re supposed to use with the television set: Don’t leave the kids there all day, and don’t let them contort their bodies while they’re in front of it.
Old-fashioned parental supervision goes a long way, especially with older children, who can get themselves into all sorts of trouble with a modem and a natural curiosity about adult bulletin boards.
And comfort yourself with the hope that the children are learning something useful.
“Computers are powerful tools that can be used for good or for ill,” said Santa Monica-based computer consultant Ken Laskin, who has introduced dozens of preschoolers to the Computer Age. “It’s something parents have to be constantly vigilant about.”
TECH TIPS / Coping With Kids Who Compute
A few things to keep in mind:
* Make some basic rules--no hitting the computer, for example--and enforce them.
* Make frequent backups of your data and store them at a safe distance from the PC.
* Use a password, menuing program or special software environment for kids to protect your own setup.
* As in all things, practice moderation.
