Is It "Necessary" for a 6 Yr Old to Be on a Computer Regularly?

M.,

As an early childhood teacher, my opinion is that computers are pretty much an inevitable part of most children's lives, but they do not greatly enhance a young child's life, and can even hinder some social development. That being said, my own child does love the computer, and I have to limit his time playing games on it already (and he is only 3!).

There are some educational games and there is some merit in knowing how to use a computer, in my opinion, but it is not necessary in kindergarten. I strongly stand by the belief that kindergarten is ideally about strengthening social skills, physical abilities (gross and fine motor skills) and establishing a foundation for a love of learning that will last a lifetime. Computers will not necessarily be the door to open this key to education, but they can be a (small) part of it. Moderation is key.

One big hesitation I have about computer usage is that it can hinder creativity sometimes in young children. While I think older children can get very creative and innovative ideas using computers and the interwebs, younger children tend to get "stuck" sometimes if they use it too much. I have noticed this with children in my class - the ones who play a lot of video/computer games tend to play out the games with a very predictable and exact script, while children who don't play these games as much have much more creativity in their play.

Computers are great, but not necessary for kindergartners. Just my opinion.

Best,

Nessa

If you would like to get her on the computer more, some great sites are:

www.starfall.com (reading)
www.arcademics.com (math and some reading, set up as video games)

She has plenty of time to learn. They'll do different things with it each year in school. Right now I'd say the less time on it at home the better.

As a grown-up computer nerd I completely disagree with those that are so vehemently against computers. Due to my personal experience I have two pieces of advice.

#1 - Allow her to use the computer as much as you see acceptable. I am asked numerous times a day how I got to be so good on computers, and it was just from playing around. My computer skills have provided great job security for me. Now-a-days you need technical skills for just about any job out there and the more you know, the better off you are. I know she has plenty of time to think about that... but why not get a head start. I work for the tech department in a school district and see first hand how pivotal computers are for children's education. It interests them, so it draws them in no matter what the subject area (math, spelling, etc.).

#2 - Limits, limits, limits. No one supervised my computer time so I was on all the time. I used it as an excuse to not need friends... I had plenty on-line. I also had a 21-year old on-line "fiancee" from Scotland when I was 16... because no one was limiting the types of sites I could go to.

In hind sight I over-did it... but I do believe, like one other mom said, that an hour/ half an hour a day would be great for her. Limit the on-line access, but there are some amazing educational games out there that will expand her mind technically and academically. If you would like some suggestions, send me an email, I can tell you some we use in our district.

It totally depends on the school. 4 years ago, one of the preschools I interviewed required all their students to have laptops. If the parents couldn't afford one, one was loaned by the school.

Some schools (k12) have daily computer time starting in K, others there's only a lab or very limited computers in the school... so you may only see weekly time.

Forced is an interesting choice of words. I suppose it would be accurate, if it's also how one describes reading, writing, math, history, science, music, art, civics, etc.

We use computers extensively in our kiddo's education (ESPECIALLY online... did you know nearly every museum in the world has virtual tours??? Or that the CIA has a kids page where they break codes and simple patterns? Or that there are lectures by the some of the sexiest minds on the planet free for the viewing? Or that you can explore working archeological sites? You can not only find your house on googleEarth, you can also look at the pyramids, the great wall, or turn the "camera" around and look at space. - I love this aspect, especially on a cold clear winter night outside in sleeping bags and the telescope.) We also use programs like Adobe After Effects & Photoshop, GarageBand... and CDRs like ClueFinders, iSpy,

I think many of us get so wrapped up in the day to day uses (email, traffic/weather, things like this site) that it's easy to forget that there is an amazing wealth of information quite literally at our fingertips. I absolutely love having a real book in my hands... but I can ALSO save 4k in traveling by going to gutenberg.org and look at an original manuscript that is the only copy in the world, photographed (or transcribed) page by page from my couch.

As far as hindering... nah. She'll pick it up. It'll be required for papers and research... so the school will teach the basics if she doesn't get it elsewhere. We intentionally introduced it young, in large part because it's SO much easier to set rules when they're little than when they're adolescents/ tweens. But also because, for US it's an amazing tool. We're also outside at least 7-9 hours a day year round... so it's not like it's cutting into active play or family time.

Best
R

At the elementary school the kindergardners don't really use the computer all that often. Once they are in first grade they start doing typing programs and Rosetta Stone on the computer, but this is at a Montessori. If she's not really interested, I wouldn't worry too much about it. She's a bit young to be using it too much. If your school offers computer time then I think that will be enough for now. When I was in school they didn't even introduce typing programs to us until 5th grade and turned out okay :). Also, by second grade our school (and many other public schools) have students take an AR quiz on the computer after they have read a book (it's like a quiz on the book), so she will have to be familiar with the computer in order to take those quizes if your school participates in that program.

I don't think you need to have her work on the computer at home, however, like it or not, she will need to use it at school. I wouldn't consider it forcing any more than they are forced to read, write, and add. It is a standard part of the curriculum now. She will be taught how to research using keywords on the internet, and how to type. She will also probably be taking assessment tests on the computer instead of on paper, and she may be required to do some homework on the computer. My kids are. Of course, our school always understands if you don't have a computer at home, and the kids are not penalized for that.

Like it or not, she will need to learn how to use it and work on it. Sorry.

I am going out on a limb here, so to speak. I do think it is important for children to learn to use computers for everything. I just think you should do it in moderation. I always encouraged my kids to use it for at least 1/2 hour a day. Any way that they wanted but always encouraged using Google to look up any questions they wanted answered. It may do things like inhibit their physical activity or creative growth if you let a child do it without limits, but I think a 1/2 to one hour time limit a day will expose them to the future. My daughter is in college now, but could type 65 words per minute in 6th grade (thanks to Mavis Beacon) and used that to her advantage all through school. I did allow some games but they were always instructional in some way. I will never forget my (14 year old) daughter crying when she was playing the original Sims game and the (online) social worker came and took her (online) children away because she left them home alone (in this game) so she could go to work. This sparked such an amazing series of discussions about what you can and cannot do with your family, your responsiblities and your goals. It is all a matter of perspective.

Here where we live in kindergarten they are taught the very basics about the computer, the mouse, the screen.. And introduced to different counting programs They are also introduced to some learning programs that help them learn the key board for spelling. VERY basic and not very often. Most of then really know their way around the computer already.

They do art pads on the computer and make some little books.

In First grade it expands to help them with their spelling words. Once again the keyboard and the mouse seem to be the concentration. More math and some science programs.

In Second grade they work on their reading and more story writing on the computer. In third grade there is the research portion.

I do not think they are forced. It is just like reading, spelling science any other subjects. Usually the students seem to enjoy using the computer.

I remember it was my daughter in kindergarten that taught me how to used the computer, my husband had tried but he used too much jargon an tech speak. She was more patient with me than he was.

They do a few reports on the computer in the higher elementary grades. I remember my daughter doing many of her science projects on the computer beginning in 4th grade. She made all of the titles, subject heads.. She loved using all of the different fonts.

At home we had an American Girl game and a few other educational things that she enjoyed. Later she was given a game machine and she and her friends used it every once in a while.. She enjoyed more creative and active play, rather than sitting at the computer and a game machine, but as she got older, the laptop became her favorite thing to do, because she loved to write. In middle and High School all of her reports were done on the computer, they even emailed their work into school or used their USB's to turn in work. Thank goodness, because now in college it is the only way they do their work and most of their note taking..

When you do get a computer for your children to use, make sure it is in the family room so you can see what they are doing and what they are searching for. You can get programs to help you keep it safe.

Not necessary. Kids of this generation will get so much exposure to computer use at school and from the general media environment, they will know how to use them when they need to. Playing games occasionally will help her learn operational skills (learning the keyboard, mouse, click & drag functions, etc.) but these are not things she needs to practice much to figure out.
Really I think parents have more to worry about when kids spend too much time in front of TVs, video games, and computers. BTW it's "screen free week" coming up next week. If you look that up you'll find lots of encouragement and justification for actively limiting screen time for your kids.

My kindergartner has computer class at school once a week. They are basically getting familiar with controlling the mouse. They use art software. Just creating pictures. I don't really do much at home with her right now. I don't think it's necessary at this age. She will have plenty of computer exposure as she gets older.

Welcome to the new millenia. This is the wave of the future, I am sure when they quit chiseling things out of rock, people had a hard time adjusting too. I have 4 boys 7-20 and all parts of school and college require this skill. Don't force her, but let her play if she wants. Even in most jobs you need this skill, recently we switched computer systems at work, and people had a tough time they did not understand the basic concepts and it really shows in their work.

I don't think that children are being "forced" to use computers at school.
Do you still watch Sesame Street? Even they talk about computers on there. They are a part of life now.
They definitely use the computer at very early ages in school to assist with different learning programs etc. My son's favorite was a spelling program that had animals.
If you think that using a computer once a week at school is enough exposure, then don't allow any at home. But, they really do have some great things for little kids, puzzles and things like that.
I agree that no 6 year old needs to be on the computer every single day or for hours at a time, but once a week in school? I don't understand the problem you have with that. Surely they're not tying her to her chair and "making" her use the computer against her will.
If you want her to have zero computer access, it's your right as a parent to say she is not allowed to do it. But I don't know why you would since it doesn't sound out of hand to me.
Many children who are homeschooled use the computer for some of their lessons.
It's not such a bad thing for her to learn the basics at school, in my opinion.

If you're asking hurting your child - I would definitely say no. Personally, I buy educational games. My son is 5, and we limit "screen time" .. screen includes tv, hand held gaming systems, computer games, etc and it's not something he gets daily.

I'm huge into computers, and my husband is a programmer - so we will definitely make sure our kids know their way around computers and have that edge when it's important.

And hey! Girls can be gamers too ;)

But to your concern I definitely don't think you're hurting your kids... as long as you have one around for later use and maybe use it as a resource during homework (we print pictures, look up information, etc) and eventually to write papers.

No! Absolutely not!!! By not allowing her to be on the computer, she is learning kinesthetically, experiencing the world with her senses and exercising her body. Computers are easy to master, very little challenge and her exposure to them will be life long and incessant the further she goes in school. You are giving her the opportunity to learn differently. I'm keeping my daughter off for as long as possible - computers are very left brained. She will get plenty of left brain stimuli while schools are cutting out right brain activities as funds decrease. I say use the time at home for art, music, dance, silliness - time to be a kid playing creatively.

Jen

i don't think that not encouraging computer use is hurting your child, no. obviously she has the basics down like using the mouse, etc. but i really wonder at your terminology, saying the school "Forces" your child to be on a computer - it's only once a week! that's nothing. computers, like it or not, are part of our everyday lives now, and teaching her how to use it responsibly, i can't really see the harm in that. not to mention there are SO many great educational games online for kids her age. i don't think you're hindering her future necessarily. i guess i just don't get why you would try to limit her learning about something that will be such a huge part of her life. i guess it's just a matter of, you can leave it completely to the school to teach her what she needs to know, or you can have a hand in educating your child and enjoy sharing that experience with her.

My husband and I tutor 3rd graders at a school in the Palo Alto School district. We walk through the computer room/library and see children from various grades at the computers with a bit of help from their teachers and aides. Most of them seem pretty familiar and happy to be doing this "grownup" activity. I hear that they are not doing so well at learning cursive writing these days since they go from printing and learning to sound out and recognize words to typing them on a computer.

I think if you feel your child is being forced rather than being given an opportunity you should discuss this with the teacher. A child who does not feel comfortable using a computer as soon as the other children in class is going to feel "out of it" and may have trouble catching up.

I have seen 5 year olds using child type programs helping with learning to read or to solve math problems and having fun doing so. I think in general children are less afraid of messing up a computer than adults who don't use one very much and are reluctant to try new things on their own computers.

Talk with the teacher and some of the other parents, and then do at home what feels comfortable to you and your family. School changes so much with each generation!!

Great grandma N. (with four great grandchildren of school age)

I teach 2nd grade and our Kindergarten students go to the computer lab for 20 minutes once a week just to get exposure and learn about the parts of the computer. In first grade they go for 30 min. once a week and in 2nd/3rd they go for 45 min. I know that many of my students don't have computers at home, but they seem to be picking everything up pretty quickly. I wouldn't worry about your daughter falling behind due to the fact that she does not use the computer at home, especially at her age and if she doesn't demonstrate an interest on her own. Her social developement and interactive skills are MUCH more important at this point. She will learn computer skills as she grows older.

Greetings M.,
I didn't read any of the responses so hope its not a total repeat of what is said. I have 5 children 21-42, and several grandchildren 1-14. The computer wasn't as important in my children's world as it is in all of my little ones world. What I thought was mindless games for a kindergardener really was a gentle way of getting them comfortable with the key board and the terms used. My oldest daughter felt that it was to much for her child and then learned the hard way when the child was in the 4th grade that she was way behind the rest of her class w/o the skills. By the 7th grade many of them are emiling homework to the teacher so they no longer have the excuse of "I forgot" or" I turned that in" as there is a record of when it was or wasn't turned in by the information on the computer. **So I ask you to consider the future and how your childs world will be -- because the I Pod will be a memory by the time your child is a teen. Each year the tv shows are more interactive and greater adventures are to be had by Dora & Diego. I find that as I have problems with the computer I ask the children to help me and they feel so much pride. I want you to know that even Tinker Bell has a viedo game, Barbie also the Discovery and History channels have great viedo information so its not just the boys/men. I wish you luck in your adventure into parenthood it is like nothing you will experiance any place else and the rewards are our future leaders. glenda

I read some of the previous responses, but not all. Hopefully I am not being repetitive. The reality is computers are becoming more and more the norm today. Kids are being introduced to them younger & younger. Just because it's "new" doesn't make it bad. My oldest is a freshman in college. When he was in fourth grade his mission paper was handwritten. It was such a battle because he didn't want to rewright things to make it better. When he was finally able to use the computer to write papers it separated out the act of writing from the content of writing. It made it much easier to concentrate on the content. My fourth child is now in fourth grade. His mission report is written on the computer and the presentation is a PowerPoint presentation. I heard that some colleges are giving students ipads because they will be expected to buy books for the iPad for their classes. All I am saying is this technology is here to stay and it is changing fast. Not all games are bad. There are some that are educational. It's a matter of choosing those you feel are acceptable. I think things need to be in moderation. If things are forbidden, they can become more desired.

It isn't "necessary", but more and more the school's are going to be introducing computer use. It's the way most of us will be communicating and working from now on... at least until some other innovative technological wave takes over. My suggestion is that you get several educational programs for your computer and allow (don't 'force') her to do those once or twice a week. Usually a half hour at a time on the computer is plenty. We have a home childcare and have set up one computer solely for the use of the children. It isn't open for them to just sit there and use all the time, and we are only allowing the 4 yo and up to use it so far. We have a Hooked on Phonics game and a couple of educational games with Clifford the Big Red Dog so far, and are looking for some other games they can use as well. We also will share some special things from the Internet with them on our regular computer (the one for the kids is NOT hooked to the Internet, because we feel it's safer to have that only available when we are sitting with them and sharing items). Used with caution, the computer can be a great learning tool for even young children.

My one brother did all his school work on computer at school and at home. Remember you are the parent. What you say goes. welcome to the new world.

My son is 6 they have computer lab at school but at home all he is allowed to do is type on the computer 0 internet access he is learning to type words that he has learned or askes to be spelled.Games can be played but not for very long an hr at the most

Of course she doesn't need it. These are recent inventions and the world did fine without them. I think it's better to not have them around, and I'm a software engineer. Do what you think is right and forget the rest.

I am a mother of two teenage boys. They started on the computer at about age six playing games like "Backyard Baseball" and "Pajama Sam". I am sure the games are much more advanced at this point for 6 year olds. But, my boys would only spend about 2 hours a week on these games. They got bored and were much more interested in t.v. videos when they weren't being active. However, today, they use the computer daily, apx. 2-3 hours a day for homework, research and socializing. I recommend the web site: commonsensemedia.org

I suggest that you talk with her teacher. My granddaughter's school has very few computers in the classroom. They have them in the library and computer lab. My granddaughter is now in the 4th grade and uses the computer at home to play educational games and to send e-mail to her Dad who lives in a different state.

She does research, with help from an adult, at school and prints out information to use in writing reports which she writes out in long hand. I've noticed that several of her classmates' reports have been typed on a computer. There reports look much better and of course are mostly free of misspelled words. Fourth graders are not yet give a letter grade and so I don't know how her sloppy hand written reports affect her rating. The ratings are unsatis, satis, very satis or something like that.

At some point soon she is going to need to use the computer more. She is also going to need to know how to spell better and improve her handwriting. MAYBE She is getting extra help at school in these areas. My daughter, her mother, is a poor speller and has poor handwriting. She has always used the computer in school past the 6th grade and now at work. She doesn't seem to be handicapped by poor spelling or handwriting.

I don't think you need to be concerned at age 6. But I do suggest that you find out what role the computer plays at her school so that you can provide her with computer time if the school expects that she have it.

About gaming systems. There is no need to buy games if you're connected to the Internet. Both of my grandkids love games at the Disney site. And my granddaughter finds games on the Internet on her own with a bit of help from her parents..

no hurting her at all in any way. my kidnergarteners have computer class in school once a week. one of mine plays on the computer almost daily, and the other twin very rarely. the one who doesn't like the computer does better in school. in fact i don't like it at all. there will be time when i won't be able to get them off the computer, so i am not rushing the process at all.

No. What they do with it at school right now is fine and enough. You are not hurting her in any way by not having her use a computer at home. Children need to run, play and jump rope, ride bikes, play hop scotch, breathe fresh air, get a little sunshine and move those muscles to grow and develop. She's got her whole life to sit still in front of a machine working up a case of carpel tunnel syndrome. There's no reason she needs to start with all that now.

Nope, don't push her to use the computer. She'll learn it soon enough, it will only distract her from other forms of play and creativity she can be learning.

This is coming from a mom whose 4 year old would play games all day long if I let him, it can be a struggle if they get hooked.

At her age I wouldn't worry about her computer use. In a few years, when she starts using it for homwork will be soon enough. The only reason she is "forced" to use one at school is that is how the teacher sets the class up to do small group work ( usually for reading/ math). The kids are broken into 2-3 groups depending on their skill level and rotate around to different stations where they work with the teacher, then do another assignment/ activity with an aide, then a station at the computers. Since computers are individual and keep kids attentions it is easier for the teacher to monitor without interrupting the group she is working with.

Absolutely not! Children grew up for thousands of years without computers! She apparently knows how to use it, and chooses not to for the most part. As she goes on in school, she will learn more and find the many delightful sides of computer use (history, planning trips, all the wonderful websites out there). By the time she is in the fourth grade, though, I would see if she could learn standard typing (or keyboarding, as they like to call it now) so she can move around the keyboard much more quickly. But it is also really important for her to learn to do handwriting legibly...

Wow, they're starting young now witht he computer aren't they? My niece is in kindergarten (she's 6 as well) and my nephew is 8. They both don't use computers at all at school. Every once in a blue moon I'll let them play something from an educational website (like nickjr.com) but other than that, there's no need to get them addicted to the computer this early, right? There will be plenty of time later on for her to use a computer. There's nothing you can learn on the computer that we weren't taught without it's use. It's fun, but way too addicting....

It's great when kids have computer access at school, and it is never too early to use the computer. I have considered this an asset when my child could play learning games at school. It can be a great adjunct to other styles of teaching. I used a computer at elementary school, back in the 80's before Internet, to practice typing/spelling. By the way, don't apologize for not having gaming systems at home because you have all girls. I also have girls, but with all kids, the gaming is where my concern lies. I work with kids from birth to age 19. When children spend too much time on game systems they lose out on important interpersonal skills & can become couch potatoes. I am more concerned about the effects of tv & game systems on the kids of today. R. Faridnia, MSW, LCSW

No.....that cannot be good for a childs eyes that young and to develop habits on the computer too much too young is not good. Using a computer some is fine but not alot, like anything else in life. Good ol fashioned play is good for kids. Good Luck

My SIL insisted we needed to get our daughter on the computer when she was a toddler because she would be "behind" when school started. My daugher is 7 now and ocassionally plays on the computer at home. She hasn't had ANY trouble with the computer at school (they use them in a math program) I've been impressed at how well she's picked it up. I'd be more worried about a child not getting what your kids probably are....using their imaginations and playing with toys, games and interracting with each other. It really seems these activities are problem solving skills in the making.

If kids get too much computer and or TV time I'm not sure they get the chance to do their own thinking and I suspect this differs from child to child. IF the teacher comes to you and says she's having trouble learning the aspects of how to operate a computer (Why does this seem so unlikely?) Then I would worry. Otherwise it sounds like you have a good balance going in your household.