While I’m still working towards my doctorate I seem to have found a hobby in computers. I use computers constantly for all sorts of wonderful things. I use them for research, chats with the grandparents, entertainment, planning classes, games, news, and just plain fun. Computers can do so many things. I listen to my music while writing academic papers. I show our son a video about a monkey while reading a post about whether or not highlighter fluid is toxic. All of these activities are done through this marvelous machine. Computers are amazing tools that help us with many aspects of our modern lives. It’s no wonder that our son constantly wants to interact with them.
Many television stations are now offering some (or all) of their shows through their webpages. My wife and I occasionally relax by viewing some of these programs through the amazing machine known as the computer. Our son has figured out that the spacebar will do something when a video is playing: stop and start the video. Not only does it stop and start the video it also stop and starts the sound. His first remote control was the spacebar… and he loves this control.
I’m not a computer programmer by any means but I’ve dabbled here and there. Our son could really use some type of children’s program for the computer that would be sufficient for babies. Not sure what that might be. There are many (many) games available on all sorts of platforms for the benefit of young children (GNU/Linux, what I use, has many available) but nothing seems suitable for our son’s level of expertise and ability. Any suggestions? I’d love to know how people have introduced their children to computers. It is a task I look forward to. Hopefully he’ll learn a lot.