Laptops for kids

[Chewy509]

Hi Everyone,

Some quick background:
My son Isaac, who is nearing 2 yrs old, has been classified as being "extremely gifted" with an estimated IQ of 179+. As such whilst being under the physical age of 2, has the same mental capacity and capability as a 3yr old. (For fans of the TV show "Big Bang Theory", he is a Sheldon, but 2yrs old).

He goes to his "nerdy" playgroup/kindergarden for gifted children once a fortnight and they often play on PCs with learning games, etc. (The centre he attends also conducts counciling for parents who have gifted children, as well as other services). Isaac is a member of Baby Mensa, in Mensa Australia.

My wife and I are interested in getting one of the kids learning laptops to help with some structured learning activities. We will always be with him, guiding, helping, etc, so it's not a toy that we attend to give him to play with in isolation from us, so we can get a break. Quite the opposite, he will only use it under our direct supervision.

Has anyone purchased one, used one, etc? Any recommendations?
Some examples are: http://www.vtechkids.com.au/elect_learn.asp
Our main concern, is longevity that he will use it before he gets bored with it.

The other alternative is getting a netbook, and loading it with educational software. Whilst a netbook option would offer the greatest flexibilty, the overall cost (AU$500+) vs reliablity in the hands of a toddler doesn't make it an ideal solution.

Any thoughts?

@Clocker, how is your son coming along?

PS. Isaac loves his Duplo Lego, has a deep fascination with trucks and aircraft, in particular helicopters. Loves reading books. And loves playing in the sand-pit with his trucks, but hates getting sand on his hands!

 

[fb]

I don't have any experience with learning laptops. But many kids are beginning to use the Internet when they're about 4 years old. So maybe you should get him a real computer?

My son is almost 20 months old and we're looking for tractors, excavators, trains and stuff on Google - mostly while listening to PJ Harvey. And sometimes he teaches me some new keyboard shortcuts.

 

[mubs]

Gosh, Congrats, Chewy! I too don't know of any laptops for kids, but mine would sit on my lap while I was working on my desktop and became quite comfortable using the mouse (I did get a kiddie mouse for her to use). I bought a ton of kid's educational sw - the kind that look like games but actually teach kids problem solving, math, etc. - Reader Rabbit type. She became savvy pretty quick. You're on the right track here.

 

[Bozo]

How about the "One Laptop per Child" computer?

 

[Chewy509]

sometimes he teaches me some new keyboard shortcuts.

That certainly is the truth... He often teaches my wife a few things as well, like FullScreen mode in IE, and is very good at deleting things...

We also spend some time on YouTube watching clips on trucks and choppers.

 

[Chewy509]

Gosh, Congrats, Chewy! I too don't know of any laptops for kids, but mine would sit on my lap while I was working on my desktop and became quite comfortable using the mouse (I did get a kiddie mouse for her to use). I bought a ton of kid's educational sw - the kind that look like games but actually teach kids problem solving, math, etc. - Reader Rabbit type. She became savvy pretty quick. You're on the right track here.

Thanks, I'll have a look at one the keyboards and mice developed for small kids and buy some edu sw to install on a PC.

We had a good look at the various models at Toys'R'Us on the weekend, and quite frankly, on the surface they look ideal, but when you start using them, they tend to miss the mark a bit. Just about every model has a mono-chrome LCD, v/poor sound quality (I remember my old Commodore C64 had better sound), and very little expansion possibility. The games simply weren't fun either, (except for the poor space invaders rip-off game).

We're getting a new laptop soon (to replace my wifes desktop), so will go that route, and will get a separate keyboard/mouse for him to use.

PS. I've downloaded and installed GCompris on my Solaris box, and Isaac loved the game where you drop Tux out of the plane and has to land on the boat.

PPS. OLPC would be nice, but here is Oz, after currency conversion, import fees, etc. It'll be easier to get an entry-level netbook while spending about the same.