Computers at Home

While many of your child's interactions with educational technology are going to take place at school and will, for the most part, be determined by his or her school's policies, home computing is one area where you are entirely in charge.

This section of "How Can I Help My Child?" is designed to help you answer some of the questions that you may have about home computing and your child. Here are just a few of the questions that usually come up:

1. Should I buy a computer for my child?
   
2. My child wants a laptop computer. Is this really a good idea?
3. How can I make good decisions about purchasing educational software?
4. Should I install Internet filtering software, and just how well does filtering software actually work?
5. How can I keep my child safe on the Internet?
6. Should there be household rules governing computer use?
7. Should I place time limits on my child's computer use?

Just click on the above questions for tips and suggestions on how you might want to go about answering each of them. As you will see, there are some definite "dos" and "don'ts"—especially when it comes to Web safety—but there is still a lot of room for parents to set their own policies.

Should I Buy a Laptop Computer for My Child?

Laptop computers are carefully engineered to take up as little space as possible. These design costs are, of course, passed on to the consumer, which is why a laptop with the same performance specifications as a desktop machine will cost substantially more. There are many reasons not to buy your child a laptop:

• As noted above, their price-to-performance ratio cannot compete with desktops.
• They are fragile. Laptops contain sophisticated electronics that cannot withstand much abuse. Young children knock things around a lot, and it is much easier mishandle a laptop computer than a desktop system.
• Laptops are easily forgotten and stolen. If your child leaves his or her laptop computer unattended, chances are very good that someone will pick it up and keep it.
• A laptop can make your child into a target. This is really an extension of the previous point—children make easy victims for thieves. Letting your child walk around with expensive electronics can lead to dangerous situations in which your child risks real physical harm.

Still, there are a couple reasons why you might consider buying a laptop for your child:

• They are convenient. With a laptop in hand, your child can get school work done more efficiently. For instance, if your child needs to do research in a library, a laptop can be a big help. In the near future, many public libraries will offer wireless connectivity, so that patrons on a library's premises can browse the online catalog (and even surf the Internet) from their own laptop computers.
• If you are separated or divorced, your child might live with you some of the time and with his or her other parent some of the time; having a laptop could help your child to get school assignments done regardless of whose home he or she happens to be in.

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