4 ms·

IPad: the perfect computing device for children?

12 points by suraj 16y ago

aw3c2 16y ago
Things like this make me so sad. Why not give that kid fingercolours? Or a xylophone? Make him experience the real world instead of simulation of something hidden behind a screen.
- jswinghammer 16y ago
  Most parents will give their kids a lot of toys. The iPad is just something new to help kids work on their fine motor and language skills.
  - pavlov 16y ago
    Alternatively, it's another shiny new toy to prevent kids from developing concentration and the ability to focus on anything that doesn't have self-illumination and a constant stream of animated effects.
    - petervandijck 16y ago
      Still better than TV though, at least there's interaction.
      - retube 16y ago
        interaction is a double-edged sword though. Interactive media can result in being distracted or side-tracked a lot (which of course it what advertisers want). This can lead to issues with focus/concentration. TV on the other hand allows you to simply relax, switch off.
- josefresco 16y ago
  You probably don't have kids, but I'll respond anyways. What if your kid already has real finger paints, musical instruments and all manor of "real world" toys and objects? I recognized that my two children could use a touchscreen almost a year ago when they were 1 and 3 years old. When the iPad came out it was a no-brainer. Unlike a mouse, touchpad or keyboard, the touchscreen on my iPad is very usable (apps are a diff story) for my now 2 and 4 year olds and makes discovering computers a joy for them. Yes they still go outside, get dirty and explore like any other kid. They just have this in addition to all that "real" stuff.
  - bodski 16y ago
    The thing is... these devices are quite hypnotic and addictive for fully grown adults, let alone infants. As a father of two young children, I kept them away from computers and screens as much as possible until they were 3 years old. Babies are wired to be learning about and interacting with their physical environment and the lifeforms around them. Exposing them to highly artificial and abstract phenomena before they have developed the abstract thought processes to assign relevance and meaning to them seems to be at best at waste of hard earned neural circuitry, at worst developmentally damaging. We need to be gently nurturing our children's imaginations not flattening it and rendering it obsolete via technology. There's plenty of time for kids to discover computers, but once they do other all the other things they love doing will have some serious competition for their attention.
    - erikstarck 16y ago
      "Exposing them to highly artificial and abstract phenomena" ...you mean stuff like stuff human speech, maths and other modern inventions?
      - gigajeff 16y ago
        Sorry but I'm with the other luddites here. I don't encourage iDevice usage with my small (2 and 4) kids. I prefer them using old-fashioned machinery (books, sticks, rocks, dirt, toy trains)
- arethuza 16y ago
  I think an iPad would be ideal or traveling with a child of any age - particularly long haul flights. However, I might want a sick proof case if I was letting a young child (say under 4) use it while traveling.
jswinghammer 16y ago
This is part of the reason I bought an iPad. My daughter has speech issues and playing some of the games has helped her a lot.
- upinsmoke 16y ago
  Which apps/games helped her?
Tichy 16y ago
I guess I should create an app that plays a Chopin piece when you touch the screen. Then parents can buy it and imagine their kids are genii. Just saying... But of course it is interesting how kids can interact with computers, no question.
- tome 16y ago
  Don't you mean "genios"? If you're going to do the Latin inflection for the plural, you might as well do it for the accusative case too.
  - Tichy 16y ago
    Geniuseseses??? I don't know :-( Plural of Genius.
finin 16y ago
If the iPad had LOGO on it, that 10 week old baby could be learning how to program and understand the real power of computing devices.
- hexley 16y ago
  Damn you, Poe!
akshayubhat 16y ago
iPad should come out with Disney specific version (in pink for girls and in red/blue for boys). Consider the opportunities, an inbuilt iTunes store with all superhero / Cinderella type cartoons [they will learn to pay for the content from the childhood itself no need for RIAA / MPAA lawsuits], there is so much opportunity in this field, I can totally see kids harrowing their parents for one. Wonder how Steve jobs hasn't already began producing one.

12 points by suraj 16y ago

aw3c2 16y ago

Things like this make me so sad. Why not give that kid fingercolours? Or a xylophone? Make him experience the real world instead of simulation of something hidden behind a screen.

jswinghammer 16y ago
Most parents will give their kids a lot of toys. The iPad is just something new to help kids work on their fine motor and language skills.
- pavlov 16y ago
  Alternatively, it's another shiny new toy to prevent kids from developing concentration and the ability to focus on anything that doesn't have self-illumination and a constant stream of animated effects.
  - petervandijck 16y ago
    Still better than TV though, at least there's interaction.
    - retube 16y ago
      interaction is a double-edged sword though. Interactive media can result in being distracted or side-tracked a lot (which of course it what advertisers want). This can lead to issues with focus/concentration. TV on the other hand allows you to simply relax, switch off.
josefresco 16y ago
You probably don't have kids, but I'll respond anyways. What if your kid already has real finger paints, musical instruments and all manor of "real world" toys and objects? I recognized that my two children could use a touchscreen almost a year ago when they were 1 and 3 years old. When the iPad came out it was a no-brainer. Unlike a mouse, touchpad or keyboard, the touchscreen on my iPad is very usable (apps are a diff story) for my now 2 and 4 year olds and makes discovering computers a joy for them. Yes they still go outside, get dirty and explore like any other kid. They just have this in addition to all that "real" stuff.
- bodski 16y ago
  The thing is... these devices are quite hypnotic and addictive for fully grown adults, let alone infants. As a father of two young children, I kept them away from computers and screens as much as possible until they were 3 years old. Babies are wired to be learning about and interacting with their physical environment and the lifeforms around them. Exposing them to highly artificial and abstract phenomena before they have developed the abstract thought processes to assign relevance and meaning to them seems to be at best at waste of hard earned neural circuitry, at worst developmentally damaging. We need to be gently nurturing our children's imaginations not flattening it and rendering it obsolete via technology. There's plenty of time for kids to discover computers, but once they do other all the other things they love doing will have some serious competition for their attention.
  - erikstarck 16y ago
    "Exposing them to highly artificial and abstract phenomena" ...you mean stuff like stuff human speech, maths and other modern inventions?
    - gigajeff 16y ago
      Sorry but I'm with the other luddites here. I don't encourage iDevice usage with my small (2 and 4) kids. I prefer them using old-fashioned machinery (books, sticks, rocks, dirt, toy trains)
arethuza 16y ago
I think an iPad would be ideal or traveling with a child of any age - particularly long haul flights. However, I might want a sick proof case if I was letting a young child (say under 4) use it while traveling.

jswinghammer 16y ago

This is part of the reason I bought an iPad. My daughter has speech issues and playing some of the games has helped her a lot.

upinsmoke 16y ago
Which apps/games helped her?

Tichy 16y ago

I guess I should create an app that plays a Chopin piece when you touch the screen. Then parents can buy it and imagine their kids are genii. Just saying... But of course it is interesting how kids can interact with computers, no question.

tome 16y ago
Don't you mean "genios"? If you're going to do the Latin inflection for the plural, you might as well do it for the accusative case too.
- Tichy 16y ago
  Geniuseseses??? I don't know :-( Plural of Genius.

finin 16y ago

If the iPad had LOGO on it, that 10 week old baby could be learning how to program and understand the real power of computing devices.

hexley 16y ago
Damn you, Poe!

akshayubhat 16y ago

iPad should come out with Disney specific version (in pink for girls and in red/blue for boys). Consider the opportunities, an inbuilt iTunes store with all superhero / Cinderella type cartoons [they will learn to pay for the content from the childhood itself no need for RIAA / MPAA lawsuits], there is so much opportunity in this field, I can totally see kids harrowing their parents for one. Wonder how Steve jobs hasn't already began producing one.