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This is rather apropos for me as I'm wondering how to introduce my son to computers once he turns 3. I do think that older computers had an advantage in that th

by sersi 5y ago

This is rather apropos for me as I'm wondering how to introduce my son to computers once he turns 3. I do think that older computers had an advantage in that they forced a certain level of comprehension. I also do not want to get my son used to phones or tablets because I feel that they tend to be more consumption devices than promoting creation. And I also feel that it's good to have a clear separation between computer time and non-computer time. I often see people using a tablet or phone as digital pacifier and it doesn't seem like a good long term parenting technique to me. So I'm hesitating between giving him something running linux like the author or setting up a mister with Atari ST and just having him use it as if it were an old computer. Linux is more modern and more complex whereas Atari ST has a rich software library, the interface and system that is relatively easy to understand.

camhenlin 5y ago
This is actually not a bad idea. I started my son (now 4) last year on a Macintosh Plus playing around mostly in kidpix and MacWrite. Now he asks if he can “work” on the old computer in my office while I work.
tweetle_beetle 5y ago
I'm really confused by these comments about pre-school aged children and I would suggest that the author if the article is in the extreme minority if he is able to spend any time at all at a command prompt with a two year old. I'll assume good faith and an extremely unusually gifted child, but if you've spent time with two year olds the anecdote stretches credibility. Don't get me wrong, I remember the magic feeling of cd and ls ing around a drive to find and run programs on DOS after being taught by my dad, but I certainly wasn't 3 and there was a tangible benefit - I was becoming self-sufficient. (Even then, the closest it offered to entertainment was a selection of carefully curated educational "games".) Putting snobbery about modern technology like touchscreens to one side - what's the point of a text based interface if you can't even read comfortably? I suspect that the HN demographic will tend towards children with higher educational achievement than average, but this is where most kids are: > From ages 3-4, most preschoolers become able to: > > - Understand that print carries a message > - Make attempts to read and write > - Identify some letters and make some letter-sound matches > - Use known letters (or their best attempt to write the letters) to represent written language especially for meaningful words like their names or phrases such as "I love you" Helping Your Child Become A Reader. U.S. Department of Education (2000)
- sersi 5y ago
  Yes, that's why I'm leaning more toward the Atari ST than linux. It has a gui, is not too complex to understand, has educational games, tools, nice small painting applications. Anecdotally, I started at 3 years old with a Thomson MO5 which I guess is pretty much the equivalent of a Sinclair or a BBC. It didn't have a mouse but had a pen. I could boot into my games directly and I know I only really got into doing logo and then basic around 5 years old (which I guess corresponds to the age when I started to be able to read).

by sersi 5y ago

camhenlin 5y ago

This is actually not a bad idea. I started my son (now 4) last year on a Macintosh Plus playing around mostly in kidpix and MacWrite. Now he asks if he can “work” on the old computer in my office while I work.

tweetle_beetle 5y ago

I'm really confused by these comments about pre-school aged children and I would suggest that the author if the article is in the extreme minority if he is able to spend any time at all at a command prompt with a two year old. I'll assume good faith and an extremely unusually gifted child, but if you've spent time with two year olds the anecdote stretches credibility. Don't get me wrong, I remember the magic feeling of cd and ls ing around a drive to find and run programs on DOS after being taught by my dad, but I certainly wasn't 3 and there was a tangible benefit - I was becoming self-sufficient. (Even then, the closest it offered to entertainment was a selection of carefully curated educational "games".) Putting snobbery about modern technology like touchscreens to one side - what's the point of a text based interface if you can't even read comfortably? I suspect that the HN demographic will tend towards children with higher educational achievement than average, but this is where most kids are: > From ages 3-4, most preschoolers become able to: > > - Understand that print carries a message > - Make attempts to read and write > - Identify some letters and make some letter-sound matches > - Use known letters (or their best attempt to write the letters) to represent written language especially for meaningful words like their names or phrases such as "I love you" Helping Your Child Become A Reader. U.S. Department of Education (2000)

sersi 5y ago
Yes, that's why I'm leaning more toward the Atari ST than linux. It has a gui, is not too complex to understand, has educational games, tools, nice small painting applications. Anecdotally, I started at 3 years old with a Thomson MO5 which I guess is pretty much the equivalent of a Sinclair or a BBC. It didn't have a mouse but had a pen. I could boot into my games directly and I know I only really got into doing logo and then basic around 5 years old (which I guess corresponds to the age when I started to be able to read).