Kavya : It's the computer age

In today's age of computers, kids are learning to type before they learn to write. Kavya is no different. She can read/identify letters, but cannot write yet. But she loves to type on the computer. We would open up a notepad on our laptop and she will write her full name or just any garbage. In fact, she likes typing so much that every time she sees me or Gaurav with a computer, she would come running and demand to allow her to write her name.

About a month back, Kavya's use of a computer was limited to writing her name and typing some random letters. But then our good friend, Pooja, suggested a very good website for pre-school age kids (www.starfall.com). The website is very interactive and teaches the basics in a very fun and entertaining way. So, we introduced that to Kavya sometime in January 2009. Since the website is interactive, it requires good use of mouse and Kavya didn't really know how to operate a mouse. So, we did all the maneuvering for her and helped her navigate the site. She enjoyed it. We tried to teach her how to use the mouse couple of times when navigating that website, but she found it frustrating.

Meanwhile, interestingly enough, she got the hang of working with the mouse at her school. At her school, parents are required to check-in and check-out their kids using a computer everyday. So, when I dropped off/picked up Kavya, she insisted that she does the check-in/check-out process. In less than 3 days, she had good control of using the mouse.

Now that she could work with the mouse, she was comfortable navigating the starfall website herself without any help. Browsing the starfall site is now her favorite pass time. As soon as she comes home, she starts the computer and gets busy with the site. Often days, she does not want to get up for dinner or sleep time because she is busy with the site.

In a way, I am happy that she is learning good stuff using the computer and it seems to be much better than watching TV.. It also gives me some time to get some house work done while she is busy with the computer.. However, the downside is that she remains occupied with it even when we have some friends over - so it kind of interferes with her social life.. So, the key is to set rules and limits for everything.