Kids Learning Technology Skills

At 2 years old my daughter was able to fully navigate web pages and games using my laptops touchpad… on her own computer she was even better with a mouse. Now at 4 she knows how to handle her computer games and DVD’s with care, put them away, and generally is a computer wiz. She even opens up Notepad sometimes so she can type words and math problems. I’m not mentioning this to brag (well, ok maybe a LITTLE bit to brag), but I’m telling you that you can teach your children valuable computer skills and it can start at a very young age. My next few posts are going to talk about specific ways you can teach your children how to use a computer from the time they are 6 months and up. Also what they should be able to do at each stage, so lets jump right in!

6 Months – 1 year

 The first thing you want to do is to allow them to sit on your lap while you are doing your computer work. This will allow them to observe what you are supposed to do with a keyboard and mouse. Second thing to do is to purchase the CHEAPEST keyboard and mouse you can find. You can let them play around and you won’t worry about them destroying your hardware. Third, get age appropriate software and help them use it.

We recently purchased Giggles Software for Babies. I have to say … WE LOVED IT! Here is some video of Michael playing with the Giggles…

At this stage it’s really only about them getting used to the cause and effect of using the keyboard to make things happen on the screen. Also it is helpful for them to learn mouse skills as they see how their motion with the mouse can move something on the screen in the same pattern. What else I really like about the Giggles software is that it also helps them learn Shapes, Colors, Letters, Numbers, Music, etc! So when they type A an “A” and an apple can show up on the screen. There are many different playing and learning modes, and even my 4 year old had a blast “showing Michael” how to use the computer.

Want the really good news?? Giggles has decided to let me give away ALL 5 of their programs to one lucky winner! In order to enter just post a comment on this post with which program you think your child would like the most! For extra entries you can become my fan on facebook or follow me on twitter and tweet the following phrase…

My baby is going to be a computer genius thanks to Giggles and @tech4mommies enter the giveaway! http://bit.ly/9nFihL

Don’t forget to come back here and comment that you tweeted or became a fan. 🙂

Good luck! Giveaway will end Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 8 PM.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using the links.

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