How to Teach a Toddler to Use a Computer
While many adults find that toddlers are too young for computers, many very young children start showing interest upon watching mommy and daddy typing away on a keyboard. However, with toy companies already making computers for kids and computer games that will help toddlers develop skills that will stick forever, many parents are becoming more comfortable with the idea of their toddler using a computer. Teaching your toddler can be difficult, but with patience and a watchful eye, it can be done.
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Instructions
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1
Let your toddler play with a toy computer before introducing him to a real computer. LeapFrog, VTech for Kids and other companies make realistic toy computers that small children can play with to learn the basic functions of a keyboard, mouse and monitor. When your toddler gets the basic functions down, proceed to Step 2.
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2
Introduce an old computer keyboard and mouse to your toddler. While computers made specifically for children are made durable enough to be dropped and drooled on, adult computers are not. Tell your toddler to be gentle and not to hit the keyboard or mouse. Have him sit next to you while you're on your home computer to watch how you handle the items and let him follow along.
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3
Sit your child in front of the computer with a program already started. A child in front of a blank screen or computer desktop probably won't know where to start and might get frustrated so have a game up and running. Choose a coloring book computer game or a coloring/painting program so she can move the mouse around and see color appear on the screen.
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4
Watch your toddler constantly while he is at the computer to ensure he doesn't hurt himself or the machine. Sit him in your lap while he works for maximum security. Help him move the mouse around to different icons so he begins to learn that clicking on them does different things.
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5
Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 every day or every few days for a couple of weeks so that your toddler retains the information and remembers that the computer exists. If he's not ready for a big-kid computer, let him stick with the children's computer until he's ready to move on.
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Tips & Warnings
Set a time limit for computer use early so that he'll be used to it when you restrict his computer time as he grows up.
Children often don't understand how fragile computers are, so watch your toddler carefully around yours.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit child with notebook image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com
