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View Full Version : How young is too young for a laptop



RBP
07-26-2011, 09:59 PM
I have a disagreement going and I want some input.

I say that a laptop for a 12th birthday is way too young. Computers should be in a family room and FFS no webcams. A 12 year old doesn't need to be on the internet at midnight in her room. That's nothing but trouble brewing.

Mind you, I uninstalled the webcam drivers and will be adding parental control software, but still.

Am I out of touch? Paranoid? Old fashioned? Overly conservative?

Or correct?

:-s

DemonGeminiX
07-26-2011, 10:01 PM
No, you're right. Or at least I think you are.

Teh One Who Knocks
07-26-2011, 10:03 PM
No, you're right. Or at least I think you are.

Agree 100%

I would say the same goes for smartphones too. At the track this weekend I saw a girl that couldn't have been more than 12 years old and she had an iPhone.

RBP
07-26-2011, 10:04 PM
Yes and like that IPhone it'll probably get broken too.

minz
07-26-2011, 10:05 PM
The hairdressers parents have just bought their 6 year old an ipad for her birthday!!

RBP
07-26-2011, 10:05 PM
The hairdressers parents have just bought their 6 year old an ipad for her birthday!!

:-s

Muddy
07-26-2011, 10:07 PM
6th grade in the county I live... The school system issues one to every rising 6th grader..

AntZ
07-26-2011, 10:11 PM
You are spot on RB!

You have kids?? :shock:


Funny thing though, I'm ready to give my 6yo. son my old HP laptop. I was going to load some educational games in it so he can start to familiarize himself with basic usage. There will be NO web access. And NO cam!

RBP
07-26-2011, 10:12 PM
6th grade in the county I live... The school system issues one to every rising 6th grader..

wow really? So that's 11-12. What kinda rich ass county issues laptops. Damn.

RBP
07-26-2011, 10:13 PM
You are spot on RB!

You have kids?? :shock:


Funny thing though, I'm ready to give my 6yo. son my old HP laptop. I was going to load some educational games in it so he can start to familiarize himself with basic usage. There will be NO web access. And NO cam!

No no. I'm not a breeder thankfully. :lol:

It's for my niece.

DemonGeminiX
07-26-2011, 10:24 PM
:lol:

"Breeder". You make having kids sound like a disease.

RBP
07-26-2011, 10:26 PM
:lol:

"Breeder". You make having kids sound like a disease.

Little sexually transmitted diseases getting laptops. :x

Muddy
07-26-2011, 10:30 PM
wow really? So that's 11-12. What kinda rich ass county issues laptops. Damn.

I dont care for the program.. She has NO textbooks... EVERYTHING is on the laptop.. Books, grades, reports, everything..

RBP
07-26-2011, 10:34 PM
wow, she reads everything on line too? Crazy. what happens if they break it?

Muddy
07-26-2011, 10:34 PM
$50 deposit/insurance...

Muddy
07-26-2011, 10:35 PM
I cant stand the friggin thing... It's like the major focus seems to be the quality of her power point presentations versus the quality of the subject being covered...

DemonGeminiX
07-26-2011, 10:36 PM
I'd rather have a book to read. I hate reading shit on the computer.

:|

Muddy
07-26-2011, 10:38 PM
Since the program started, she has had to get glasses.. coincidence?

RBP
07-26-2011, 10:39 PM
I cant stand the friggin thing... It's like the major focus seems to be the quality of her power point presentations versus the quality of the subject being covered...

You know now that you say that she had to do PPT's in 6th also. Man.


I'd rather have a book to read. I hate reading shit on the computer.

:|

Yep - I print out my journal articles for school now.

Teh One Who Knocks
07-26-2011, 10:40 PM
I'd rather have a book to read. I hate reading shit on the computer.

:|

Same here....if there's a lot of text to read, I'll print it out instead of reading it on the monitor. Fuck wasting paper, I'm more concerned about my eyes.

Teh One Who Knocks
07-26-2011, 10:41 PM
I cant stand the friggin thing... It's like the major focus seems to be the quality of her power point presentations versus the quality of the subject being covered...

Yeah, PPT is really useful in the real world :|

Hal-9000
07-26-2011, 10:54 PM
I thought that 12 was a little late these days...

Here's something to add to Muddy's example.My niece has been using pc's at school for 4 years now, she's in her last year of high school.

Two years ago they sent a memo to all the parents - Students must use this pc (a MAC model) and it was up to the parents to purchase the laptop.Not sure if the school ever reimbursed the parents...Cost was 1200 for the specific laptop.

I hit the roof when I heard my brother had to buy a pc because of the school's needs.He brought the memo over and it had a caveat for parents who couldn't afford the pc.Basically, the school would supply a 'lesser' loaner pc for poor kids.


:| Talk about stigmatizing kids whose parents can't afford a pc and segregating them.

Hal-9000
07-26-2011, 10:56 PM
for RBP's question :lol:.....

I don't think a laptop is bad for a 12 year old.The key as you already know is limiting the uses on it.

Dragoness_Cutie
07-26-2011, 11:16 PM
Personally, I didn't get my own computer until I started college. My brother, who is seven years younger, got his when he started high school. It was my old laptop that I had formatted for him, but it worked. Now of days, fourteen is actually sounding too old. Now I agree that there should definitely be limitations put in place... give the kid a limited account, so they aren't able to install stuff, add parental controls, etc... but knowing how to use a computer, and getting used to working with one on a daily basis is definitely not a bad thing to start doing young.

Southern Belle
07-26-2011, 11:56 PM
I don't know what to say. My grandkids have old laptops that were handed down.
I think they use computers in school more now and they need to be comfortable with one, but internet use needs to be monitored.

deebakes
07-27-2011, 12:24 AM
how young is too young for a faptop? :-k

Hal-9000
07-27-2011, 12:28 AM
Personally, I didn't get my own computer until I started college. My brother, who is seven years younger, got his when he started high school. It was my old laptop that I had formatted for him, but it worked. Now of days, fourteen is actually sounding too old. Now I agree that there should definitely be limitations put in place... give the kid a limited account, so they aren't able to install stuff, add parental controls, etc... but knowing how to use a computer, and getting used to working with one on a daily basis is definitely not a bad thing to start doing young.

I can see RBP's trepidation.Giving someone that age net access and then limiting where they can go is like giving a 6 yr old a match and saying don't light it.

Teh One Who Knocks
07-27-2011, 12:58 AM
:beavis:

Griffin
07-27-2011, 01:38 AM
I would have sworn the title said "dance".

Shady
07-27-2011, 05:54 AM
I think 12 years old is too young.

Little bastards have got to figure out how to look at porn just like the rest of us did.

Jezter
07-27-2011, 06:58 AM
I dont care for the program.. She has NO textbooks... EVERYTHING is on the laptop.. Books, grades, reports, everything..
Oh hell no...

I cant stand the friggin thing... It's like the major focus seems to be the quality of her power point presentations versus the quality of the subject being covered...
This is so fucked up. What is the point of school anymore? If they are not taught how to use pen and paper, give speeches and presentations the old fashioned way, it is going to do nothing but bad things. If they are not encouraged and taught to read books, write on paper, search information from books by reading and not just google and wiki everything and copy/paste to PP or Word... *sigh* it is going to cause some trouble for sure.

I have a disagreement going and I want some input.

I say that a laptop for a 12th birthday is way too young. Computers should be in a family room and FFS no webcams. A 12 year old doesn't need to be on the internet at midnight in her room. That's nothing but trouble brewing.

Mind you, I uninstalled the webcam drivers and will be adding parental control software, but still.

Am I out of touch? Paranoid? Old fashioned? Overly conservative?

Or correct?

:-s
Dude, seriously, you are on the right track here. Maybe a computer isn't too bad for 12yo, but it needs to be somewhere where parents can keep an eye on the usage plus set a time limit of use per day. A kid that age needs to be outdoors playing and not indoors on computer. Wear him/herself out by playing and being a child so he/she doesn't even need to stay up all night, but sleep properly.

Foxdana
07-27-2011, 09:03 AM
My kids got laptops for their 13 birthdays, I thought at least wait until they are teenagers.

redred
07-27-2011, 10:58 AM
I say that a laptop for a 12th birthday is way too young. Computers should be in a family room and FFS no webcams. A 12 year old doesn't need to be on the internet at midnight in her room. That's nothing but trouble brewing.


i agree with you ,my 4 year is able to use a laptop next to an adult but no way would she be up in her room even at 12 using one

Teh One Who Knocks
07-27-2011, 11:00 AM
This is so fucked up. What is the point of school anymore? If they are not taught how to use pen and paper, give speeches and presentations the old fashioned way, it is going to do nothing but bad things. If they are not encouraged and taught to read books, write on paper, search information from books by reading and not just google and wiki everything and copy/paste to PP or Word... *sigh* it is going to cause some trouble for sure.

:agreed:

Muddy
07-27-2011, 12:13 PM
:agreed:

I agree as well.. But a random poll in the county had a 80% laptop approval rate, so there it is.. *sigh*

Teh One Who Knocks
07-27-2011, 12:20 PM
I agree as well.. But a random poll in the county had a 80% laptop approval rate, so there it is.. *sigh*

Because for the most part, people are morons

Muddy
07-27-2011, 12:28 PM
Whats funny (not really) is that I never received said poll..

RBP
07-27-2011, 02:19 PM
So I uninstalled the webcam driver and windows 7 automatically reinstalled it on next start up. I guess I didn't delete the driver. :|

I appreciate everyone's opinions on this.

Noilly Pratt
07-27-2011, 02:48 PM
I can see RBP's trepidation.Giving someone that age net access and then limiting where they can go is like giving a 6 yr old a match and saying don't light it.

Exactly. What I did to satisfy my daughter's (now age 8, then age 6) curiosity is give her an ancient 286 laptop full of DOS kids games, no possible way to get on the net, but she could only use it for 1 hour of the day. Her greatest fun was decorating it with My Little Pony stickers, and she hardly turns it on now.

She has a thing called Webkinz - which is where you buy a stuffed animal and it gives you access to a website with places to "buy" a room for the thing and outfit it, but no real names are out there, and no way to really interact except for canned responses. She's allowed an hour every 3 days on there, and only if I or my wife is right beside her. If she's naughty, it's the first privilege that is taken away if she misbehaves.

She prefers to run and play outside with her friends, which is exactly how I want her to get most of her playing - she's active, learning how to interact with others. The parents around here chatted about this and we all agreed we wanted to encourage outside play rather than sitting behind a computer - it's good when you can have this dialog with other parents in your area.

RBP
07-27-2011, 04:19 PM
Sounds like you're handling that very well NP!

PorkChopSandwiches
07-27-2011, 04:25 PM
My son has my old laptop (11yo) But, he has been learning php so he needs to have a dev environment. I mostly make them use the kitchen pc for internet.

Hal-9000
07-27-2011, 04:33 PM
Because for the most part, people are morons

u spelt marines wrong...durrrh :rolleyes:

Hugh_Janus
07-27-2011, 05:01 PM
one of the girls I used to work with has a daughter and she had to have a laptop for school when she was 7.... and she wanted an iphone for christmas aged 8 :wha: when I was 8 I was busy playing rugby, football, riding my bike and making dens and shit.... the fuck is going on?

Teh One Who Knocks
07-27-2011, 05:15 PM
And people wonder why kids can't speak in real sentences using real English, or why they can't write legibly :|

Jezter
07-27-2011, 07:57 PM
And people wonder why kids can't speak in real sentences using real English, or why they can't write legibly :|

Or actually interact with other people and make small talk, socialize and work in groups... give respect to other people and listen and learn. Usch... school is supposed to teach more than book wisdom and now a big human part is missing if it all is about computers and working with them instead of working with other people.

Noilly Pratt
07-27-2011, 08:04 PM
And people wonder why kids can't speak in real sentences using real English, or why they can't write legibly :|

Funny you should mention that -- everybody praises my daughter for her word pronunciation, whereas a lot of her fellow students have a lisp or talk like they are babies still. My daughter tries the baby talk now and then and I just give the old furrowed brow look and she then speaks normally! :D

It irks me a bit when I hear that because my nephew had a really bad speech impediment that his parents refused to acknowledge. I spent a week alone with him camping when he was 10 and I was 18 and he came back being able to speak properly. I just ignored him when he lapsed into his baby talk/lisp, and he quickly got the idea, because I heard him before talk just fine if he slowed down and thought a bit.

Now, you'd never know anything was wrong.

Noilly Pratt
07-27-2011, 08:09 PM
Or actually interact with other people and make small talk, socialize and work in groups... give respect to other people and listen and learn. Usch... school is supposed to teach more than book wisdom and now a big human part is missing if it all is about computers and working with them instead of working with other people.

I thank goodness for the school my daughter is in. One of their field trips was to a monastery, so that they could learn about other cultures. They've also seen a dairy plant, a grocery store distribution place, a conservationist came in and told them why we recycle and these kids are just Grade 2! There's very little money in the budgets for field trips, but we have all the parents cash in favours to friends to work at certain places, and we get field trips!

The older grades have computers, but it's only used as a creative tool, not an educational crutch! And if she's behind, I can teach her all she needs to know. (like keeping away from dirty old men like Hal)

:D Just kidding!!

Jezter
07-27-2011, 08:23 PM
When I was in elementary, our field trips were often to places in our own little town. For bigger field trips, we collected money by having all sorts of happenings at our school where parents came and gave money. We made plays and such... and we spent a lot of time having classes outdoors in little groups collecting plants and such according to the booklets we had. Finding bugs and such with the same method. That was field trip enough for us! Lots and lots of different kind of people coming and giving speeches from disabled to police to metropolitans. Computers didn't come into play until in higher grades.

Hal-9000
07-27-2011, 09:25 PM
In my high school they offered one class in 'computer sciences'.

I thought it was a fad and bypassed....


:facepalm: