Ask HN: Which (if any) computing device for a 6 year old?
* On iOS vs Android: I imagine this is a price/quality tradeoff when it comes to educational apps? (any recommendations for specific apps appreciated). That said the cbeebies games on my android phone seem reasonable.
* Against both iOS/Android: compared to a laptop, I get the sense these ecosystems, by dumbing things down, funnel users into being more product than customer. I'm well aware windows does shady stuff as well, but I feel that learning to use abstractions such as a filesystem will likely put children more in charge of their own data.
* Against windows: I imagine there aren't so many good touchscreen focused educational apps as either iOS or Android, though I may be wrong?
* Against Linux (because I'm sure someone's going to bring it up). Presumably not so many educational apps/games?
* Against any device at all: I think we all know the reasons and honestly I'm willing to be persuaded not to get any device at all. Our daughter already gets to watch videos / play educational games on our phones enough as it is. Is there something I'm missing which makes a tablet preferable to continuing the status quo here?
Other HN parents you must have made a decision yourselves, I'd be interested to know your take on the above (plus any other concerns I've missed).
13 comments
[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 45.6 ms ] threadWe bought an iPad for family use. We use it for videochats with relatives, for watching PBS (Xbox doesn't have an app for PBS yet), for watching How It's Made videos on YouTube, and some games and activities we do together (or at least parallel play, namely for the drawing apps). Our daughter doesn't seem to care much about the tablet, thankfully. It doesn't pull her like videogames pulled me for so many decades. We don't know why this is the case.
Linux (you guessed it): there are some decent educational options. Check the Software Manager - Education section in Linux Mint, for example. I know this from looking to see if anything would be a good fit for my classrooms (I used to teach) and for our daughter. Settled on no in both cases, mainly because flash cards and table games are so much better for socializing and occupational therapy / motor skills.
I would put off significant computer training for as long as possible. Those who benefit from us using computers have an incentive to make these "magical" devices easy to use, and one way to not fall into the trap of being a product or being used is to not need these devices in the first place. They're an extraordinary luxury that I also mentally prepare to do without (easy for me to say, as I'm of the Star Wars generation, grew up with a rotary phone and countless hours exploring the woods, helping in the garden, trading labor for meat, and sleeping outside, and I had a hand-me-down Commodore 64- a squandered opportunity as I just used it for games and didn't learn to program anything). I far prefer reading to my child, playing made-up word games, and walking & talking outside, observing all the life and death around us.
I would say skip it and spend more time doing simple, rich things together that cost little to no money.
Another concern: how quickly do you want your child to increase the number of exploited people they benefit from? These devices come at significant cost to other lives on earth.[0] I wouldn't have agreed to buying this tablet if I hadn't been convinced by my spouse and our daughter's medical team that it might help augment her vision development. If your child has no relevant disabilities, I say skip it.
[0] Blindboy Undestroys the World, episode 2: how many slaves do you own? ( https://youtu.be/za3QJFWLv_M )
At 6, brain development is still very active so if I had a child I’d have their brain get trained by physical and social interactions.
You have objections.
I would go with the plan.
It is the simplest thing that might work.
And your child can have both a laptop and a tablet.
They call that a win win.
Good luck.
Do you have a plan yet for when they grow out of that choice?
The internet will wait.
Your child’s ambitions will increase.
The groundwork you lay now is what future complexity will rest upon.
Your child’s TikTok access will only be limited to the access of their friends.
My parenting advice is know how committed to the work of locking things down you really are (not how committed you think you should be).
And recognize that people with strong opinions are likely to be more committed to that than you and/or be part of a culture with different norms for parent-child relationships.
The answer that you want is what you want. Your child is not you.
What does your child want?
Benefits of PC
No need for tablet, touchscreens, etc. PC/Laptop is an amazing thing for a child if you set it up properly.
i think internet is not necessary.
other than that learning skills is more important than consuming all the garbage out there
Kids should never be exposed to the Internet.