My 2yr old daughter recently learned how to use the computer and loves sesame street.com. She knows how to play the games and she is actually learning and remembers how to play each game and which needs the mouse or the keyboard. She can follow the directions and i am very surprised at what she can do it's amazing. My question is how long should i let her play at a time. she will stay 2-3 hours at a time if i let let her and when i tell her it is time to take a break she says one more game. Can her eye sight be affected or her wrist from using the mouse?
I'm not sure about computer games but I know that playing video games for an extended period of time is know to cause seizures in children because of the flashes of light on the screen. This happened to my friends little brother. You may want to discuss the usage of playing games on the computer with your family doctor.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics website, "Limit children's total screen time. This includes time watching TV and videotapes, playing video and computer games, and surfing the Internet. One way to do this is to use a timer. When the timer goes off, your child's media time is up, no exceptions. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than one to two hours of quality TV and videos a day for older children and no screen time for children under the age of 2."
Here is the link for the site:
http://www.aap.org/pubed/ZZZGVL4PQ7C.htm?&sub_cat=17
I hope this helps.
i dont really know what to tell you about how long and such..i guess whatever you feel comfortable with...my son took to the computer like that and i was amazed(still am)about how he can even figure out what buttons to hit...my son wouldnt talk till he was over three years old but playing on that computer was one of the only things that got through to him in regards to learning anything...i would say as long as its educational and positive that it cant be bad..but i would also suggest a time limit(what you deem adequate)so she not only gets to understands moderation but so she can also get involved with other things..maybe you could let her play for an hour while you get things done and then you do a puzzle with her or she can play after lunch if she picks up all her toys...just a suggestion..it depends on what your child understands and is able to do..i know my son would be on the computer all day if i let him.. my son is four now and has taken to toontown...(a disney pay game)thanks to my husband(a big boy himself)and my son was addicted for a month..would throw huge fits when i made him get off..i had to tell him it was broken just to get him to stop playing..luckily he doesnt know how to get on there by himself yet...but somehow he has figured out how to get to my favorite places and get to sesamestreet.com all by himself..how do these kids do it??lol..take care..good luck...
please limit now...or she will become almost additited. i wish is was more strick then with my now six year old. he loves every video/or computer game there is. I finally was able to break his habit and i wished i would of limited him when he was two. i would say an hour a day but break it up into 15 min blocks.
I know that my eyesight has worsened by being in front of the computer 8 hours a day (at least). I'm a transcriptionist and have to stare at the screen for hours at a time. I'm not familiar with SesameStreet.com. I have teens. Maybe you can limit the number of games she plays. If what she is doing is a task to completion, say one letter game, then a number game, etc., then I would find a definite start and finish, and make that her limit. If you make it a time limit, for example, she may still be in the middle of a game when the time is up, in which case, she has a bit of leverage on you. She'll want to finish the game, and really, that would make sense. If you give her a finite number, one or two games at a time, then help her with some sort of method to help her count down how many games she's played, maybe using a chart, or by dropping a ball in a fun container when she completes a game, it will help you have very clear start/finish guidelines that a 2 yo can understand. Even though this is a game, over time, she will actually learn very basic organization skills: setting goals, completing tasks, keeping track of what's been completed.
So, use it as a teaching tool, limit it to protect her eyes and to help her from developing a gaming addiction. :)
my four year and three year old loves pbs.org and noggin.com but I limit there computer time just like I limit their TV time. I also use it as a lost privilage if they misbehave at school or at home. Its a privleage to use the computer in our house.
