PeeWee Computers Just For Kids

Design goal: System for a small child

Blueprint: Obsolete hardware. 8 year old operating system (targeted at 8 year olds) Twice as expensive as the machine is worth.

Verdict: I’d rather go outside and play with a stick.

At least they got the theme right for the target audience?

Hello Ryan,
Good observations.

Im a computer geek, but I think that kids should play outside more than they are on the computer. Just let them use yours but monitor the usage.

Hmm… I guess your observations are right. It’s not healthy.

By myself, I’m 14 years old and I’m a real computer geek - I spend at least 5 hours a day behind it. But I compensate that by doing multiple sports: I do Judo, I take the bike EVERY day to school (which is 5 kilometres, so 10 kilometres a day, 5 days a week) and I go to the Scouting (Dutch mix of Boy scouts and Girl scouts - we’re one group).

So I guess that I’m compensating fairly well, for a 14-year old. But I don’t think it’s good to teach (very) small kids to use electronic equipment to communicate daily with other kids - if parents would want to do that, they would talk Binary, not English!

Utterly useless. Why would you give a 2 year old its own laptop with internet access? To pollute its mind with youtube and get it hooked to twitter? If you want to let it use a computer, let it use a family computer!

Thanks for the comments.

Daan - I am glad to hear that you appear to be balancing your life between the computer and sports.

Nick & Patrick - right on. You both hit the nail on the head.

Here comes the matrix, hooking our brains up to computers etc, starting with the very young!

IMO getting them a game console- ds or psp, is better.

I wouldn’t pay pay 600 for that, I would put it into my Kid’s college fund rather then getting then getting them a plaything “computer”
If you have to use one like that, You’re either not very tech smart at all, Or too young to be on one in first place

Umm.. you guys are going a little overboard. I am actually thinking about getting my 6 year old the tablet one because he wants one just like mommy’s. Besides not being allowed to touch my 1300 dollar laptop, he wants to play games with me online. He dosnt want a play computer, he wants the real thing. These have Windows as well as being able to support linux and programs that he can use for several years so I think a peewee is a good option.

Originally I was just going to build him a desktop, but he wanted a laptop. I was going to just get him a cheap/old laptop, but was concerned that somthing might happen to it. I am very intrested in a computer that can withstand a short fall and is spill resistant.

Being computer literate is very important nowadays. In many daycares and preschools, kids start using the computer at 4 to play educational games. PeeWee’s games are aimed at this age group, not 2 and 3’s but Pre-K. Which I think is good because by the time you START kindergarten now, you are expected to be able to write, identify, and know the sounds of all the letters.

But to each their own, personally, I think DVD’s for 6 month olds is going off the deep end, but every parent wants to give their kids the best advantages they can. Surely ONE of you is a parent and can agree with that?

Sometimes these computers are very appropriate for children with special needs. My son is a non-verbal 5 year old with Down syndrome and the computer was suggested for his language and fine motor development. It is also a far less expensive tool than most high tech augmentative devices that range in price from $5000-10,000. The touch screen also enables him to express himself without the difficulty of using a mouse. The software out there, such as Boardmaker Plus is an excellent way for him to comunicate and create interactive experiences.

I am with Tandrea - if you look closely at how this PC is marketed, it’s designed and built for children - - -with software that is included for them including the ability to set up parental controls. And who says you need to allow the children to get onto the internet (a simple password usually is all that’s needed to prevent their access entirely). How many of you have spent this amount of money on a television or purchased a DVD player for the car . . . your children are being left to “veg” in front of those babysitters, while this is an electronic tool that WILL be part of their (and your) lives.

I am tired of my childrens’ PC games reformatting my screen and having to figure out which programs require the resolution to be turned down. . . As well, there are some really great add on key boards out there that are made to work with PC’s - - - Fisher Price - Art Studio and Comfy PC. The challenge is that the family is moving to a “mac” house and so the added set up of moving to PC mode to allow my children to play with these types of games takes time - - - with a PC dedicated to them, we can sit side by side and I can work on my photo’s while they “create a picture” for mommy.

What I would like to know is how this laptop is configured? Does it have SD ports? Anyone seen any information on that? And how long as this company been around - any reviews on their products and services?