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Ask HN: What kind of setup do you run for your children?

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Re: Ask HN: What kind of setup do you run for your children?

#11

Post by krschacht »

I don’t lock down my kids computer use. I know risks exist, but I think their unrestricted access to computers and the internet is far more beneficial than harmful.

I know I’m highly unusual amongst my friends. I’ve also found it odd that the more knowledgeable someone is about tech, the more scared they are of their kids using the internet.

But just like riding a bike and swimming in a pool are extremely dangerous, yet I encourage my kids to do both of these things and instead just educate them about risks. Similarly, I think the benefit-vs-risk of the internet is FAR better than a bike & pool, so I just educate them.

Re: Ask HN: What kind of setup do you run for your children?

#12

Post by briangray »

I have a good amount of experience with this and wrote up a very long recommendation. Many of the parents I've worked with have different reasons for introducing their kids to tech. Without knowing your 'why', I thought I'd just post the bullet points.

- Set up a mini PC/Raspberry Pi. Use a simple Linux distro or older version of Windows and install GCompri on it. No need for internet. Show them how to open notepad, paint, and just let them play.

- At a later age, build a PC with them. Linux Mint gives all the basic software needed. Let them continue to explore.

- Set up some tools for access control and monitoring. Then talk to them about the internet and slowly introduce them to it.

Overall, this has been a fantastic way to introduce technology, its benefits and downsides, without giving in to the firehose of the modern internet or strictly blocking it out entirely.

Re: Ask HN: What kind of setup do you run for your children?

#13

Post by grugdev42 »

I assume you are concerned with keeping your children safe? If so, whether the computer has an internet connection is much more important than the OS.

I would rather have my children use Windows offline, rather than Linux online. There is simply too much bad stuff out there regardless of the OS.

Another thing to consider is what their school uses. If you want to give them an advantage at school, use the same OS. They will already be more familiar with it!

Re: Ask HN: What kind of setup do you run for your children?

#14

Post by eevmanu »

Six years old might be too early to incentivize screen use, though I'd encourage you to research this yourself rather than taking internet comments at face value.

That said, I think there's a distinction between screens and computing itself. You could introduce her to computing power through voice interfaces: a smart speaker connected to an LLM could let her search, learn, and interact with information hands-free. You'd have control over the system prompts for safety, and could whitelist reliable sources for her queries.

Yes, visual information density is higher than audio, but the downsides of early screen exposure might outweigh that efficiency gain. Voice-first computing could be a middle ground, she gets to explore what computers can do without the attention/addiction patterns that screens introduce.

Just one perspective, obviously. Worth doing your own research on the developmental tradeoffs.

Re: Ask HN: What kind of setup do you run for your children?

#15

Post by tstrimple »

krschacht wrote: post #11

I don’t lock down my kids computer use. I know risks exist, but I think their unrestricted access to computers and the internet is far more beneficial than harmful. I know I’m highly unusual amongst my friends. I’ve also found it odd that the more knowledgeable someone is about tech, the more scared they are of their kids using the internet. But just like riding a bike and swimming in a pool are extremely dangerous,…

I've had a lot of luck with this approach as well. So much so that I struggle to relate at all with the paranoid posts I see constantly on HN. My children aren't tiktok zombies despite them being allowed to use tiktok as long as they want during the day. It turns out they have lots of other things they would rather be doing including reading and playing instruments and hanging out with their friends online and in person.

Re: Ask HN: What kind of setup do you run for your children?

#16

Post by marconey »

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #8

You’re really over complicating things - get them an iPad and a ruggedized case and turn on parental controls. Later get them a Mac with parental controls.

The screentime controls as part of an Apple family are great - downtime - time limits per app - approval needed to install apps - communications controls

Highly recommended

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