Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#1

Post by msencenb » Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 6:21 PM UTC

My kids are not quite screen time age, but at some point will be. I'd like to give them an interesting computer experience instead of just plopping them in front of an iPad with some media.

When I was a kid I had fond memories of exploring the file system, figuring out how applications worked, playing with Kid Pix, Paint, and a few games (roughly Apple IIGS, Macintosh 2, through iMac + a Windows XP desktop).

Do you have any fun old laptops or device you've got lying around that you've used to introduce kids into a desktop environment?

Any and all recommendations welcome :)

Re: Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#2

Post by brudgers » Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 6:34 PM UTC

Your child wants to spend time with you. Not with a computer.

And you both will be better off for it.

So put your child on your lap and let the computer be an excuse until you give yourself permission not to need an excuse. Because they are only little once, turn out amazing, get their own lives, and you miss them like hell. Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#3

Post by johncole » Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 7:11 PM UTC

For a long time we setup a raspberry pi with screen and monitor for our kids to use. It was perfect, the gpu wasn’t strong enough to watch YouTube but it was fun to play some basic games and get curious about coding.

We have banned YouTube on our house, without an adult watching. But I make a private playlist that has interesting videos I see, mostly educational, so when we have time to watch we watch something of quality.

Re: Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#4

Post by johncole » Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 7:12 PM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #2

Your child wants to spend time with you. Not with a computer. And you both will be better off for it. So put your child on your lap and let the computer be an excuse until you give yourself permission not to need an excuse. Because they are only little once, turn out amazing, get their own lives, and you miss them like hell. Good luck.

Love this response. Remember that having the time and space to give to your kids like this is a luxury not everyone has.

Re: Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#5

Post by johncole » Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 7:14 PM UTC

Ah one more hack or idea. My kids LOVE books. Our local library has the Libby App and we get tons of free books for car rides and nap time. Get it and get them a kindle fire. Then completely disable games and only enable books.

Re: Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#6

Post by codingdave » Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 8:05 PM UTC

At 3-5? We gave them an old dead phone to play with. They made their own laptops from a couple pieces of cardboard, and drew a keyboard and screen on it.

Re: Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#7

Post by brudgers » Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 9:27 PM UTC

johncole wrote: post #4

brudgers wrote: post #2

Your child wants to spend time with you. Not with a computer. And you both will be better off for it. So put your child on your lap and let the computer be an excuse until you give yourself permission not to need an excuse. Because they are only little once, turn out amazing, get their own lives, and you miss them like hell. Good luck.

Love this response. Remember that having the time and space to give to your kids like this is a luxury not everyone has.

It is not a luxury.

It is decision about who you are.

Re: Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#8

Post by msencenb » Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 10:05 PM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #2

Your child wants to spend time with you. Not with a computer. And you both will be better off for it. So put your child on your lap and let the computer be an excuse until you give yourself permission not to need an excuse. Because they are only little once, turn out amazing, get their own lives, and you miss them like hell. Good luck.

First of all - totally agree. I work half-time so I get to spend extended time every day with the kids.

My post did not say anything about how I was going to use the computer, in fact we often do exactly what you said with his fake keyboard in between his other activities.

I also believe that it's my job to provide my children with the environment in which they can thrive and be independent. This post is asking for constructive guidance on how other people have navigated the transition into engaging with technology that all kids go through.

If you have any ideas, I'd be happy to hear them.

Re: Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#9

Post by akkartik » Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 10:32 PM UTC

I've been making little things for them with LÖVE. If I show them a Paint program and they say, "I wish I could draw circles," then I nod non-committally and then the next day it does circles. In this way I hope they will grow to expect to have agency over computers and not just accept what some app offers.

More details:

https://akkartik.name/freewheeling

https://akkartik.name/freewheeling-apps

https://akkartik.itch.io/carousel

Re: Ask HN: How have you shared computers with your young child (~3 to 5)

#10

Post by brudgers » Tue, Jul 01, 2025, 1:02 AM UTC

msencenb wrote: post #8

brudgers wrote: post #2

Your child wants to spend time with you. Not with a computer. And you both will be better off for it. So put your child on your lap and let the computer be an excuse until you give yourself permission not to need an excuse. Because they are only little once, turn out amazing, get their own lives, and you miss them like hell. Good luck.

First of all - totally agree. I work half-time so I get to spend extended time every day with the kids. My post did not say anything about how I was going to use the computer, in fact we often do exactly what you said with his fake keyboard in between his other activities. I also believe that it's my job to provide my children with the environment in which they can thrive and be independent. This post is asking for c…

My parenting advice is that your attention is on optimizing a non-optimizeable challenge.

The advice is based on experience. Imagine asking this question in 2002. That’s before social media, before ubiquitous data, before smartphones, before streaming.

Your job is to grow as much as your child so you can support them when they start having adultish problems; can just stop following your agenda; and the only tool on your toolbelt is being the kind of person they want to be around.

Screen time is rounding error on the quality of parenting. Stop arguing on the internet. It is pretend work.