[geeks] Kids and computers...

[Julius Sridhar]

If I had messed up something on a computer when I was a kid, and I
couldn't fix it, I would be grounded until *the end of time*.

Peace...  Sridhar

On Tue, 19 Feb 2002, Peter L. Wargo wrote:

> I spent a good chunk of time last night on the pne with my sister in
> NY.  One of her sons had installed AOL Instant Messager on their iMac,
> and had roasted it but good.  He thought that there wasn't enough room
> (untrue!) so he trashed a goodly amount of stuff.  We finally gave up
> and reloaded from the restore cd, wiping everything out.
>
> I think I've convinced her that her idea to buy an iBook is a good one.
> Then, she has a 'puter that she can keep her stuff on, and the kids
> can't touch.  Plus, if they f**k up the one they are using, THEY have to
> learn to fix it.  If they can't, then they need to learn to read a
> manual. :-)
>
> This incident brights to light something I've said many a time to
> people: Why do you let your kids use your computer?  I had a co-worker
> who really wanted a Mac, but was worried that the kids couldn't continue
> to sign out games from the library and run them at home.  I told him
> that was GREAT!  Get 'em a playstation!
>
> It's funny how parents today seem to be afraid to tell their kids: "This
> is mine, you cannot play with it."  My folks had stuff that was
> hands-off to us kids, and we knew the results if we violated that rule.
> Now, as grandparents, my folks have told the grandkids: "No, you cannot
> play on our computer.  We use it for work (they do genealogy, as well as
> other stuff), so it is not a toy."
>
> I'd be interested to see how those of you with kids handle the situation
> at your home.
>
> -Pete
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