Computers for children

At 12:00 AM 1/14/99 +0000, you wrote: I made an assumption (at least I think I wrote that) that a reasonable computer was available. To say, I've got this computer which could help the kid learn to learn better, develop logical skills, and even learn to read and understand math, but I'm not going to let the kid use it because it's a windoze machine and I want the kid to be a Unix guru" is a major disservice. Same as saying "I've got a TV and Sesame Street and National Geographic comes on sometimes, but I'm not gonna let the kid watch those because someday they might want to watch teenage morphin' ninja turle soup with Howard Stern." Another grave disservice. And another analogy: You could say "Sure, I've got a major library next door, but I'm not gonna let the kid go there because it might read the gatekeeper's monologue from Macbeth where he talks about hookers and drunkenness." I'm not saying that every parent has to go out and buy their kid a computer, or that the kid will turn stupid without it, but if you've got the resources, use 'em. Remember, that being a parent means subjugating your own desires for the benefit of the kid. You have to give up a lot for that kid, and that may include a no-Winblows rule, or worse. Hell, you might even have to miss a football game now and then. --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/