Do the kids have their own computers?

[rootsnwings]

If so, what do you recommend?

 

We've been a 1-computer household up until now but ds is on the computer a fair amount of the day now, and with dh & I both home during the day we're not really enjoying having to share 1 pc between the 3 of us!! And of course ds's time takes priority because it's schoolwork. :glare: LOL! SO. We're in the market for a new *something*. I personally really want a laptop/netbook. We can't be spending the big bucks on a mac so don't suggest that, please! My parents have an i-pad and I'm not really thrilled with it--it's *nice* but I want/need a keyboard... and we have 2 i-phones + an i-touch. I have been looking at the toshiba satellite after a friend's recommendation but wanted to see what the hive had to say.

 

Do your kids have their own computers? Do they use the "family" computer and mom & dad have their own? How does it work in your house and what would you suggest for our family?

 

TIA!! :D

[Peela]

Yes, we all have our own computers. Once we started homeschooling we realised thats what we needed- so the kids would have been about 8 and 9 when they got their own. Dh and i don't like sharing ours :)

In fact, we have more than one each, but really we started very cheap and basic and every now and then we upgrade someone's.

[LidiyaDawn]

dd14 has her own - well, she has my old one - in her room and I have one. Ds12 doesn't have his own at this point, but he'll probably inherit the one she has if/when she gets another. (She has plans to buy something new at some point.)

 

Before you write Macs off completely - check into the educational discount thing. I'm pretty sure that homeschoolers qualify for it, making your purchase s a bit cheaper. I'm on my first Mac now and wow - I'm impressed. I'd pretty much brushed off everyone who raved about them; now I see what they were on about! It's sooooooo incredibly user-friendly - very intuitive, everything just makes sense. :D

[Carrie12345]

I have a Toshiba Satellite for myself, and I like it just fine. I think it's around 3 years old or so, which is pretty good for a laptop in our house! :tongue_smilie:

 

We went even cheaper on the kids' laptop though. I don't even know what brand it is, only that it was around $300, lol. With 4 kids sharing it (including a 3yo), we decided to go into it expecting the thing to eventually be dropped, spilled on, knocked over, or stepped on.

It's now 2 years old, completely intact, plenty of memory left, and continues to do its job just fine. Even though it HAS been dropped, spilled on, knocked over, and stepped on.

I am SO glad we didn't go with something more expensive, because we never would have noticed any difference for our money. We need to think about getting the 12yo one of his own, and I think we'll go the cheap route again and save the big bucks for mid-high school.

[DarcyB]

Our kids have their own, but mostly because DH is a techno-geek, does it for a living, so has built everyone in the house their own computer (including the television which stores our media (our own cd's we've converted to MP3 and copies of our own purchased movies as backup). We joke that there are more computers in our house than living beings.

 

But you can get some really inexpesive laptops if you do the research and catch the sales. Some for around $300-400 dollars, even. A netbook is a good buy if you're doing it mostly to surf and do email.

[Angel]

Yes, we all have our own laptop. Dh's is from work. Both his and mine are Dell's. Nice computers. Originally my older dd inherited an old laptop from friends. It's a Toshiba and it's at least three years old, maybe four. Dh just upgraded the insides a bit and handed it down to our 10yo. So it's been through three owners :D All of which had it between the ages of 10 and 15. Now my older dd received a new Sony Vaio for her birthday/Christmas present this year. That thing is awesome. Dh bought her the newest model with web cam, blue ray player, etc. It's light and slim. Dd does a vast amount of Photoshop work and was looking at dabbling in video editing. She needed a computer that could handle all that work. Plus she is 16, so by the time she grows out of that computer, she can buy her own ;) I do quite a bit of Photoshop work as well. My Dell keeps up more than fine. The Sony Vaio and the Dell's come in some cool colors. Dd's Vaio is white. I don't have my younger dd's work (like TT) on her laptop only because it is so old and I'm concerned about how much longer it will last. It could still handle it, though.

 

Before we bought any of the laptops, we went to the store and played around with them. (Well, I did the playing around for dd 'cause it was a surprise). It is very important to us how the keyboard feels, how the touch mouse pad feels/works, etc. There are many laptops I wouldn't buy just because they weren't "comfortable."

 

My Dell (Inspiron 15) was around $500. Dd's Sony Vaio was around $800. For the 10yo I would probably do what Carrie said and buy a cheap $300 one for school till he gets a little older, and then that can be passed down to the next youngest, etc. I say splurge for yourself LOL!

[coffeegal]

A month or so ago we had 2 computers. Dh had his, and I shared mine with the children. We often pass stuff about among my siblings, parents, and myself. So my brother e-mailed and asked if he could pass along my sister's old computer that he and his wife no longer needed. Yippee!!! We now have 3 computers dh's, mine, and the children's. :D

[Anita in NC]

Everyone has their own computer here.

 

DS#1 has a HP laptop. DS#2 and DS#3 both have a Mac Mini. I have a MacBook. My husband has a high end Lenovo Laptop that he uses for work.

[Mejane]

Four people, four computers. Son has an HP laptop which everyone seems to use because he often leaves it in the family room. Desktops are a pain, imo. You're too tied down to one location. With a laptop, you can have ds in the room with you if he needs help or a little push to get it done. ;)

[QuirkyKapers]

We have two computers here. One for the kids. One for the adults. Of course, my husband works with computers. He also has laptop. He rarely brings it home from work to use though.

[RoughCollie]

We had 2 computers from the time the kids were in 5th grade until they started high school. One was mine and the other was for the kids to share. Now each of us has our own computer.

[In The Great White North]

Technically no, but in reality, yes.

 

Dd16 has her own (bought with her earnings from lifeguarding); dd14 has to use the old desktop that used to be mine. Technically it's the family computer because we put Rosetta Stone on it and everyone can use it. So, it's not hers for privacy issues but is for scheduling.

 

And of course ds's time takes priority because it's schoolwork. :glare:

 

If you're going to continue using a curriculum that requires a computer, you might as well make it easy on yourself.

 

 

I would have to say, though, at his age you will still want to monitor use and that is much easier if it is on your computer! Even easier if it is a desktop that doesn't live in his room.

Edited February 3, 2011 by In The Great White North

[nukeswife]

We all have our own laptops here, and even have a desk top up in my room for any of the kids that wants/needs some time away from their siblings.

 

My dh has a dell xps, I have a dell studio 17, and each of the 3 kids (yes even the 5 year old) has a dell studio 15. The only trouble we had was dd's studio 15's dvdrom drive doesn't work anymore, but dh just went and bought her a stand alone one that plugs in with a usb cable. The kids almost never move their computers, but have laptops just in case.

[angela in ohio]

I have one, dh has one (from work,) and we have one for dc to share, and we still have our old desktop from a few years ago. Ds (8 yo) tends to use the desktop in the office, though, as that's where I put his educational software. So my two dd share a laptop. It has Office, their LEGO programming software, Java and C++ software, etc. They each have a flash drive to store their work on, so that they can use my laptop or the desktop if their sibling is using the "kid laptop." It is a Compaq Presario CQ62, which was about $400 on sale. It won't run any intensive graphic games well, but they won't need that anyway.

[Stacy in NJ]

3 laptops and one desktop.:001_smile:

[TXMomof4]

Our kids are using our hand-me down HP laptop. We've had it several years (I think 4?), it's been to Iraq, and it's still going strong. I got the new laptop for my ever important email and WTM board. It's also an HP and I love it.

 

ETA: We also have a desk top that dh built that is 'his' computer, and one provided by the oldest dds virtual school. I expect we'll be getting one more next year when we aren't using the VA but still using some software for school.

Edited February 3, 2011 by TXMomof4

[Krista in LA]

We each have our own laptop (dh's is from work) along with a couple desktops sitting around. My kids both had to earn their laptops in 7th grade by earning "laptop bucks" that they would get for getting an A on a test, doing extra chores, etc. I basically came up with a list of things that I wanted them to improve on and set amounts for each thing with the goal of having enough to earn the laptop by Christmas. The one problem with each of us having our own is that it's easy to spend too much time on them, but I don't want to share!

[Parrothead]

Three people 5 working computers in this house. We all have our own, the dog have one and the cats have to share.:D

[KS_]

Our kids have their own, but mostly because DH is a techno-geek, does it for a living, so has built everyone in the house their own computer (including the television which stores our media (our own cd's we've converted to MP3 and copies of our own purchased movies as backup). We joke that there are more computers in our house than living beings.

 

 

 

This is kind of what we did, only the kids ended up with computers pieced together from discards that people gave dh. The dc were sharing one computer up until a couple months ago, and now they each have their own (and our TV has its own computer too that acts as a DVR).

 

I don't know that we would have purchased the kids computers at this point - but if we would have had to, it would probably be something basic and inexpensive.

[Woodhaven]

Dh and I own 3 computers, and my oldest ds bought his own Toshiba laptop (he wins money at chess tournaments), so that makes 4 at home during the day. Dh brings home his work laptop in the evenings.

 

We share the 3 computers, and occasionally, ds shares his.

 

They use the computers mostly for research and for playing/practicing chess. We are a chess playing family. :)

 

Toshiba's are well made and dependable. I don't like Dell, personally. We did a lot of research, and really, I don't think you can go wrong with a Toshiba. We've owned two, and ds just bought a Toshiba. Just my opinion, no offense meant to those who disagree.

[MaMa2005]

We have more computers than family members :tongue_smilie:! I have a laptop and a netbook, DS has a laptop, DH has a laptop, the craft room (connected to my sewing machine) has one and the house has its own computer :lol:! Yes, DH teaches business/computers at both the high school and university.

[EKS]

We have enough computers for everyone in the house but children get their own computers in our family when they are doing all high school level work.

[Baseball mom]

Each kiddo got a laptop for Christmas. Yes it is a cheaper one (less than $300) but works great for them. It has a CD/DVD drive and no webcam.

 

We also have a family PC. I would like to get a laptop for me too but for now I just borrow one of theirs.

[MamaT]

Dh and I each have our own laptop; ds 17 has a desktop in his room; there is a laptop that stays in the library; there is a desktop in our main living area. My 13yo dd will get a laptop when she starts 9th grade next year. So, I guess at that point there will be as many computers as people in the house, but our two youngest have to wait for 9th grade to call one "theirs."

[Satori]

We all have at least one computer. We're a real techy household though, so we've got anywhere from 6-8 computers on at once in most rooms. We rarely watch TV, so computers become our news, music system, information encyclopedias, etc... Plus our iPad is floating around and active if we're not right next to a computer.

 

We got my daughter her own at age 4. She uses it everyday. I told her when she's a little older, we'll build her own computer, complete with lots of LED fans in whatever color she wants. :)

[May]

My dh and I share a computer and dd received a laptop when entering 8th grade.

[PinkInTheBlue]

The difference for us is that the computers can't leave the general school/kitchen area of the house. No computers in the bedrooms or turned to face the wall. In spite of educating and being a family of free-talking communication we've had instances of inappropriate viewing from both our big boys. Computers are pretty guarded around here but definitely in high supply.

 

I was shocked to realize a few weeks ago that we have 2 iMacs, one MacBook, one MacBook Air, an ancient PC laptop that barely works, an iPad, 2 iPhones, and 3 iPod Touches. Other than the PC, everything is in daily use. That's mostly helped by school and the fact my husband works at home and large amounts of his work is completely on the computer.

[Mommee & Baba]

We currently have 3 computers and next year we've already considered picking up another.

 

The house computer is for the kids. (Dell desktop)

Dh has his own laptop (Dell Studio 15)

I have my own laptop (Toshiba)

 

The computer we get next year will be another desktop but it'll be dh's gaming computer. He refused to share his laptop since it was new....and wanted the desktop at night so I would share my laptop with the kids which at first he was thinking was a bad idea..but once he saw that the kids are RESPECTFUL and TAKE CARE of the laptop..he said he'd start sharing his at night when he's on the desktop at night.