RainbowSprinkles Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I'm curious whether or not you bought you dc his/her own laptop to be used primarily for school work? We haven't done much in regards to typing, but dd has basic keyboarding skills. She just started 4th grade, and I would like her to do more of her written assignments on the computer once she starts 5th. If your dc has their own laptop, what kind would you recommend for ages 10 and up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 No we haven't. We have an iMac and a Macbook Pro and the kids have an old eMac they use for games. Most of their work is done one the iMac or MacBook pro but they are all considered family computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 My kids don't have their own computers. We only have 2 in the house (a desktop and a laptop). They don't get their own computer until they go away to university. Individually they just aren't on the computer that much. I would say that one or the other computer is pretty much being used all day, but they rotate through quite easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 No, DS does not have a laptop, but he has access to the family desk top. DD saved and bought herself a laptop (Toshiba netbook) when she was starting high school. She would have the opportunity to use a family computer as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyniffrec Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Our goal was to get a netbook a year for each child (with our IRS refund) as they got older but that has been put on hold since they don't like them. Maybe it is just the brands we have gotten, but they say they are too slow. We use computers a lot in our school and it would be beneficial for each child to have one but it is not to be for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 My middle grade children each have their own netbook. We will purchase each child a laptop as he/she enters high school. All of my children take online classes and most will add CC classes beginning in 9th/10th grade. It is simply easier for them to keep everything organized and work efficiently with their own computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 No. They bought their own when they could afford it (after they started lifeguarding.) In 4th grade, I didn't even allow them to use mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 My youngest, our resident computer expert, had an old laptop a relative gave him. He no longer has it, but he did get some good practice writing a formal business letter to the company whose game he illegally downloaded. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 ds has a laptop and desktop. The laptop was a hand me down from dad a few years ago. the desktop was a gift from a family member at Christmas. Computers are kind of his thing. He's been using his laptop for school more in the last year. As much as we love technology we just don't integrate it into every subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 ds has a laptop and desktop. The laptop was a hand me down from dad a few years ago. the desktop was a gift from a family member at Christmas. Computers are kind of his thing. He's been using his laptop for school more in the last year. As much as we love technology we just don't integrate it into every subject. Seeing this makes me rethink my decision. Sort of. Our boys move along the same line when it comes to computers being their thing, but I am still steamed at the breach of trust. Can I ask what guidelines you have in place for usage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I'm curious whether or not you bought you dc his/her own laptop to be used primarily for school work? We haven't done much in regards to typing, but dd has basic keyboarding skills. She just started 4th grade, and I would like her to do more of her written assignments on the computer once she starts 5th. If your dc has their own laptop, what kind would you recommend for ages 10 and up? We are working very hard to keep computers as a tool, rather than an obsessive possesion. No computers in bedrooms, for example. But we do have a computer that the older kids use for science, Latin and German because there is either a video or online component to these subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dina in Oklahoma Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 No, just one family computer. :001_smile: Perhaps for high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloversandlions Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 (edited) DS (12yo/7th grade) has an old hand-me-down desktop in his room (less than ideal location, but we have a small house). We will probably be buying (or rather, helping him buy - he has a plan for earning enough to pay for one entirely) a laptop within the next 6 months - the desktop is just inconvenient, and I doubt we will keep it. DD10 has a new (last year) Dell i3 laptop she received last year from birthday money she received from my sister and MIL ($250/each). The laptop was $538; we paid the $38 plus shipping and tax - that was her only birthday gift that year, other than a few inexpensive games from her friends. DD7 has a 4yo hand-me-down business (ie., not a gaming computer) laptop she uses occasionally. If/When she wants a nicer one, she will need to save or earn enough to buy one (or be the lucky recipient of birthday contributions). We have a MacBook Pro which I use almost exclusively, and we have a Netbook which we all use occasionally, depending on what we need. The portability is nice. My daughters also have iPads - again, from birthday money and their own saved money (allowances and money earned - as long as she takes care of them, dd10 earns the money when we sell eggs from our [organically fed] chickens). Edited August 24, 2011 by WorkInProgress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 We have a desktop and two laptops and one kindle. This year we will add another kindle and another laptop. We have a family network and share a printer. We have tracking software and blocking software, we have kids who are aware we mean what we say when it comes to discipline, and we don't allow computers in the bedrooms. I would love to have one laptop per kid, but we can't afford it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Seeing this makes me rethink my decision. Sort of. Our boys move along the same line when it comes to computers being their thing, but I am still steamed at the breach of trust. Can I ask what guidelines you have in place for usage? Well one of my son's first toys was a toy computer. :tongue_smilie: We have not had any breeches of trust yet. We've discussed it and have full rights to search his computers as we deem necessary. Dh goes through the history on a regular basis. As it is now he has both computers in his room. He also tends to get hyper focused on one thing. Last time I checked his history he had been to like 5 sites, usually to do with Minecraft or his latest technological desire. He would probably lose his computers for a period of time if he broke the trust. It would devastate him. I don't know, we haven't had to deal with it. We had a very frank discussion a few weeks ago. I think I would be more concerned if he had a different personality. He likes to get online, do his thing, go where it's comfortable. If he were more like me and followed links and played online, I feel the need to be more vigilant. We have to remind him to check his e-mail, as I've started to send more school stuff that way. He never checks it on his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Yes, but only because a) we have a spare one and b) I work from home, so giving her access to mine for word processing, email, etc would interfere with my job. That said, now that we have it, we use it for a lot. We turned off the spellcheck and grammar check, of course, and she does the majority of her writing assignments on there. She then emails them to me, and I check them, and give her feedback by email. This ALONE has done SO much to take the drama out of writing assignments!!! I also use it to communicate with her while she is at her dad's house, since she is there for one day a week of homeschooling. I send her assignments by email, she sends completed assignments back, and we can email if she has any trouble. Also, our science book has online quizzes, our Latin program has online vocabulary games, AoPS has Alcumus, her Chinese tutor emails her, we have the Kindle for PC app installed for literature, and we just last night heard about Thinkport! So, it lets us add a lot of fun supplements. Let me add though that she is and always has been a very rules-abiding child, and we have made it very clear that this is a homeschooling tool, not for socializing or games other than those approved as educational by her parents. And she knows that if she violates that, her network administrator dad will know! ;) And then she would be back to doing everything on paper, which she does NOT want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineinKS Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 My kids have both desktops and laptops, but only because computers are my husband's passion. The laptops have been recent additions and were all purchased at Goodwill (for $60. apiece), but they're newer models & have been upgraded even further by my husband. One of my boys also has a netbook that he saved for and bought himself, but after only 7 months it started having power issues, so there will be no more netbooks here! All of the computers in our house (except the netbook) are Dell - we've been been using Dell for years & have been happy with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehog Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 No. None of them are likely to get a computer of any sort until they can afford it themselves, and then it will have to be in a shared room, not in their bedrooms. Too much history and hurt in this house to do anything different. They occasionally play a game each on Saturday (very tame stuff), and I've been known to let them use headventureland.com for Latin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 My husband bought each kid an inexpensive laptop the year they started doing more online classes. I think they were 7 and 10 then? My daughter got a new laptop in her first year of college. And my son just had his old laptop replaced with a desktop computer, because they got more bang for the buck that way. I have no idea what kind to recommend for a kid. My husband is always in charge of those decisions and does lots of research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 My kids don't have their own computers. That said, they do have "a" computer in the house that they primarily use. We have three computers available during the day for four of us. They each have their own flash drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 No-they just have access to the family computers. Any school related projects take precedence over adult fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Dd13 and dd12 each have HP laptops that they use for recreation and school work. Dd8 and ds5 share a desktop that dh built. It's for recreation and some school related things (educational websites, funnix, reading eggs, typing...). I have a netbook that it seems someone is always borrowing during school time to look something up...it sits on the table during school so it's easy to get to. We also have a main office desktop that all the other computers are networked to for shared files and printers. We've never had a problem with breach of trust. We take precautions for safety but the dc know that one breach of trust will result in termination of computer use for no less than 6 months. We educated the older dc on the dangers of internet use and we're open and honest about the garbage that they could, even accidentally, come across. We educate the younger dc according to what they can handle for their ages and monitor their use more rigorously than we do the olders. I like that my dc are computer literate, are completely comfortable navigating the internet and are pretty savvy about finding the information they need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 At this time both girls use my MacBook for typing. They will start to write papers on it this year. They do not know how to access the internet, but I'm sure my youngest could figure it out quickly--gotta keep an eye on that one! If there is going to be a new computer here, I'm getting it, and they can have this 5 year old one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 My son has his own netbook, and a desktop that is used mostly by him and occasionally by me. He had a full size laptop, but it died. He has access to a family laptop, and he occasionally uses my Mac. He will be getting an iPad2 for his birthday next month. We are a very tech oriented family and dh owns a tech company. Ds will begin programming this week, in the language that dh uses in his company. We have to start grooming him to take over the company someday.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 no laptops here. But ds13's dad jsut bought him a desktop computer for his birthday. The thing is WAY better than mine. Currently it is not hooked up to the internet. Given the layout of my house right now his computer is in my bedroom set up on my tea cart. That is because in the little dressing room off my bedroom I have already got 2 computers set up. With the rooms attached I can be working on my computer and still supervise him on his. Once we get a router and get all 3 computers networked and online I will be putting some net nanny stuff on his and other wise the rules are the same. Just because it is his doesn't mean he gets to spend all day on it. The bedroom door is left open at all times (and teh monitor faces the door way so he is not able to shut it down and hide stuff fast), I am set up as an administrator on his computer with a password he doesn't know to manage all settings, check history logs etc. He is eager to do school work on it this year. I had not planned on doing typing etc this year but he is asking. We are also going to incorporate some powerpoint presentations into his studies this year as well. DD12 will contnue to either use my computer or the kids one set up next to it depending on what she needs to do. Eventually I hope to switch over to laptops, well at least one for me, but for now the desktops are fine, and with 3 now set up there is no shortage of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Oldest dd just got a laptop when she turned 13, and we plan on the same for younger dd at the same age. For the earlier middle school years, we really found it fine to use shared computers, BUT we have always had several computers. We would never survive with one computer for the four of us, lol. 11-yr-old actually has the netbook as 'hers' now, but prefers to borrow sis's laptop as much as possible ;) Netbooks for them was our first thought. We experimented with the one, and decided we would just as well pay a bit more and get a full-fledged laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewish Mama of 4 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 We have 5 computers in our household :D My husband has a desktop and a laptop, I have a laptop (I want an ipad :tongue_smilie:), my 7 year old has a laptop, and my 5 year old has a desktop. We have spyware on the computers and it barks if the kids try to go to an unacceptable website (and won't let them get on that website). We keep the computers in our schoolroom, but they are used for school and play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez J Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Yes, dd got one last year. It was a hand-me-down. But she does have her own laptop. Got a new one this year because the old one gave up on us. I am not a technophobe, so I don't worry about FB or other sites like that. DD doesn't have her own account cuz she's not old enough. But, I put her on my account and set up her own friend list so that she can post to her friends' feeds without "spamming" my friends. LOL! I am working on installing some filters. She hasn't really used the google search without me yet. But, I can foresee that being an issue soon. I also am thinking about trying time boss to "schedule" the computer time. She doesn't stay up late yet, but I foresee that becoming an issue when she's older. Better if the computer is just locked during bedtime hours. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swirl Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Not yet. He's been saving his money. We plan to get one on Black Friday this year. :auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 No, neither one of my kids have their own laptop, or even their own computer. There is a computer in the den that they use for any schoolwork that needs to be done. There is also a computer in the schoolroom, but that is only for watching DVDs. It doesn't have internet access and, at this time, doesn't have any word processing software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 No. It's too expensive and I like to be able to monitor her usage. We have a desktop and a laptop. She is allowed to use either one for her papers and gets priority for that purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 No. The kids can use mine when they need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Not yet, but we do plan to buy one for our soon to be 12 year old who has some LD and will need a one for educational programs. Our older kids all have a computer of their own though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 We got my son a laptop the year he started doing all high school level work (8th grade). He also has some learning disabilities and using the computer for all written work (except math) really helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 We have a desktop for dd to use. She shares it with dh, and I have a laptop for everything - school, job and the works. Dd will most likely get her own laptop when she is in high school. We have friends that have six kids that are all hs'ed. In that family every child has their own laptop once they begin school. I have been amazed whenever I've gone there and seen them sitting together with their laptops all propped up and ready. Just amazes the heck out of me! Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Yes, sort of. My daughter (officially an 8th grader) has a laptop that is mostly used by her. She has been doing online classes for over a year and typing most of her work for that long as well. When my husband upgraded my computer, she got the older one. My son (officially a 6th grader) has a netbook that he uses to keep track of assignments and type papers into. He uses a desk top computer for his online classes because the net book isn't up to the task. He is much happier typing than handwriting assignments, but does hand write some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 No, she uses my computer when necessary. (Hubby and I each have our own computers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 No...I don't even have my own laptop :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Both kids have an inexpensive laptop. I find it very handy. Ds who acts as if you asked for a limb when assigned a writing assignment complains less if he can type it. I also found it handy when doing virtual field trips. Everyone follows along on their own screen. No crowding, pushing, or shoving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 No, but we also do not take any online courses and probably won't take any before late high school. I seriously doubt we'd ever buy our children their own computer. If we needed another family computer, we'd purchase one. We view the computer as family tool and not a personal possession. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 We have an iMac in the school room that they both use. I cannot imagine DS10 needing a computer of his own until at least high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Both my 8 and 10 year olds have laptops that we are using for school purposes only. I have loaded their MM onto it and they copy the problems down in a notebook and do the work there. It seems to have helped immensely with keeping the math page organized. It also has kept them from skipping around theh pages on me when I am not looking. The bonus would be that so far I haven't had to print any of the math, although I know I may have to for a few sections. We also use it for their typing instructor software, and I preloaded the WWS on it for my dd10 to work on. If they want to look things up they do it on their own time, but in my presence. I do not allow them to be taken to their rooms. By the way, we bought Acer laptops at the last before school sale at Staples. I think they were about $300 each, but it has worked well for us. I concentrated on getting a laptop that had spaces between each letter on the keyboard rather than one that had everything crammed closely together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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