K'er writing on the computer

[Mergath]

I'm doing NaNoWriMo this month.  Dd asked me about it, and I explained I'd be writing a story on the computer.  She thought this was the greatest idea ever and immediately wanted to try it, so I set her up with Word on dh's laptop.  Well, that first day she spent six (!!!) hours writing stories.  She's pretty advanced as far as reading and writing go, so she is actually writing stories, not just button mashing or anything like that.

 

I guess my question is, how long would you feel comfortable letting a K'er spend using a word processing program each day to write stories?  On the one hand, I'm like, "Woot!  She's writing!  And spelling!  And being creative!  Win-win!"

 

But at the same time, my brain is shrieking, "Aaahhh, too much screen time!" :P

 

Obviously, six hours a day is a little much, but I'm having trouble figuring out what's an acceptable limit.  I don't want to crush her creative impulses (especially when I'm spending way too much time writing on the computer myself- I don't want to be a hypocrite) but I don't want her sitting in front of a screen all day, either, even if it isn't the same thing as tv.

 

So if this was your kid, what would the limit be?  I should also mention that she has a genetic disorder that causes low muscle tone, and while she can write a few sentences on paper, her hand and wrist tire pretty quickly, so doing that instead isn't really an option if she wants to crank out an entire story.

 

Thanks!

[sunnyday]

I think it was in Bravewriter that they suggested getting an old electric typewriter (one whose cartridges you can still acquire!) at a thrift store for kiddos who prefer typing over handwriting. I've been meaning to look for one...that said, there's some research I recall (maybe referenced by LoE?) about engaging the different learning modalities for reading and writing by using large and small muscle movements to actually form the letters. So I wouldn't let all writing go by the wayside, you know?

 

Another option for generating stories when limited by writing stamina would be for her to dictate to a recorder and have you transcribe for her.

 

But yeah, I'd count word processing as screen time and would be uncomfortable with more than 30 minutes at a stretch.

[Mergath]

I think it was in Bravewriter that they suggested getting an old electric typewriter (one whose cartridges you can still acquire!) at a thrift store for kiddos who prefer typing over handwriting. I've been meaning to look for one...that said, there's some research I recall (maybe referenced by LoE?) about engaging the different learning modalities for reading and writing by using large and small muscle movements to actually form the letters. So I wouldn't let all writing go by the wayside, you know?

 

Another option for generating stories when limited by writing stamina would be for her to dictate to a recorder and have you transcribe for her.

 

But yeah, I'd count word processing as screen time and would be uncomfortable with more than 30 minutes at a stretch.

 

We still do daily handwriting. ;)  The story writing is more of an extracurricular thing that she does after school work is done.

 

The typewriter is a good idea.  I wouldn't mind having one of those myself, actually.  I have photosensitive epilepsy, and too much time writing on the computer makes me have very small seizures, so it might be a handy thing to have around.  Thanks for the idea. ;)

 

We've tried dictation, but she's a much more visual learner, I think, and when she's saying the story instead of typing it herself, she completely loses her place and rambles incoherently, then gets frustrated and quits after a few minutes.

[Mergath]

WHY?! 

 

But it's so... vintage. :D  

[Rosie_0801]

NaNo only lasts for a month, so have at it, I say. Unless you've got a kid like mine whose brain will take a month to wean back off it.

[Mergath]

NaNo only lasts for a month, so have at it, I say. Unless you've got a kid like mine whose brain will take a month to wean back off it.

 

I'm kind of worried this is more than a passing phase for her.  I'm going to end up with a house full of introverted writers, sort of waving at each other in passing as we head back to our respective writing areas, lol.  She's going to end up losing all the nice social skills I've forced onto her over the years.

[sunnyday]

WHY?! 

 

Why NOT?? :lol: Typewriters are awesome, and so multisensory compared with word processing. What kid wouldn't love a machine that goes clack-clack-clack? There's no distraction offered by the internet, or even by fiddling with the page layout and font. There's no eyestrain from looking at a backlit screen. There's no temptation to edit as you go, "That's not right. backspace-backspace Wait, maybe it was right. undo Wait, where was I going with this?"

 

I searched The Writer's Jungle, that's not where I got the idea...anyway, I still like it. ;)

[mytwomonkeys]

i'd let her do it as much as she wants. i doubt she is going to write six hours a day everyday, it was just new to her. "worst case scenario", she does write that much everyday for a month, so what.  i imagine it would be like a typing, writing, grammar course on speed - still a huge advantage and learning curb for your kindergartener. we all delve into hobbies sometimes like that, but they usually balance themselves out.  it's really like giving her pen & paper, but typing makes it much easier than hand written notes.  it sounds wonderful to me! :)

[nature girl]

Kids learn so much from writing, whether it's by hand or keyboard, not just writing/spelling but also creativity, and a love of books that will serve them a long time. (And by the time they're older, nobody's going to be writing by hand anymore anyway, right? ;) ) I'd let her have at it! And I wouldn't count it as screen time, we limit screen time because the excitement of moving images/games leads to attention span issues. Not so much of an issue when all you're looking at is a blinking cursor. Obviously the writing bug is in her genes...

(Although I'm an author, and I'm going to tell my DD horror stories to make sure she ends up doing anything else but writing for a living, haha.)

[Megbo]

My 5yo is also "doing NaNoWriMo" on the computer with me this year. He writes in fairly short spurts and has recently lost interest in Minecraft, so I haven't been too worried about screen time. If your daughter is actually sitting in front of the computer for hours at a time, I would require her to take breaks, especially to play outside and eat meals as a family, but I don't think I would specifically limit her writing/screen time. 

[Mergath]

My 5yo is also "doing NaNoWriMo" on the computer with me this year. He writes in fairly short spurts and has recently lost interest in Minecraft, so I haven't been too worried about screen time. If your daughter is actually sitting in front of the computer for hours at a time, I would require her to take breaks, especially to play outside and eat meals as a family, but I don't think I would specifically limit her writing/screen time. 

 

She does if I let her.  Which I really haven't since the first couple days. ;)  But when I do make her take breaks, I get the wailing and the drama and begging.  Which makes me feel like I'm crushing her creative spirit or something.

 

I think I may be overthinking this. ;)