The kid’s grandparents got him an Amazon Fire tablet and I loathe the thing. It teaches literally nothing about computing and the games they have for kids are barely even games, and are more focusing on advertising various IPs.
I’d like to get the kid started, as he learns to read, on something that will be more useful than detrimental, let that soft little brain soak up some actual computer science, literacy. I teach him about basic electrical circuits and how that translates to computing, if, and, or, xor, nor, etc. He’s got some familiar with hex (colors) and the concept of binary (on/off).
But what to get for a first computer? I almost want to get him something Linux based and turn him loose. Is there anything like that, that would require him to learn some command prompt and basic computing skills?
Every time and try and Google it, I get a bunch of crap suggestions and ads.
You thinking back to when you were 5 is similar to what I was thinking. I’m not sure if giving kids tech that early on is a good thing. That said I’m not a counselor and not a parent so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
My biggest question is can your child read and comprehend what they are reading? I would think it’d be rather difficult to have them learn anything about tech if they are missing that skill.
Beyond that, looking back on my childhood (I was around that age in the early 00’s) I wish that there was less tech in my life then and that I was bored more often. That said I totally understand why some parents give their kids tablets or YouTube to get a break, parenting from the outside looking in is hella stressful and exhausting.