Does your teenager own a personal laptop?

[vicki]

flametree:

Hi parents,


My eldest boy age 16 has been eagerly anticipating his personal laptop when he enters JC or Poly next yr.

May I know do you set any basic rules regarding your child's laptop?
Eg, cannot use laptop in their room, if child not using laptop, another family member can borrow it or is it consider his personal things? Are there any other laptop rules that you have so as to make life easier for everyone?

That brings me to another question is laptop an essential item in JC or Poly?

Thanks in advance!

Flametree

Errr...

My boy is 6 and i was thinking of buying a laptop/ netbook for him!

[spikey]

my kids are 4 and 5 and they share a Ipad and a iphone…before the ipad, we used the iphone for educational games. Now we are waiting for the book software to mature on ipad - we want to e-educate them now to give them a headstart.


DD can now type or sms me (helps in spelling). It helps to occupy them when we are busy.

[Fairy]

mummyjoyce:

My DD has a netbook & an ITouch after her PSLE as a gift from grandparents. She hardly use the PC or netbook at home accept for online homework, and research. I need to force her to login to Facebook to wish her friends' birthdays.

I am glad she is not addicted to go online all the time chatting with her friends but I do encourage her to go online to check out the latest events and research.

Both my kids, sec1 &2 have their own laptops. My son, does almost all his homework, assignments and reading online, including sending, receiving emails and online discussions with his team mates for projects since sec1. My daughter is logged on as long as she's at home, except when she's sleeping. She will be on facebook, msn, her school's intranet and listening to music via her laptop concurrently. She claimed to need to stay online for school work as well as discussion. She also need to co-ordinate stuff for her cca via email. I am not very happy with their over-reliance on the net. But it has been a battle trying to convince them that it doesnt seem normal. They claimed that everyone at school does that as their curriculum is not textbook based and they need to communicate, share and discuss schoolwork with their peers.

mummyjoyce, I'm surprise your daughter seldom use the PC as she's in the same school as mine.

Do I regret getting them the laptop? No. Because Iike them, I feel having access to the net is a basic neccessity. But addiction is bad. I will continue to monitor their online activities.

[flametree]

[quote]My daughter is logged on as long as she's at home, except when she's sleeping. She will be on facebook, msn, her school's intranet and listening to music via her laptop concurrently. She claimed to need to stay online for school work as well as discussion. She also need to co-ordinate stuff for her cca via email.[/quote]
This sounds exactly like my 14 yr old daughter.
[quote]They claimed that everyone at school does that as their curriculum is not textbook based and they need to communicate, share and discuss schoolwork with their peers. [/quote] And this is her reply too. My DD is in a IP school too.

May i know do you set rules like no laptop in their bedroom, or do you set time limit etc?? Coz currently we only have one desktop and that's to be shared among the kids. So they got no choice but to take turns and in a way forced to \"breakaway\" from the computer. But time has come that we def need to get another desktop/laptop as eldest is JC and 3rd kid is sec1 next yr. Thanks for sharing.

[ycpang]

My DS got his laptop this year. He is in sec 1. He uses the laptop for project works, research, homework and etc. He brings his laptop to school occasionally when it is required. I also bought special software whenever he needed them to do his works. I believe in 工欲善其事，必先利其器. You need the right tool to do a good job. I can’t imagine how could he cope with his school works without a laptop.

[phankao]

flametree:

[quote]
[quote]They claimed that everyone at school does that as their curriculum is not textbook based and they need to communicate, share and discuss schoolwork with their peers.

And this is her reply too. My DD is in a IP school too.

May i know do you set rules like no laptop in their bedroom, or do you set time limit etc?? Coz currently we only have one desktop and that's to be shared among the kids. So they got no choice but to take turns and in a way forced to \"breakaway\" from the computer. But time has come that we def need to get another desktop/laptop as eldest is JC and 3rd kid is sec1 next yr. Thanks for sharing.[/quote][/quote]My 3 older kids share 2 laptops (1 is a spare - actually my laptop). They do not own a personal laptop, altho' they are dreaming of one. I should ask them to earn their own, huh?

My eldest who is in sec 4 doing o-levels doesn't do that much assignments online. My sec 1 who's in an IP shcool does ALOT of assignments and discussions online though. Teachers communicate via emails and SMS too, so in a way, it's quite necessary.

[hermes173]

My dd is 11 and she has had a netbook since she was in P4.


If she could, she would be on it the whole day too - watching Youtube, downloading music, playing games and logging onto Facebook.

I restrict the amount of time she could spend on the computer; to the extent of locking it up when I go out.

I feel that the situation is not ideal. I would like her to have the self-discipline and initiative to organise her time better. I’m using the caveman method because I’m at my wit’s end.

Any suggestion, parents?

[mrswongtuition]

My sis had her own desktop in her room since P5. It’s open concept - whole family is free to use it when she’s not on it. Her bedroom is not a ‘private area’. We go in and out of her room freely (it used to be my room).


When she was S3, my mum bought her a netbook. She’s still using now that she’s in poly.

We’ve been very open about all our online stuff. My sis knows which forum I surf and my mum chats with her friends on her MSN (she leaves it on while my mum is playing games).

As long as it is agreed that it’s ‘common property’ which is to be shared when needed, it’s alright.

Now, my sis has a desktop in her room, a netbook, a laptop and an iPod Touch (wanted to get her an iPhone but she did not want). She’s 17 this year. She has absolute self-control and we do not check on her (I think my husband does, but since nothing has been discovered, nothing has been said).

For Poly, it is really necessary to be able to have access to a computer with internet access. Projects, reports, research, etc etc - all need the computer. A desktop is actually good enough but a laptop/netbook would be more convenient. Also, you’ll need a reliable printer.


Btw, my sis is not that hooked on FB like my bro and me. She logs into MSN but once she has to do work and focus, she logs off or appears offline is she still needs to contact her team members for projects.

My parents believed "with priveledges come responsibility". If she not showing responsibility, priveledges will all be taken away.


Vicki,
My boy’s 3.5yo and he loves typing on my netbook (while I’m doing work -_'-). My hubs has decided to buy a netbook/laptop for him. We are waiting for the next PC fair.
My mum thinks I’m mad but she actually said that she wants to buy him an iPad (cos of the educational apps that he likes).

[Fairy]

flametree:

[quote]My daughter is logged on as long as she's at home, except when she's sleeping. She will be on facebook, msn, her school's intranet and listening to music via her laptop concurrently. She claimed to need to stay online for school work as well as discussion. She also need to co-ordinate stuff for her cca via email.

This sounds exactly like my 14 yr old daughter.
[quote]They claimed that everyone at school does that as their curriculum is not textbook based and they need to communicate, share and discuss schoolwork with their peers. [/quote] And this is her reply too. My DD is in a IP school too.

May i know do you set rules like no laptop in their bedroom, or do you set time limit etc?? Coz currently we only have one desktop and that's to be shared among the kids. So they got no choice but to take turns and in a way forced to \"breakaway\" from the computer. But time has come that we def need to get another desktop/laptop as eldest is JC and 3rd kid is sec1 next yr. Thanks for sharing.[/quote]We have two desktops and two laptops at home and our internet plan is broadband. So, it's not easy to restrict/control. I tried to set limits but find it tough to enforce as I'm usually home (from work) only at night and my kids go to bed later than me. I have no doubt they need to be online for their homework, assignments and basic communication with peers. I just wish they know how to manage their time better.

[dunnoleh]

flametree:

... May i know do you set rules like no laptop in their bedroom, or do you set time limit etc?? Coz currently we only have one desktop and that's to be shared among the kids. So they got no choice but to take turns and in a way forced to \"breakaway\" from the computer. But time has come that we def need to get another desktop/laptop as eldest is JC and 3rd kid is sec1 next yr. Thanks for sharing.

yes, i have one rule at home;

everyone stay in the living room when using computers, including me and my notebook.

in addition, my children's notebooks are installed with parental control software (K9), manually configured to block sites that i feel they should not be visiting yet.