Question Doctor Achebe Companies now make computer games designed to help very young children learn The games are advertised for use by children aged 2 to 8 years and often involve basic math and reading skills presented in a fun game like style Some peop

Question : Doctor Achebe
Companies now make computer games designed to help very young children learn. The games are advertised for use by children aged 2 to 8 years and often involve basic math and reading skills, presented in a fun, game-like style. Some people say that this results in children spending too much time looking at computer screens. Do you think it’s a good idea for very young children to play educational computer games? Why or why not?

Andrew
I think it’s completely inappropriate for children as young as 2 years old to play what are essentially video games. Even if the games are educational, the same skills can be taught in traditional ways—by reading books to children, for example. And it would be beneficial to interact with their parents in this way.

Kelly
Considering how important computers are to human societies these days, I think it actually makes sense to allow very young children to explore them. And if the computer games that children play also give them early access to subject matter that will later be taught in school, all the better.