What is the right age?
Deciding when your child should go online for the first time really is best determined by you, the parent, and would be based on the values and activities of your family. There is no research to show that children will gain any educational benefits from going online at very young ages, but if the whole family is very ‘connected’ it is natural for your young child to be curious.  They don’t want to miss a thing!

With a child under 6, the earliest experiences on a computer at home are best with you at their side.  Talking with them about the online world and doing activities with them can give them a great start. Resources like Hector’s World can build their sense of being a member of the online community, and the benefits and responsibilities that involves.  This is the beginning of digital citizenship education.

Balance
The most important thing in a young child’s life is their interaction with you. Play, love and positive touch are all crucial to their healthy development.  In maintaining a healthy balance of activities for your child, you can look at computer use as a component of total ‘screentime’, along with watching television, and using game consoles and hand held games and even using a mobile phone (e.g. texting).  Screentime can increase as they mature but is often not recommended by child development professionals before the age of 2.

If the computer is a part of your playtime with your child, you can:

• Introduce them to the Hector’s World Safety Button– (click on the swimming icon for an instant game of peekaboo).
• Talk with them about what you are seeing and doing with ICT.
• Print out the Hector’s World colour-in books and read them to your child (there is an early reader version for each story) or try an activity.
• Explore Hector’s World together.
• Watch an episode together; there are  parent discussion points  to help guide your discussion.
• Consider setting up an account for them on the computer and help them learn how to use it.
• A gentle reminder when their allotted computer time is up for the day can help build good time management skills as they grow older.