Teach your kids computer skills

Learn how small hands can master the mouse and navigate with a keyboard

By Mara Gulens

Worried about your child's ability to handle a mouse and keyboard? With children being introduced to computers at a younger age, and not just at school, it sometimes falls to parents to help nurture their computer skills. But where do you start?

"Kids are so adaptable," says Darryl Reiter, father and president of the Children's Technology Workshop. "With enough use, they'll get it."

Reiter's Toronto-based weeWhizards workshop, designed specifically for kids four to six years old, provides kids with activities that develop skills, but most importantly, lets them experience the computer in unique ways. "The whole idea is to get younger kids doing creative things," he says.

There are several ways you can help your children feel more comfortable with the different components of the computer. Reiter offers a few creative ways to make you feel more confident about that initial computer-learning phase.

Gaining control of the mouse

When Toronto mom Moira French put her first child on the computer, she had concerns about dexterity, and ended up using an oversize mouse with a single click button. "You turn the ball as opposed to moving the mouse. That makes it easier.and better for the kids mentally," she says.

When it came time for her second child to start using the computer, nobody had time to hook up the child's mouse. "It took her longer," says French. "But she just figured it out."

Although there are various kid-size mice on the market, as well as mini laptop mice perfect for small hands, Reiter says the right click button remains a nuisance. Try these tips to help with initial mouse navigation:

• For really young kids, find software that doesn't require using a mouse.
• Teach kids what the mouse is used for, how to use it and sit with them as they learn.
• Consider putting a coloured dot or sticker on the left click button of the mouse to differentiate from the right button.
• If you're prepared to sacrifice a mouse, open it up and physically disable the right click button.
• You can also slow down the clicking speed of a mouse on your computer, which will allow children to be more precise when using it. Go to Control Panel > Mouse and under Double click speed, use your mouse to slide the arrow to the Slow setting.

Reiter also points out you should be very particular about the kind of mouse you buy, since there might be choking hazards with those that use a ball to navigate. Instead try an optical mouse which eliminates the old-fashioned mouse ball and mouse pad.

Mastering the keyboard

Little kids don't have the hand span or dexterity required for touch typing, and Reiter believes they only start formally working at keyboarding skills when they hit grade four. "There is a time and a place," he says.

When teaching her kids how to use the keyboard, French says she just taught them "how to handle it, to be delicate and to treat it with respect." More specifically: only use the computer with clean hands, don't pound the keyboard and use one finger at a time.

But "learning the geography of the keyboard is important," says Reiter. Here are some ways to simplify the process:

• Beginners may find it useful to have a coloured dot or sticker (such as Winnie-the-Pooh) on certain letters and the Enter key. "The dots allow them to be a little self-directed," says Reiter.
• Teach kids how to troubleshoot. Show them how to shut down and restart, and label specific keys if necessary. "Control + Alt + Delete is part of my son's language now," says Reiter.
• Kids who are starting to spell can practice with a basic word processing program, and use all kinds of fun fonts. "My kids play in Word as much as they do in anything else," notes Reiter.
• Once kids have learned the whereabouts of various keys, they can practice their "hunt and peck" by slipping a pair of boxer shorts on the keyboard. Reiter says this is an activity to generate keyboard awareness. "It's for kids to practice their typing without seeing." Slip the waistband of a fun pair of boxer shorts (perhaps with a child's favourite cartoon character) over the keyboard and have them insert their hands in the leg holes. Then ask them to type something without looking at the keyboard. "For little kids everything has to be a game," Reiter adds.
• Another suggestion — turn off the monitor and spell your name. It's for kids to practice their typing without seeing. "It's a little game for them," Reiter says.