When a servant was born, the elders said that a child comes with a loaf under his arm. Nowadays, if they have something under their arms, it is a tablet or a smartphone. For just over a decade, as soon as they are born, children are already touching digital devices, so they live and learn in a very different way than those of us who are now a few years old did. Technology can help them learn and in this article we are going to talk about kids laptops, some that are specially designed for them.
Guide Index
Best Laptops for Kids
Reasons to buy a laptop for a child
The reasons for buying a laptop for a child are few, but important. Later we will explain in more detail some of how they can do their homework, learn online, which includes moving around the network, and get started in computing, but there is a detail to take into account: they will do all of the above on their device, one that they will feel as their own and with which they will also learn to take care of things.
Also, no less important is that, when using your own, it will not depend on ours. If in times of a pandemic they have to do something from home, they can do it at any time and in any room in the house without using our laptop. They will not disturb or disturb, and this is also important to us, especially in tense moments such as those that force us to stay at home.
How should a children's laptop be
Durability
Adults, gamers aside and for other reasons, know how to treat laptops. We know that technological gadgets are designed to be used with a force, we don't have to "kick" them and we control ourselves more generally. Children are not the same, they are more careless and, probably like gamers, they can give the equipment a shake that can damage it, so a children's laptop must be made to be more resistant.
Although it is not usual, it is not a bad idea to look at whether the laptop holds dirt well, or more specifically humidity. It already happens to us adults (who ask a friend), but it is more likely for children to be drinking Colacao while they are with the computer and spreading everything. But in general, in a children's computer, resistance is more important than good design.
Price
The price of a children's laptop will depend on the use, and this is something that also applies to adults. Logically, if we are going to buy a laptop for a child and we have one of the laptops in this article in mind, we are not thinking of a normal or adult computer, so the price must be less.
How much less is it going to cost? Hard to know. If we opt for one that serves to fulfill the most basic tasks, we can find some with a price that slightly exceeds € 200, but if we think they need more, we see that the little one has potential or we simply want something that can do everything, there are also some that may be above € 600, although we are probably already talking about a normal laptop, not for children .
Parental controls
This is an important point. Everything is on the internet, and that means we can find the good and the bad. We adults know what to do whatever we come across, but children are children. In addition, they themselves can be responsible for looking for things that may end up harming them, so it is necessary that the laptop, or the operating system that it includes, has parental controls.
With parental controls, parents can set certain limits, such as time of use, restricting applications or web pages, and that is very important when we talk about children moving around the internet.
Technical Specifications
The technical specifications of a children's laptop also have to be somewhat more limited than an adult laptop, simply because what they are going to do with them is supposed to be less demanding. Of course, we must bear in mind that they have to be what powerful enough to move the operating system that includes the laptop, something important that we will also see in the next point.
As for us adults, the internal components that include a laptop have to serve us so that we can do what we need without suffering. If we think that the child is going to do the minimum, which is to move around the internet, use office applications and Paint, for example, they will need a laptop with a processor i3 or equivalent and 4GB of RAM, that at least. The computer will not be the fastest in the world, but that is enough.
Logically the more we can spend, the better the computer will be and more will be able to do our little one, but here I would like to give my opinion about it: when we already go, for example, to Intel i5 or equivalent, 8GB of RAM and SSD disk, which can raise the price to € 600 or more, ¿ what we have in front of us is a computer for children? It is not impossible, but the only way it would be if they sold it as such (marketing) and the design was more resistant, but I think we would already be facing a laptop for adults that a child would use.
Operating System
When we talk about operating systems, most start by thinking about Windows, but it is not the only one that exists. There are hundreds based on Linux, there are also those based on BSD and Apple's macOS, but here we are going to focus on two because they are the most common, starting with Microsoft's windows.
- Windows: The most used desktop operating system in the world is Windows, and it is most likely that the laptop that we buy for our little one will arrive with that operating system installed by default. It is available in different editions, but all of them allow us to run desktop apps with which our little one can do everything.
- Chrome OS- Google's desktop operating system is designed to provide a different experience, and is widely used in some schools. Almost everything works in your web browser, Chrome, and many other things are web applications or webapps. In its latest versions, it is also receiving features that make it compatible with Linux apps, and this could be interesting for the little ones, to use a different operating system and get these things to work.
Personally, I would recommend one with Windows, partly because it is easier to install Linux if we want it and partly because it has more applications available.
Advantages of buying a laptop for your child
Do homework
When I went to school, everything was written by hand and in notebooks. This has not been the case for a long time, and I remember a recent curious moment where they made me write a document by hand to sign it and ... have a bad time, eh? I lack habit. Children, in class, continue to write things by hand, but they can also perform certain tasks using technology, such as homework.
If the homework that our little ones have to do have to be written by hand, logically they will have to write them by hand, but it is likely that the necessary information can be obtained from the internet, something that we will also explain in the next point. On the other hand, if they are not forced to do their homework by hand, they can make them with the computer and print them, which will always be better presented than a handwritten page with blots or studs.
Learn online
Before it was said that "everything is in the books", but, since all books are on the internet, now we ask everything from "San Google". The best way to learn is reading and practicing what I read, and we can do that with any computer. When our little one needs to learn something new, that will be on the internet, for sure.
On the other hand, what they will also learn with a laptop is to move around the internet, which does not seem to me less important and more considering that it can also be dangerous. When we move around the Internet, we learn its "language", that is, what interests us, what can we omit, what is advertising, how to use the reader to focus only on what is important ... When children start to navigate, they will learn all this as we adults have already learned.
But be careful: as we have explained in a previous point, you have to be careful, and it is worthwhile to control a little where they move, if possible by making use of the parental controls of the notebook's operating system.
Get started with computing
I remember that I started computing in high school, with MS-DOS and Windows 3.11. There they taught us four things, but when I really began to learn it was with a brother's PC that already came with Windows 95. There I learned to install programs (games, I'm not going to lie). fiddle with programs music, among other things.
The moment we buy a computer for a child, with the desktop operating system, it will be when he begins to know computing really. There you see a desktop browser, full office applications, image editors, and that's just the beginning. If you are interested, or we invite you to be interested, you can also learn to program, as well as test different operating systems and many other software. All of this is not possible with a tablet.
At what age is it good to buy a children's laptop?
Well, I am usually a person who values many possibilities and, as such, I do not usually give clear answers, but options so that the interested party can decide. Thus, the first thing I will say is the theoretical age that is most discussed, but then I will explain something else. The age at which children should start using computers according to the most widely held opinion is at 13 years. They are still children at that age, but they have already left 12 behind and at 13 is when they begin to grow more and the courses are a little more demanding, so that is the recommended age according to most.
Now, I think this is also up to the parents. I know of a close case in which the father is introducing his daughter to computer science while she is 6 years old. His intention is that he learns to move, that the operating systems are recognizable to him and begins to play with the code. This guy wants me to touch Windows and Linux too, but this is his decision. It is a bad idea? No, if it is accompanied on the path of learning and, of course, it does not demand too much. The intention of my acquaintance, and that does not seem bad to me, is that the girl learns from a young age while having fun.
But let's not forget what I have explained at this point, which are two points of view: most say that the best would be at 13 years old, but a father who knows what he does can try it sooner.
Tablet or laptop for a child?
To answer this question, we should define a bit what each device is or what it is used for. A tablet is designed primarily to consume content. Their size makes them perfect for watching YouTube videos (they love this), playing some games, and using some apps to learn. On the other hand, unless we buy it separately, they lack a keyboard, so you cannot work with them, or not comfortably. Then we have laptops, which do include a keyboard and the operating system is usually more powerful, so children can do more than on a tablet, unless they are looking for touch apps.
Therefore, I would say that:
- Tablet to consume content, play games and use some apps to learn, as well as to take it anywhere with comfort, including trips.
- Portable if what you are looking for is already studying, doing work or even playing somewhat more powerful titles, but already on PC. I also think it is important to mention that the best way to get started in computing is through a computer, and this includes programming or testing different operating systems.
Telecommunications Engineer closely linked to the world of computing. I complement my daily work with a suitable laptop for my tasks and I help you to achieve the same adapted to your needs.
