One of my first product reviews as the editor of my new blog was for the Comfy Easy PC. In theory, this gadget allowed kids as young as 9 months to use the computer in a safe and stimulating way. The idea, at first, disgusted me. I didn’t want my baby using the computer. I had a hard enough time preventing my husband from playing war strategy games all day. I didn’t see the need. End of discussion.

Then I began freelancing. My hour a day on the computer became 5-6, and then 7. I was a full-time “on the computer” girl. My kids noticed, and in typical monkey-see-monkey-do fashion, wanted to use the computer too. Fearful of porn pop-ups and accidental deletion of my precious writing samples, I installed several kid-friendly browser add-ons and purchased a few higher-quality educational computer programs. My 9 year-old embraced our new lifestyle and used her 20 minutes of computer time as a reward for finishing her daily homeschool curriculum.

My 4 year-old followed suit. He could master the mouse (made easier by the addition of KidzMouse – in Dora the Explorer stylings.) He was allowed to cruise the PBS Kids.org website, which we eventually added into his 3 times a week Kindergarten curriculum. (We use SesameStreet.org daily – it really rocks!)

The 3 year old… well, he’s always been his own creation. Intrigued by what everyone else is doing, but not necessarily understanding any of it, he's content to just watch his brother and sister play. This is fine by me. The Baby (who is now almost 20 months old) had to get in on the action, too. So I gave in with once weekly use of the Comfy Easy PC. He can bang on the keyboard, producing music and lights, and I can fold laundry. It’s a win-win situation.

What are our boundaries as a tech-savvy family? They are simple. No emailing until you are old enough to manage spam and all the trapping of Nigerian scams (i.e., 13 or so.) Computer time comes after chores. Computer time is not a given. Mom can step in at any time and shut the whole thing down if it becomes a problem.

Since imitation is the highest form of flattery, I see my kids’ computer use as a statement of “I want to be like Mommy when I grow up.” That’s cool with me.