Forget Toy Story 3 – the greatest piece of sophisticated entertainment for children is here at the poisson rouge website.
Some parents may be against young children using computer games at all. But if you are going to dip into the world of children’s websites, I would thoroughly recommend this one. (Click on the link above or the picture below, which takes you to the menu page. Each of the images on this page opens up a game of its own.)
It’s beautifully designed. There is a huge selection of games, puzzles, tasks and learning opportunities. It’s all intuitive – a child of two can work out what to do without any instructions from an adult. And instead of trapping children into the passivity of the TV it seems to open them up to endless sources of wonder and fun – like a toddler chasing pigeons in the park.
I sat and watch a two-year old playing on the site, and I kept fighting with him to have a go. The problem of me posting about this is that any adults following the link at work will waste hours of their employer’s time on it.
I’d love to know what any parents think. Is it good, healthy, educationally sound fun? Or is it the road to digital perdition? (Yes, my two-year old friend can use a touchpad with great facility before he has even mastered the pen or pencil.)
Bridges and Tangents 
Hi Steve
I stand firmly between many other parents I know, some of whom fight the TV/IT influence fiercely and withdraw their children from it as much as posible, and parents who fully embrace it with TV/DVD’s/Wii/DS consoles, the more the better!
I feel that I want Enzo to both be able to fit in with our technologically obsessed world, get ahead by being able to use and manipulate it, and be in awe and wonder of the power and beauty of it (as I am!). I love CBeebies (on TV and online), I think it’s inspiring and invigorating (and encouraged my late speaker to talk through copying common phrases he heard on his favourite programmes!), but I don’t let it be the only thing in his life he is stimulated by, nor do I allow him to watch age-inappropriate stuff. And it would be hypocritical of me to relax in front of the TV and not let him do the same after a busy day at pre school!
He loves to play online, again on age-appropriate sites (and watching model train videos on YouTube!). I’m impressed that he can navigate his way around my laptop at just 4 yrs old, and consider it a skill just like reading and writing (control and manipulation of IT is on the National Curriculum, after all!)
I’m fighting the influence of the Wii; we borrowed one for a week or two and I couldn’t wait to get rid of it! He became obsessed with playing it, and it gobbled up our time together like a vulture. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy playing it, and I think it does teach valuable skills (problem-solving/control etc), but I can really do without the temper tantrums when it gets turned off, the constant asking to play it and the lack of interest in anything else! Just because he loves it, doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for him right now, and it’s my job as his parent to have the broader picture of what he should and shouldn’t be exposed to.
Thanks for this link, I can’t wait to show Enzo later!
brilliant! So much fun. I will report back when I have collected my child from the minders. It looks perfect for her age group. In the mean time I will enjoy it for a little longer whilst I am supposed to be working. ahhhh child and sweetshop comes to mind. Now what shall I click on next. :O)
So good its now saved on my favourites. So bad the 2 years and the 6 years hijacked my computer. And soon will have better control of the mouse than I.
Get them trained up early thats what I say, Get a computer glitch, The children will solve it in half the time!
I have just had a brief play with two of the games. I can feel my second childhood coming on fast. Awesome!
Game is for fun & enjoyment, thanks to give me back my second childhood.
Yes, it’s a lovely web site. But is this the right kind of play for young children?
I haven’t read up on the recent theories, but I know that some of the original thinking in developmental psychology emphasized how early learning is a physical and sensory engagement with the immediate physical world. The young child naturally learns and grows through the interaction of his/her own body as it meets the real world. That so many young children are spending more and more of their time engaged with a virtual world, and therefore less with the actual one, is another among many of the large-scale cultural/developmental experiments that we are living through.
I wonder if the right kind of play for young children should be about sand pits and building blocks and bats and balls and all the other physical aids to the discovery of their physical selves? I wonder if too much virtual play could lead to a kind of disconnected, virtualized development of self?
I have no idea. But, taking a precautionary approach, our 8-year old is yet to encounter any computer gaming gear in his own home. There’ll be plenty of time for that. We’re not Luddites. But what’s good for a 12-year old is not necessarily good for a 6-year old. I’m pleased to say that our lad has lots more tree-climbing, den-building, dirty-kneed engagement with the real world to do first.
Thanks Jim – I think there is lots of wisdom here. I’ve got friends who don’t have a TV for the same reason.