Tips on preventing small children from killing the iMac?

[BurtonCCC]

Another choice with iMacs is to wall mount them to get them out of reach of little arms and fingers. Keyboards and mice, which have to be within reach, are easier to replace.

Yes. Raise it up out of reach of little arms and fingers. And create little abnormalities in little necks.

Daniel.

 

[thegreatluke]

Are you talking about the Core 2 Duo iMac in your sig?

If I'm not mistaken, the only iMacs that were VESA mountable were the McDonalds diet iMacs...

 

[balamw]

Are you talking about the Core 2 Duo iMac in your sig?

If I'm not mistaken, the only iMacs that were VESA mountable were the McDonalds diet iMacs...

The new 24" is VESA compatible, but only the 24" so far.

B

 

[amin]

Here they are, loving their new Mac! The little one cheers whenever his older brother gets an on-screen puzzle piece correct .

 

[Keebler]

i have 2 boys - 5 and 2.5 years old, other than an electrical fence , this is what i do:

very strict rules - they punch the keyboard or mouse, they are off for the day. no questions asked (i've actually just powered off immediately without turning anything off). If they throw a fit, they lose their next turn, no questions asked either...no second chances. It's the only way I think boys can respect stuff. they have to learn from the get to not to mess with it. it's not a plastic fire truck. I know..I know..I sound like some mean b@stard. simple as pie. and NO touching the screen. i don't know if the imac screen is glossy or not, but if it's a normal LCD screen...make sure their little hands stay off it or it might get ruined (unless you have special cleaning stuff).

unrelated to your original question, i also set a schedule...had my 5 year old sign a 'contract' that he would abide by rules and that he understands negative behaviour on AND away from the computer will result in him losing turns.

It's the old expression "Hit 'em where it hurts."

He loves cbckids.com and nickjr.com so when that is taken away, he listens...

best of luck. stay strong and DON'T GIVE IN!!!!!!!

 

[amin]

i have 2 boys - 5 and 2.5 years old, other than an electrical fence , this is what i do:

very strict rules - they punch the keyboard or mouse, they are off for the day. no questions asked (i've actually just powered off immediately without turning anything off). If they throw a fit, they lose their next turn, no questions asked either...no second chances. It's the only way I think boys can respect stuff. they have to learn from the get to not to mess with it. it's not a plastic fire truck. I know..I know..I sound like some mean b@stard. simple as pie. and NO touching the screen. i don't know if the imac screen is glossy or not, but if it's a normal LCD screen...make sure their little hands stay off it or it might get ruined (unless you have special cleaning stuff).

unrelated to your original question, i also set a schedule...had my 5 year old sign a 'contract' that he would abide by rules and that he understands negative behaviour on AND away from the computer will result in him losing turns.

It's the old expression "Hit 'em where it hurts."

He loves cbckids.com and nickjr.com so when that is taken away, he listens...

best of luck. stay strong and DON'T GIVE IN!!!!!!!

Thanks for the great advice. I'm trying to do something similar. My kids have learned to keep their fingers off the LCD, but my darn mother in law can't seem to stop putting her hands all over it .

 

[balamw]

Here they are, loving their new Mac! The little one cheers whenever his older brother gets an on-screen puzzle piece correct .

LOL! My little one would be like "My turn! Give me the mouse!"

B

 

[Keebler]

Thanks for the great advice. I'm trying to do something similar. My kids have learned to keep their fingers off the LCD, but my darn mother in law can't seem to stop putting her hands all over it .

no problem. wrt to the mominlaw...print a 'hands off the screen' note and tapeit beside the isight. i did that for my stepdad..he learned. they are, afterall, just big kids lol

here's the contract in case you wanted to copy something


NAME’S Official Computer Time Contract

This contract, between FULL NAME and his parents, Daddy and Mommy, is designed to ensure that NAME does not spend too much time on the computer.

It is also to help NAME continue important life skills from the games he plays.

It is important to note that NAME’ computer time can be taken away at any point should
Daddy or Mommy deem that he has not behaved like a good boy. This means if he bugs his brother, hits his brother, yells at Mommy or Daddy, and doesn’t turn off the computer when asked, doesn’t turn off the TV when asked or any other negative behaviour.

If a computer time has been taken away, it is gone for the week. NAME loses that turn. There will be no chance to gain it back that week. He will have to wait until the next week (and only if he has been a good boy).

NAME is also not allowed to play any violent games which included hitting, whacking, kicking or shooting people or animals. This means no SpongeBob game. If he is caught playing any of these games, NAME automatically loses his turn, plus he loses his next computer period (either in the same week or next week).

NAME is only allowed to play computer for 3 times a week at a maximum of 1 hour per time. If NAME continues to play when Mommy or Daddy ask him to shut down the computer, he loses his next turn automatically.

I have read the above contract and will abide (which means listen and honour) these rules to ensure computer time is a fun time!



_______________ __________________ _________________
NAME Mommy Daddy


then we made a calendar in excel and made 'play days' for the month.

 

[Clydefrog]

http://www.raindesigninc.com/i360.html

sry if im too late

 

[kadajawi]

I think the Mac Mini + a good old big CRT might have been a better choice. It's cheaper, the Mini can be hidden and CRTs are harder to destroy.

 

[GreatOne08]

My puppy destroyed my ibook. Still angry about that.

 

[balamw]

I think the Mac Mini + a good old big CRT might have been a better choice. It's cheaper, the Mini can be hidden and CRTs are harder to destroy.

I had originally planned to buy an Intel Mac and marry it to a Samsung 15" LCD I had lying around, but I ended up buying the iMac. Why?

1) Non-integrated video
2) 3.5" HDDs (larger, faster)
3) Support for two displays (mine's in the family room and is hooked up to our HDTV).
4) Fewer cables
5) Built in iSight

Overall the iMac is a much better value now than any Mac mini, particularly now that the imac has Merom and the mini doesn't. It's not that hard to train kids not to poke the LCD screen.

B

 

[dan-o-mac]

How about an iMac skin. I lost the link to the site, maybe someone else here knows more about it.

 

[amin]

LOL! My little one would be like "My turn! Give me the mouse!"

B

Mine does that too, but it's cuter when he cheers .

no problem. wrt to the mominlaw...print a 'hands off the screen' note and tapeit beside the isight. i did that for my stepdad..he learned. they are, afterall, just big kids lol

here's the contract in case you wanted to copy something


NAME’S Official Computer Time Contract - snip - then we made a calendar in excel and made 'play days' for the month.

Brilliant - in a few years my kids will hopefully be literate enough to sign such a thing!

 

[balamw]

How about an iMac skin. I lost the link to the site, maybe someone else here knows more about it.

http://www.mactallic.com/ ? But it doesn't seem to protect the LCD screen at all. And, they're sold out.

B

 

[dan-o-mac]

http://www.mactallic.com/ ? But it doesn't seem to protect the LCD screen at all. And, they're sold out.

B

Thanks for the link, I might get one of those for myself. The skin I posted was more like a rubber/silicone skin they use for ipods.

 

[balamw]

Thanks for the link, I might get one of those for myself. The skin I posted was more like a rubber/silicone skin they use for ipods.

http://maccolors.com/ ?

Still doesn't look like it protects the LCD.

B

 

[GimmeSlack12]

Some of you who don't have young kids may be wondering what the hell a 3 year old and almost 2 year old would be doing on a computer.

Don't worry everyone at MacRumors will have advice on how you should parent These threads are fun.

 

[RedTomato]

I have a 21 month old daughter, and she really loves bashing the keyboard on my Powerbook. With supervision, I'm usually able to catch her before she starts poking the screen.

Often when I'm not there, she will get up on my chair and pretend to be typing on my (off) powerbook..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/

The best website ever for small kids. British tax pounds at work for you.

I'm a bit nervous about some of the advice here. iMacs on swivelling stands... that seems dangerous. So does mounting glass screens on your iMac.

LCD iMacs do seem slightly dangerous around kids, at least ones with a bit of a temper.

I've brought a 15'' CRT (free, second hand), and plan to use that hooked up to my powerbook for my daughter.

Might put some Perspex over the screen (safer than glass). Cling film as someone said seems effective against greasy fingers but not sharp biro pens.

Not too sure about putting clingfilm on my pwoerbook screen anyway - might encourage bad habits.

USB / wireless keyboard is good idea to protect my pb keyboard. Wireless is a bit expensive tho. Good idea to use a USB hub to protect chassis ports from yanks.

I've just remembered a friend is selling a CRT g3 iMac for £80 - I might get that specifically for my daughter - it's a good model.

 

[balamw]

USB / wireless keyboard is good idea to protect my pb keyboard.

I was going to suggest that the first thing you do is give her a KB that you dont mind her bashing on. Before the iMac and the older PIII PC, my oldest son played his games on my old Toshiba notebook, but I always hooked up a $5 PS/2 keyboard since he loved bashing the kb.

As long as you're planning to keep your daughter's use supervised you should be able to instill good LCD care habits, i.e. no poking.

The G3 sounds like a good idea...

B

 

[dan-o-mac]

http://maccolors.com/ ?

Still doesn't look like it protects the LCD.

B

It doesn't, but I figured he might want some extra protection for the iMac itself. I guess I should have mentioned it in my OP.

 

[balamw]

It doesn't, but I figured he might want some extra protection for the iMac itself. I guess I should have mentioned it in my OP.

Definitely cheaper than Colorware so still interesting...

B

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Not sure about an iMac...

I let my daughter use an old iBook. (Plus, it matches so nicely.)

I don't do anything specific to protect the screen, I just use 'Klear Screen' every once in a while.

(Her favorites are Dr. Seuss ABC and Winnie the Pooh)