The problem with children and toddlers is that they are really curious and unexpected. Even if you supervise them every single minute and keep an eye on them together with the other parent, the grandparents and sometimes a nanny, the children still find ways of distracting us and do exactly the thing we don't want them to do. If you are afraid your children might break some valuable china, you bet that's what's going to happen in the near future. You may warn them all you want, forbid them to do this and that, threaten to punish them, they will still do that because it's very tempting and because it's "the forbidden fruit", right? Well, if you want to get rid of all the worries, you should either take that particular thing out of the reach of children or explain them what it is and how it works, according to their level of understanding. And in this way you'll get the best results.

My point is this: if you are a parent and you are using your computer at home, don't expect your child, your toddler not to play with it because that's exactly what they want. First, there's a reasonable explanation: toddlers and little children learn everything by copying us, like little monkeys. If they see you on the computer, they will do the same. Some people don't approve of children using computers when they are little, because they consider computers dangerous for children. And they are, unless parents supervise their children closely and teach them what and how to do. Computers are a part of our lives, deny it all you want, and they can be beneficial if they are used properly, just like all things around us.

I have two small children, one still a toddler and I can tell you they are fascinated of all the computer parts. And in order to keep them safe and functional, I started looking for an alternative. It was a click away: toddler keyboard and mouse. No wonder big computer companies are doing so well: they find your answer for everything. They thought about this problems before I did and came with an incredible offer.

The most famous device of this kind for toddlers is myPC Toddler Stage 1 Keyboard (the packages always include the mouse, too). It is specially designed for little children, it's very colorful, with big strong attractive buttons that are different in color according to the group they belong to ( vowels, consonants, numbers).There are no punctuation signs in order not to accidentally go to inappropriate web pages. It is very resistant and smaller than a normal keyboard, thus adapted for the size of the children using it. The most amazing thing about it is the fact that you can wash it! It has a removable cover and if there are some accidents and liquids are spilled on it, just take if off and wash it. There are some tiny holes drilled in the plastic so that liquids could drain out. You can take off the cover, wash it and then reassemble everything quite easily. Now I wonder why on Earth they don't do washable computer keyboards for adults,too. I spilled my coffee on my keyboard a couple of times. The mouse that comes with this cute little keyboard is also small and ergonomic, just the right size for a child's hand. Both devices are USB plug-and-play and are compatible with both Mac and PC. When you order it from the e-store, you can choose from a variety of colors and it does not need a special software. Just remove your keyboard and mouse when you allow children at your computer and replace them with this nice device.

The second of my options is Comfy Easy PC keyboard and mouse, which is an award winner exactly for the reasons why I chose it. The difference between myPC toddler Stage 1 and this one is the fact that the first is an actual keyboard that even adults can use on the computer. Th second one is a nice-looking keyboard designed for children but has special software and does not work like a normal keyboard and mouse. In fact it's a kind of toy that helps children develop different abilities and learn new things, while playing on the computer. Comfy Easy PC lets even toddlers age 1 to play on the parents' computer without the risk of deleting files or doing some other damage. It plugs into your computer through an USB connection and operates separately from the keyboard and mouse of the computer. You need to install its own software called first steps". Once you install this software it is ready to play. The keyboard has twenty keys, but they do not show letters, but animals, colours, musical instruments, etc. Instead of the computer mouse you can see an interactive spinning roll bar and a telephone receiver. Every time the child presses one key on the keyboard something happens: for example when they press the "lion" a lion picture appears on the screen and so on. In this way the children learn the cause and effect and associate symbols to pictures. There are three levels of difficulty that correspond basically to the age of the toddler: from 1 to 3. When kids hit a certain key more than once they are awarded nice animations. The software can be played in 17 different languages.

The third place is taken by a toddler proof software, called Toddler Trap. It is very useful when you want to clean your keyboard or mouse or when your toddler becomes too curious about these devices. Once you install the software, the keys of the keyboard and the buttons of the mouse can no longer perform actions on your computer until you think it's safe to "unlock" them.

Another software also designed for blocking these computer devices from the actions of the little kids is Kid-Key-Lock, a simple software that locks the functions of the keyboard and mouse. It is compatible with 2000+ Windows and can be installed very easily.

I wish I were a kid again!