Monday, December 11, 2000		Kids Chat

Match a set of hidden animals

Hello! Kids and welcome to our weekly chat.

Fluppy: Oh I am so tired and sick of talking; I don’t think I’ll be able to chat with you today.

Cliparti: Hey, why is that? Are you unwell or something? Should we take you to a doctor?

Fluppy: No. I am just a bit exhausted. Actually my cousin who is just three years old has come to stay with us for a few days. He keeps insisting that I should play ball or hide and seek with him. You can’t imagine what it is like running after balls the whole day.

Windy: Why don’t you play computer games with him. That will not exhaust you.

Fluppy: But he does not know anything about computers. In fact, he does not even like when I am sitting or doing work on my PC. To tell you the truth, I have to keep my PC shut fearing that he might just break it like any other toy that he does not like.

Cliparti: Boy, boy, that surely is a grave problem.

Fluppy: Graver than it sounds!

Windy: But Fluppy, you can’t shut your computer just for anyone like that.

Fluppy: What else can I do?

Cliparti: To begin with, why don’t you try and cultivate his interest in it.

Fluppy: But I told you he does not know anything about computers.

Windy: That you can teach him. Can’t you? Or you mean to say that you are not capable of teaching even a three old?

Fluppy: Of course, not! I mean to imply that a three-year-old is incapable of learning computers.

Cliparti: Oh Fluppy, we are not asking you to make him a master in computer.

Windy: How can he make somebody what he himself is incapable of?

Cliparti: You can just teach him a little mouse skills and of course, just a little bit of keyboard touches.

Fluppy: What will he do after learning those?

Cliparti: Oh then you can introduce him to a few kids’ games. And then these games are so addictive that he’ll be so glued to the PC that he’ll stop bothering you.

Fluppy: That’s a nice idea.

Cliparti: At www.manasoft.com you will come across a game for young kids called Ani Match. Here, the kids have to match a given set of hidden animals. First you click, a box that reveals the animal and then you try to find its companion on the board. One very nice thing about it is that when you find the correct match, the program lights up and you can hear the actual sound clip of the animal.

Windy: This sure sounds cute. I think this would be a nice way to introduce a young one to a computer.

Cliparti: Yeah, with all colourful graphics and child-friendly interface, I am sure your cousin will love it.

Windy: Do you remember we used to play "Simon says" as kids? Blinky Blink is that sort of game. In fact, it is good to improve the mouse skills. Here you have to click on the box in the exact sequence as the computer. Not only do you test your reflexes but you also sharpen your skills on using a computer mouse.

Cliparti: It is becoming very important nowadays. In fact, it is equivalent to holding pencil.

Windy: Ha! Ha! Rightly said. Anyhow you can download this from http://www.lincolnbeach.com and see how it works for your cousin.

Fluppy: Hey guys, after all this he will get so addicted to my PC, I wonder if he will leave it for me to use.

Windy: Don’t you worry, I have a solution to that one too. I am sure being a three-year-old; he must not be able to read properly. But as all kids he must be fond of stories. So what you do is tell him that you will search comics on the Net for him and read it out to him. That way you’ll have your computer to yourself too.

Fluppy: But I don’t wish to waste all my time searching for comics rather than doing "my stuff".

Windy: You really are so stupid, Fluppy. You can continue doing "your stuff" and tell him that you are searching stories for him. A three-year-old will hardly understand what you are doing.

Fluppy: And what when he asks me to tell a story?

Cliparti: Oh, we’ll tell you a site for it. Here you can find hundreds of comics to choose from. Be it spider-man, Dennis the Menace, Flash Gordon, Hagar the horrible, Judge Parker, Mandrake the Magician, Phantom, Popeye, Rex Morgan or any other, all is here. Not only can you read out the comic, but you can also tell him the history of the comics.

Fluppy: That’s nice, where can I find it?

Cliparti: Okay, log on to www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/comicsNav.htm and discover the treasure of comics.

Fluppy: What if he gets tired of listening to comics?

Windy: Then you can read out jokes or poems or something on wildlife to him. http://www.childplanet.com/ is a nice site for children of all age groups. Not only does it have jokes, teasers, cartoons, novels etc. in it but also links to various child related product.

Fluppy: With all these wonderful sites I am sure he will remain busy and quiet for a long time. At least it will save me from running after balls.

Windy: Yeah. But it will definitely pose a problem for his parents.

Cliparti: Why is that so?

Windy: Well, after he leaves Fluppy’s house, he will insist on buying a computer. It’s addiction is so strong that he will keep pestering his parents into buying it.

Fluppy: Oh God! I didn’t think of that. Anyhow their problem is for them to solve, at least I have solved mine.

Cliparti: For the time being, yes.