13347 children computers

WRITING A SUMMARY
Read the following text attentively:
SHOULD EVERY CHILD HAVE A COMPUTER AT HOME AS SOON AS THEY START SCHOOL?

Schools are using computers more and more today. When children start primary
school at the age of four or five, there will be computers in their class and they will
quickly learn how to use them. The question is, should parents buy their children their
own home computer as soon as they start school?
If parents decide to do this, the children can practise their computer skills at
home. This will help them learn faster at school and consequently they will do better.
What’s more, young children really enjoy using computers and can spend hours happily
playing with them. Another reason for buying a computer for your child early on is that
young children learn to use them more easily than older children.
But there are arguments against this. Although children use computers in their
primary classrooms, it is not necessary for parents to buy them their own computers.
Young children need to be active and play outside. If they spend too long in front of a
computer, it can be harmful. Not only can it damage their eyes, but they also fail to
learn how to get on with other children. What’s more, a computer does not become
really important for school work until children are much older.
It is true that young children of four or five learn to use computers quickly and
enjoy using them but other things are more important at that age. Perhaps the conclusion
is that parents do not need to buy a computer for their young child, as there are more
important things. However, if there is already a computer at home, the child can be
allowed to use it for short periods only.


Complete the summary of the article.
Children go to ________________ school when they are four or five years old. At
school, they ________________ how to use computers.
The arguments for having a computer at home for young children are:
• They can ________________ the computer skills that they have learned at school.

• They ________________ using computers.
• They find it more ________________ to learn how to use a computer when they are
older.
The arguments ________________ having a computer at home for young children are:
• They ________________ to be active. It is bad for them to sit in front of a computer
all day.
• Computers can ________________ their eyes.
• They need to be with other children so they learn to be part of a ________________ .
If there is a computer at home, the young child should not be allowed to use it for
________________ periods.