Are you a ONE computer family?

[disneydreamersx4]

We only have one laptop for the 4 of us to use. Before that we had one desktop to share. I do have to police the kids so each gets time on the computer. Wondering if this will get more difficult as they get to high school?

 

[DVCLiz]

We only have one laptop for the 4 of us to use. Before that we had one desktop to share. I do have to police the kids so each gets time on the computer. Wondering if this will get more difficult as they get to high school?

I'm sure you can and will make it work for your family if necessary, but I think it would be awful for my family if we had to share a computer. I can't imagine anything worse than making my daughter stop using the internet because I had a free hour and wanted to go on the DIS - but I would hate not to be able to do what I want when I want to, either!

At the very least, I would shop for a cheap netbook for your kids and add one more machine to the family when the time comes. They can go online to play games and do internet research with a netbook, even if it's not a great machine for word processing or watching DVDs, etc. If you have home internet service you can create a wireless network fairly easily and inexpensively.

Both of my children attended a high school that required individual laptops for classroom use so we didn't have this issue. They each had a laptop and I had a desktop, to which I later added a laptop and also a netbook for travel. The netbook is a spare now as I find the iPad to be much more useful.

 

[MichelleVW]

We only have one laptop for the 4 of us to use. Before that we had one desktop to share. I do have to police the kids so each gets time on the computer. Wondering if this will get more difficult as they get to high school?

I imagine it will become pretty much impossible when they get to high school, but I'm sure you will hear from a million other people who say it will be no big deal. In my family we all have laptops, DD17 actually has two. She has her own personal pc and she also has a school provided Macbook that is hers for the year.

In our house we pretty much use the internet as entertainment instead of the tv and no way could we all share one computer!

 

[castleview]

Oldest is only 11 so we have one computer. I do have an I-pad though.

 

[tlbwriter]

Three people, four computers (two desktop, two laptop). And two iPhones.

 

[okeydokey]

My kids are 13 and 10 and we have one computer. If they need it for school, they have access to it. They don't need to be playing games on it for hours a day, so taking turns works well for our family. They certainly aren't deprived of computer time.

We do have two TVs though.

 

[allison443]

Before my kids were in high school, they shared our one family desktop. (DH had his own work laptop that no one else uses). When they went to high school, they had to get laptops (required by the school) so then they had their own. They do a lot of assigments, etc. on their laptops and email them to the teachers.
If they didn't have to buy the laptop through school, we would have gotten them their own laptops anyway.
It is a lot more convenient for everyone to have their own, however if you have to make it work I'm sure you can. Of course homework would have to take priority over the dis...

 

[SC Minnie]

There are 3 of us and we have 2 computers. We have a laptop and DD16 has our old desktop. We are trying to wait until Christmas to replace her desktop with a new laptop-- she should know where she is going to college by then so we are trying to wait to see what their requirements are before buying her one.

 

[Pixiedust34]

We're a family of four (14 and 12 yo kids) and we all share one computer. I would be nice to have a second computer or laptop, but sharing works OK.

 

[Hannathy]

We only have one laptop for the 4 of us to use. Before that we had one desktop to share. I do have to police the kids so each gets time on the computer. Wondering if this will get more difficult as they get to high school?

No it will get impossible! Well I guess it truly won't be impossible but if anyone but the highschooler wants the computer it will.

Many books are on the computer, all papers need to be typed, research needs to be done, labs need to be done, many homework assignment questions are on the computer. A lot of homework questions and work sheets are tied into the computer and are done and answered on line.

THEN 75% of the social interaction is on the computer the other 25% is text (guestimates on the percentages your fuel economy could vary)

Plus most notifications for school and sports come by way of the computer-like NHS meetings and things.,sport schedule changes, practices.

 

[jel0511]

I'm afraid to admit how many computers we have... We have two desktops, two laptops, 3 iPhones, 1 netbook and 1 iPad. We're only 4 people and we still fight over who has what when.... The kids are almost 13 and 10.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

Three people, four computers (two desktop, two laptop). And two iPhones.

We are a "sick" family.... well, mostly me, but not only me.... two adults and two kids....

3 desktop PCs, 2 Macs, 2 PC laptops, an iPad, and 4 iTouches. But my wife and I do use computers for business quite often, and the macs are really used for skype and the iLife suite that comes with them. We love making movies on the mac.

And both my kid MUST do homework on a computer. They do homework online and submit it online. ( Not all of it, though ) I don't know what happens if a family doesn't have a computer.

Oh, and 1 netbook I use when out doing my job.

 

[MademoiselleKel]

We never had the internet until my senior year (and this was in 2008!) and one desktop computer. My senior year I really needed a computer and the internet for my classes and especially now for college.
Schools are adding the need to have a computer more and more so it would probably be a lot easier on everyone in your family if you bought another computer.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

OP here - nice to see we are not the only family with one computer. I will have to check if our high school requires the kids to have their own computer. DH's co-worker just bought his nieces and nephew their own computer for Christmas. If we had the finances I would get each of the kids their own. Thanks everyone for your replies, very interesting.

 

[kldmom2000]

Family of 4.... kids are 10.5 and 8. We share one desktop computer. DH never touches the thing so it's just my girls and myself vying for internet time I'm sure in a couple of years we'll add a laptop too.

 

[Hannathy]

OP here - nice to see we are not the only family with one computer. I will have to check if our high school requires the kids to have their own computer.

They may not come out and REQUIRE it but they will need it. Ours doesn't "require" it but it would be darn near impossible for a kid to do it without one. Especially if they are in any rigorous classes.and it will be impossible for the family to have any time on it, and your younger one will be needing it more and more not less.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We only have one laptop for the 4 of us to use. Before that we had one desktop to share. I do have to police the kids so each gets time on the computer. Wondering if this will get more difficult as they get to high school?

The split with your kids is not too bad and I suppose you can make that work. I do admit each of us has our own computer.

The problem we are having now is that we need to upgrade software. We have Word 2003 and they are using 2007 in school.

So that is just something to keep in mind. Software upgrades can be pretty expensive.

Now as far as "entertainment", not sure how that will work, you are on your own there.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

The split with your kids is not too bad and I suppose you can make that work. I do admit each of us has our own computer.

The problem we are having now is that we need to upgrade software. We have Word 2003 and they are using 2007 in school.

So that is just something to keep in mind. Software upgrades can be pretty expensive.

Now as far as "entertainment", not sure how that will work, you are on your own there.

Why do you need to upgrade? 2003 might look a little different, but it has all the bells and whistles that kids should need for school. We're still using Office 2000 and haven't had any issues, and the school also uses 2007.

 

[tlbwriter]

They may not come out and REQUIRE it but they will need it. Ours doesn't "require" it but it would be darn near impossible for a kid to do it without one. Especially if they are in any rigorous classes.and it will be impossible for the family to have any time on it, and your younger one will be needing it more and more not less.

True. The school is likely to say students who don't have access to a computer at home can use one at the library, or something like that, which gets them out of "requiring" a computer but also allows the teachers to require that assignments be done on one!

 

[HM]

We were a one computer family until our kids became teens. We had a media center desktop. Now each child has their own laptop (birthday gift), DH has a netbook, and I got an Ipad for Christmas.

The kids use theirs for reading a couple of their school textbooks (no physical book), doing assignments for school, and for fun (music, movies, social interaction).