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When my older son, now 7, was first introduced to the computer at around the age of 3 he found the adult sized mouse to be a great challenge. I didn’t want something like a mouse to be the barrier that would keep him from using technology so I went out and searched for a solution. There are several solutions to overcome the fact that young kids not only have small hands, but are also still developing the motor skills required to operate a mouse.
My personal favorite option is the really super fun and colorful KidzMouse product line. These are larger than most notebook mice and smaller than a full size standard mouse. The buttons on this mouse are developed with small hands and developing motor skills in mind. The mouse will click with a squeeze around the front half of the mouse as well as with a single finger click. My kids have a fun glow-in-the-dark Lightning bug mouse which they really enjoy. My younger son was able to begin using it around 2 years old without help from an adult. There are the occasional, accidental, right click situations since this is still a two button mouse, but the kids learn to cope with this pretty quickly. My kids have managed to apply images as backgrounds, created unneeded shortcuts on the desktop, etc. It may be possible to remap the right click to a different action if this becomes a problem.
Beside the KidzMouse there are several other mice created with kids in mind. Many of these focus more on the fun look of the mouse rather than the size and shape.
Califone Red Blue Mini Mice Down Sized for Childrens Hands
Chester Creek Kids’ Optical Tiny Mouse
Another possible solution would be a one of any number of mini mice made to be used with a notebook computer. These are small enough to fit in a child’s palm. For a very small child this could, very well, be the best option since some of these notebook mice are very small, indeed.
For the Mac lovers out there the standard single button Mac Mighty Mouse is an option. This mouse allows kids to push down anywhere on the front of the mouse to perform a click action. The lack of a second mouse button means that they won’t accidentally end up using an alternate menu. This mouse is compatible with Windows too!
I’m a firm believer that having the right tools for a job is important when beginning a new endeavor. The purchase of a kid sized mouse has been a great investment and has allowed my kids to avoid struggling to use a mouse that is too large for their hand!
The Computer mouse input devices sized and developed for kids by Kids Blog Too!, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Sandie Law 05.28.08 at 4:33 pm
Great suggestions! My son (now 6) preferred the trackball at an early age. Now, he uses the laptop touch pad. Yes, my 6 year old has a laptop…it’s his dad’s old one. What can I say, we’re a techy family of geeks.
April 05.28.08 at 6:42 pm
I should get my 5 year old one of these. She has a hard time with “click & drag” so maybe this will help.
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Nodins Nest 05.28.08 at 7:54 pm
my 3yr old son uses my mouse with 2 hands , his right one to move it and his left index finger to click. It’s cute to watch. He has learned to drag and drop like this though!
Nodins Nests last blog post.."Hey Laverne "!
Jenny 867-5309 06.02.08 at 7:48 pm
We got one of those when my son was 3…perfect! Now he’s 7 and does some coding for me on the side!
Jenny 867-5309s last blog post..Not really a garage sale
Mariana 06.05.08 at 10:08 pm
How cool! Never thought to get a kid-sized version. My 3-yr-old has problems with the regular Apple mouse, so I’m going to check this out. I love this new blog, BTW!
Kerry 07.16.08 at 12:54 pm
An added bonus: The Califone Mini Mice comes with a one year warranty!