Experience with computers may give young children a head start when it comes to being prepared for pre-school and beyond, according to the results of a new study.

Among children ages 3 to 5, those who had access to a computer performed better on learning tests, researchers report.

“The simple take-home message of the study is that computers can help young children to learn,” Dr. Xiaoming Li of Wayne State University in Detroit told Reuters Health.

“I think that a lot of parents are concerned that computer use is detrimental to their young children’s development, but our research suggests that it may actually be beneficial,” said Dr. Melissa S. Atkins of Ohio State University in Athens, who co-authored the study.

But both researchers emphasized that parents should pay attention to the type software young children use as well as how much time youngsters spend in front of the computer. Atkins advised parents to limit young children’s computer use to programs with an educational focus.

Despite the apparent benefits of computer use, “there can be too much of a good thing,” according to Atkins. “I think that children’s development might suffer in other ways if they spend too much time on a computer or if it is used as a babysitter.”

The findings from the duo’s study appear in the journal Pediatrics.

Young children used to play mostly with dolls, building blocks and other low-tech toys, but these days, it is not unusual for children to use computers before they start kindergarten. Even children who do not have a computer at home often have access in other places, such as libraries, community centers or a parent’s workplace.

In fact, Li and Atkins found that a little more than half of 122 preschool children enrolled in a Head Start program in rural West Virginia had access to a computer at home or elsewhere. In most cases, home computers were equipped with children’s software.

On average, children with access to a computer scored better on tests that measured learning abilities and readiness for school. Computer use was associated with higher scores even after researchers took into account differences in socioeconomic status and children’s developmental differences.

However, more is not necessarily better when it comes to computer use among young children. Children who used computers more frequently did not get higher scores than children who did not use computers as much. Electronic or video game devices also were not related to improved performance.

Computer use was not related to improvement in visual or motor skills, according to the report.

The next step for the researchers is a 2-year study of computer use among children from low-income families in Detroit, Li said.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, June 2004.