My son has been a computer addict since the tender age of two. He's seven now and I am—by turns—proud of his technical prowess, impressed by the things he learns easily from computers, and worried that his affection for technology will make it hard for him to pay attention to the comparatively dull teaching methods he encounters in school. Could this love of computers result in an anti-social, Jolt-drinking, insomniac who's forced to sit in the corner of the lunchroom with the kids who look like they just emerged from a Gary Larson cartoon?

I've already seen evidence that he has trouble focusing on the pen, paper, drill, and recite methods they use in school. I've been called in for numerous meetings with his teachers and principal on the subject of his "attention." But when the material is presented on the computer his attention is easily gotten and not so easily lost.

"There is no data at all to support it, but you would think that [computers] would interfere with a kid's willingness to sit there doing the rote work," agrees Elliot Soloway, a Professor in the College of Engineering, School of Education, and School of Information at the University of Michigan where he is also involved in the Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education, which develops technologies that help kids learn.

But that's not really a downside of the computer so much as it is a flaw in school methods. "The way kids learn today is not the way we, in the bifocal generation, learned," explains Soloway. "That is the hardest thing for parents and teachers to accept—that there are different ways that people learn. Learning in a dynamic way is very powerful. But it simply wasn't acceptable in the '50s and '60s." When we see kids exploring and having fun, we don't thing of that as educational because it isn't the way we learned.

"From the computer, kids learn literacy skills because they have to read and write to communicate," says Soloway. "They learn problem-solving skills—even just getting the computer to work. They learn social skills as they deal with people [online and in email]. In fact, as we move more and more into a computerized society, computers are much better preparation for them than a pen and paper."

In some ways games may actually help with schoolwork. "The research shows that [computer games] can increase reaction time, which can help with doing stuff that school requires," says Roger J. Desmond, a professor in the School of Communication at the University of Hartford, who specializes in kids and interactive media. But more importantly, says Desmond, "the research shows—especially in the pre-reading years—that anything is better than watching TV." And kids often like the computer just as much as the TV.

That's not to say there are no down sides. "There is a tension between interactive media and reading," agrees Soloway. "And it's very important that kids read. Without reading there are no opportunities."

"Still, there's more that's good than bad about the computer," says Desmond. "Unless a child is spending more than four hours a day in front of a computer and as long as he likes to read, not to worry."

There are exceptions. If you see that your child finds social interactions painful and he doesn't participate at all in athletics or free play, and the computer becomes a substitute for those things, it may be time to intervene. According to a report by The Future of Children, repetitive strain injuries happen to kids when they work at a computer station that is the wrong size for them. We all know obesity is linked to kids who languish in front of the TV, and same can be said of computers.

And of course, unmonitored Internet access is scary, agree both experts, though the hysterical reaction in the media is an overreaction. Like in the real world, kids need education and supervision when it comes to going online. There are tools that can help with this, such as Net Nanny and other technical solutions, but none of those tools are a substitute for adult instruction and oversight—they are only an aid to providing that oversight. "Kids have done scary stuff long before the Internet," says Soloway. "From playing with fireworks to hanging around in the wrong places." Kids need guidance on avoiding bad places, making wise decisions about who to trust and what to believe, and they should never be allowed to simply go it alone.

"There have been reports saying that computers are bad for kids," says Soloway. "So we surveyed elementary school teachers. Ninety-nine percent of them said, 'No! Computers are not harmful to children.'"

My son reads and stays pretty active—despite many hours devoted to computing. He hasn't (yet) started speaking in acronyms or grown Gary Larson cartoon-like features. And admittedly, the computer cuts into his TV-watching time. So I guess I shouldn't worry. "You're lucky you've got a kid like that," laughs Soloway. "The admonition here is to lighten up."