Peripherals/Child Friendly Mouse
Young children have not yet fully developed their motor skills (fine motor skills in the hand and fingers typically develop fully between the ages of 5 and 6) and have trouble using traditional mouse buttons. Studies show they click next to targets. The act of pressing down is not intuitive, causing problems with “drag & drop.” Kids tend to grip all their fingers at the same time, thus squeezing the mouse rather than “clicking.” This leads to frustration and detracts from the educational experience.
The Child Friendly Mouse was invented by Curtis Whitcomb, a pediatric clinical audiologist and developed with assistance from Dr. Carrie Mori, a pediatric occupational therapist. It seeks to solve the issues facing children when they use a traditional "PS/2" mouse. It fits neatly in small hands and makes the mouse easy to use by including:
- a tactile plate that nestles child’s fingers
- a single mouse button which avoids unwanted “right-click” activities
- no top mouse buttons
- light, sound and/or vibration feedback possible