I observe as my five year old son does what he is destined to do. He charts his universe on the computer.

It started innocently with a few children's sites a couple of years ago. He became proficient at using the mouse, placing the cursor, and eliciting a laugh or a song from Barney.

Television and puzzles have consumed him off and on, but the computer is much more responsive to his needs. One year we gave him a throw away Dell with no internet access and he explored the depths of computer error messages, art programs nobody uses, even solitare. This sparked an understanding and a proficiency in computers which will define the generation gap between us.

As a result of his expertise, he now searches YouTube for mash ups of Thomas videos, most of which are lovely and perfectly suitable for kids. My wife and I were horrified when we found that he had learned the word "stupid." This, the result of a mash up made by a ten year old kid who filmed his own trains coming 'round the bend and overdubbed his narration including that six letter word no parent likes to hear.

The true power of the media is the fact that as soon as my son leaves YouTube, he enters eBay. Without credit card access, this can be harmless fun. The equivalent of window shopping at a toy store. And since my son reads, he reads us the terms of each potential bid, the terms and conditions of eBay, and asks us (and explains to us) what a bid is, why Mommy did not win her last bid, and what a credit card number is.

In law school there is a rule that contracts which are not for food, water, and shelter are voidable by the parents of those kids under 14 who purchase these items. But let's face it, this blog entry is not a legal lesson, it's a cry for help. And also an understanding that early on, parents like us who spend each day over their kid's shoulder need to instill some kind of combination of trust and filter software.

Having said all this, my son spends hours per week on Google Sky and is learning the names of virtually everything up there that I know nothing about. It's causing him to read more books about space, and review footage from NASA which he takes for granted but is pretty incredible. We've had some eye opening discussions, and when I think he's ready, I may just take him outside at night, tell him to look up and show him the real thing.