Knowledge Adventure is introducing the CD-ROM `Jumpstart Baby' for the nine months to two years age-group. There is also Sesame Street Baby and Me (one to three years) and Baby Wow!.

How far can this software go?

``I don't know. Womb ware?'' quipped Ann Stephens, president of Reston, Virginia-Based PC Data, Inc. ``It was laughable to me when they came out with software for 18-month-old kids. But it sells.''

In 1998, some 2.5 million software units worth some $49.6 million sold for children under five years of age, compared to 1.5 million units ($40m) in 1997, according to PC Data.The trend started four years ago with Jump Start for kindergarten and first grade, which continued up elementary school grades and later down to pre-school. ``I thought that was the end of the line. But no, then came Jump StartBaby!'' said Stephens incredulously. ``Only five years ago people thought children under three or four would most likely end up smearing jelly on the keyboard.'' Powering this trend is boomer generation guilt and competitiveness, she said. Boomer parents want to show concern for their children and make sure they make the grade in school. ``There is no magic,'' said Warren Buckleiter, of Children's Software Revue. ``Your kids are not going to get into Harvard if they use a computer early. The payoff really doesn't start until around three or four.'' America Online is developing a new site for children aged two to five, while The Children's Television Workshop is about to release, Baby and Me, geared for the growing market of one to three-year olds.Meanwhile, one-year-old Mathew on his mother's lap in front of `Jump Start Baby' perked up and giggled when he heard the music and saw the colorful animal images. Within minutes, however, he was lunging for pen and paper.

Internet magazine ZDTV's Alice Chegiatested toddlers on `Baby Wow' and `Jump Start Baby', which requires only that a child be able to strike a key. Her startling finding: don't throw away those old manual typewriters.Corinne Rupert, a family psychologist, who was a consultant for Knowledge Adventure, supports the software for infants and toddlers but cautioned they should be a stimulating toy, much like a crib mobile.``I think an early learning experience with computers can help children develop a sense of mastery over their learning environment,'' she said. ``This tool will be integrated more and more into their lives -- for better or worse.''

Buckleiter said there was no research showing early-user benefits and urges parents to use common sense before sinking possibly hundreds of dollars into software and special screens.

-- Agence France Presse