Popular Cd-Rom Titles Command Plenty Of Silver

Silver bells and silver discs.

Both undoubtedly will adorn millions of homes over the holidays as visions of Just Grandma and Me, Doom II and other popular CD-ROMs scan through the heads of many a young PC user.

With more households owning a personal computer and even more planning to buy one - about two are sold per second worldwide - children’s software will be among the hottest selling gift items for the Christmas season. Combined sales of interactive discs and floppy diskettes are expected to more than double from last year.

But choosing just the right program out of the 4,000-plus kids’ titles available today can overwhelm even the hardiest of holiday shoppers. And at $30 to $100 a pop, a wrong choice can be a costly mistake.

Brenda Bouchard, a young mother from Hampton, N.H., has returned home with a few holiday turkeys over the years despite efforts to read up on the latest products beforehand.

“It was a risk … an expensive risk,” said Bouchard. “I ended up buying programs that I just wasn’t familiar enough with. The clerks at the store were of little help.”

This year, she says, she’s buying all the holiday software for her 3-year-old daughter Briana and 8-year-old nephew Tyler through a service that sells directly to the home, much like Avon cosmetics. “I need to see it first.”

Heeding similar cries for help, more and more software-buying clubs and services - like KidSoft Inc., a software distributor in Los Gatos, Calif., and BrightIdeas, the Concord, Mass., distributor from which Bouchard buys - are springing up to help in the selection process. Most allow customers to sample before they buy and have money-back guarantees.

Several new comprehensive books also have been released in time for the holidays, some with accompanying CD-ROMs that provide product demos, including “The Computer Museum Guide to the Best Software for Kids,” “Newsweek Parent’s Guide to Children’s Software ‘96,” and “That’s Edutainment.”

Each provides detailed reviews of educational and entertainment programs.

“The amount of software out there is so overwhelming. It’s totally hit or miss for most people,” said Addie Swartz, founder of BrightIdeas, which has 200 sales reps in 38 states and whose sales so far are running around 2.5 times above last year.

Swartz says the best software programs enhance a child’s strengths and interests, just as good books do. She says parents and educators shouldn’t be awed by the technology itself.

“Technology is just another learning tool,” she said. “The parent has to understand that it doesn’t always have the educational component just because it’s running on the computer.”

Cathy Miranker, coauthor of “The Computer Museum Guide to the Best Software for Kids,” agreed, adding that software should satisfy what she calls the three L’s: Learning, Looks and Longevity.

While children develop at their own pace, experts say certain programs are likely to appeal to specific age groups.

Preschoolers, for instance, respond best to bold graphics, lots of sound and constant reinforcement, all of which is necessary to teach early computing skills and whet their imagination.

By the time they’re in school, children are likely to have mastered computer skills and should be given programs that reinforce reading, math or science skills - all in an entertaining way. Older kids are ready for more challenging programs that not only help them in school but foster creativity and imagination, such as simulator and art software.

This season, there are loads to choose from for all age groups.

Software publishers, large and small, have been clamoring to get their products out for the holiday shopping frenzy since late summer.

In September alone, 218 new children’s titles were released, according to PC Data, a Reston, Va., research firm.

Right now, major software companies are working on their product lines for Christmas ‘96, since it usually takes nine to 12 months to develop a program.

That kind of quality control often shows up in the final product, said Michael Rogers, managing editor for Newsweek InterActive, which puts out the “Parents Guide to Children’s Software ‘96 CD-ROM and book.

“I strongly caution parents not to spend too little,” he said. “There are a lot of titles that haven’t sold well and are being discounted heavily or are being sold in a box of 10 discs for $29. It’s very tempting to stretch your dollar that way.”

Rogers suggests novice PC users stick with brand names initially since many of those companies already have a proven track record.