Color them content with Crayola 'computer'

September, 2004 – Rare is the 3-year-old who is content to be shooed away to scribble with crayons while older siblings sit intensely at the controls of electronic action games.

Crayola to the rescue. (No, it's not a new color of fuchsia.)

Binney & Smith Co., owner of Crayola, has licensed Techno Source to market two handheld games and a television play system suitable for children as young as 3.

Crayon Racer and Paint Splat, $7.99 each, are hand-held games designed to challenge young minds. Big buttons and soft edges make them easy to handle with little hands.

In Crayon Racer, children drive a crayon-shaped race car around the track or play with its car-shaped housing as if it were a toy car. In Paint Splat, children must maneuver a bucket on the large screen to catch paint droplets before they splat on the ground.

My First TV Play System, which plugs into the A/V jack of a television, has a colorful, kid-friendly controller also designed for little hands. An electronic coloring book and arcade-style games are among the 20 activities available. Cost: $19.99.