Pretty soon they’ll demand their own laptops and want money to spend on their own music and web sites.

PBS has launched a site that’s currently in beta, called PBS Kids Play. It’s geared for children ages 3 to 6. There are educational games and activities to teach math, science, literacy and language development.

The site won’t have ads (although there will be messages from sponsors) but will have subscription-based portion.

The site will have a pre-school and kindergarten curriculum and feature popular PBS characters including Curious George and Bob the Builder. You can sign up for a free trial though it’s unclear how long the trial lasts. A subscription will cost $9.95 a month, or $79 a year. There won’t be chat or interaction between kids.

They have progress reports, and thankfully, parents can limit how long children can access the site.

PBS Kids Play joins other sites aimed at kids. They replace the educational CDs that you can get in the mail. Disney has a site called Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online that you can get free for seven days, after that it’s $10 a month or $50 a year. Another site is called JumpStart World and it’s priced by the download.

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The site is currently in beta and is available to try for free. The site will become a subscription based service later this quarter and fees will be $9.95 a month, or $79 a year. The site is ad free and focuses on children ages 3 to 6. A discount to use the service is being offered if you contribute to your local public television station.

The PBS Kids Play curriculum includes skill areas in math, science, language, literacy, creativity, health development, and social studies. Most navigation on the site is text free so children who are too young to read will be able to find their way around the virtual world.

The site offers a progress chart that allows parents to keep updated on how their children are doing. The chart shows how a child is progressing through the curriculum, including how far the child has advanced in each subject area.

It takes about two minutes to get started on the site and it can be customized for up to 4 children.

"We’ve taken a comprehensive approach to children’s learning in order to address the whole child," said Ben Grimley, Senior Director of Interactive Businesses at PBS.