2-and-a-half is old enough, and a EEE works fine. (Score 1)

I can say from experience. My daughter got her EEE for Christmas last year, she was 2-years-7-months. She hasn't broken it, and she very quickly developed the skills she needed to operate it effectively. Teaching her was a great excuse to spend time together. It was actually good for me too -- it's instructive to have to unlearn everything to the point where you can explain to a child that young. Now, a year later, she turns it on, waits for the red X to disappear indicating that wireless is up, starts up the browser, and then uses the address drop-down to find the site she wants to go to (she's memorized the shape of the address for each one). She goes to CBC kids, PBS kids, TotLOL, etc. She also loves Tuxpaint.