e-reader vs real books for kids

[Anonymous]

My oldest is 7 and really became an avid reader this past year. We have always enjoyed going to the library but it's become a weekly trip now that she plows through books. I have seen a number of posters on various threads say that they are getting their similarly aged child a kindle for a holiday gift because the child is a voracious reader. I can't put to words why I haven't wanted to permit my child to read her books on my kindle, but I just don't feel like it is a good way to get her to love books, and I don't even offer to let her read books on it, even when she has to wait for a book she wants to be returned to the library or if it means we need to lug a ton of heavy books on vacation. Am I very out of touch and I just need to embrace the concept of kids using e-readers? Or are there legitimate reasons for why kids should be encouraged to read the actual printed book? As I said, I have a kindle so I have nothing against them in concept (although I do lament the decline of independent and frankly all bookstores).

[Anonymous]

Did you see the NYT article on bedbugs in library books?

[Anonymous]

My instinct also says real books (says another kindle owner).

I like the tangible nature of books. With my e-reader, I can easily forget the name of the book I'm reading. I look at the list of books in the menu and can't remember which I've read, or the order of books in a series. I never know what page I'm on, just the percentage of the book I've finished. (At least once I've had a book end suddenly, then discovered there are tons of footnotes making up a huge part at the back.) I can't flip back easily (though the search function is helpful), and it's harder to glance ahead.

All this may be related to the fact that I have a slightly older model kindle, but I know that's not all. In the end, I prefer to read from a book made of paper, and that's what I prefer for my kids, too.

[Anonymous]

For years growing up I looked forward to going to the library, then the local independent bookstore, then BN with my dad to get new books. I have an ereader now, and still like to go to the bookstore to browse, flip through, and buy. Since we can afford it, I also bring DS along and buy him books too. I like ereaders, but I love books.

[Anonymous]

We are a kindle-free household.

My 7 year old also loves to read. She has taken to reading the comics in the paper every morning (yep, physical newspaper).

I also can't explain in a way that is fully logical, but I want her to bond with books. I wouldn't buy her a virtual stuffed animal, and I also wouldn't buy her virtual books.

[Anonymous]

We have tried both and my kids prefer their books in hardcopy. We are just sticking with their decision.

[Anonymous]

I don't see the harm in an e-reader. I read a ton myself, and it has made travel significantly easier - no longer carting along 5-6 books during a vacation. Your daughter could now take her book anywhere, because the size won't make it a pain, she can still check out books from the library w/ the e-reader, she can still occasionally get actual books from the library. I just don't see the downside. PP @ 2255 makes a good point though - you might want to let her use yours before purchasing one for her. Her preference may still run toward actual books.

[Anonymous]

My concern about kids and ereaders is the number of books they read from the library. You can get on long wait lists for ebooks at the library, but it takes a while.

We go to the library and take out 20 kids books every two weeks. I'd go broke buying 20 kids books for the kindle two weeks.

[Anonymous]

DD (5) has books on my iPad but she loves to go to the library to check out books. She loves the whole process of rounding up the books that are due, choosing new ones (always exactly 6 books-never more/never less), checking them out, putting them in her bookbag to take them home so we can read them. We are going to the library tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

I like physical books.

However, if you go the e-reader route, PLEASE do not have them read on something that is backlit like an ipad. It is horrible on the eyes and they already get so much screen time as it is. It also screws with the circadian system, interrupting sleep cycles.

[Anonymous]

My son is only 6, and I am adamant he stick to real books. I'm not I can explain why, but I think he is still of the age where feeling, texture and seeing actual pictures are important. I also worry about the impact of using screens Too often.

The commercial where they show a mom reading curious George on some e-reader actually pissed me off for some reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like physical books.

However, if you go the e-reader route, PLEASE do not have them read on something that is backlit like an ipad. It is horrible on the eyes and they already get so much screen time as it is. It also screws with the circadian system, interrupting sleep cycles.

Yes. I get much more eye strain reading on the computer.

Also, I love books -- I love the way they smell, they way they feel, the pictures on the front, the different fonts. I like checking them out of the library, and for the ones we own, I like seeing them collected and organized on a shelf, or marked up where one of us particularly liked a passage. We don't own e-readers, nor plan to. There's something about the physicality of a book that we cherish. Newspapers, on the other hand, I have always disliked (difficult to hold, ink all over your hands) so we read those online. And music is collected in an ipod. So we're not wholly Luddites.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is an avid reader too. She reads constantly and loves her books. We have resisted getting her a Kindle, though her dad has one. I think that the nature of a book, it's tactile feel, the way you have a sense of accomplishment because you can see your progress through the pages, the way you can know roughly where something is and go back to it...all make a real book the best choice. We spend oodles of money on books for her, but then again we don't drink Starbucks.

[Anonymous]

People of the book -- I weep at having found you! On DCUM of all places!! My kids, all avid readers, are 15, 18 and 21. I'm so grateful they learned to read and to love reading before the advent of e-readers, so DH and I didn't have to face this dilemma. When I have asked friends who are teachers about the impact of e-readers, they are conflicted. OTOH, they note that for many kids the novelty of e-readers can spark an interest in reading; OTOH, e-readers can make it too easy for kids to read without gleaning real meaning. They fly through books without stopping to look back and consider what they've read earlier. They can't make margin notes -- or, at least, can't make them easily. These habits are important to developing a capacity for reading critically and thoughtfully as opposed to simply racking up a long list of books consumed.

To this, I would add my own experience of many trips to the library and hours browsing in bookstores with my kids. I treasure the memories of those times and the opportunities they gave us to talk about books -- and much more. Last week my younger son, who is in the midst of his first college exams, sent me a text: "Do you think Nick Carroway would give his kids the same advice that his Dad gave him?". I was startled -- esp. since many of his texts are more along the lines of requesting advice on laundry or suggesting I watch the Daily Show so I can be truly informed about the news -- and I texted back to ask if he was reading Gatsby in English. His response: "No, I was just thinking about it." Reader, my heart leapt with joy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People of the book -- I weep at having found you! On DCUM of all places!! My kids, all avid readers, are 15, 18 and 21. I'm so grateful they learned to read and to love reading before the advent of e-readers, so DH and I didn't have to face this dilemma. When I have asked friends who are teachers about the impact of e-readers, they are conflicted. OTOH, they note that for many kids the novelty of e-readers can spark an interest in reading; OTOH, e-readers can make it too easy for kids to read without gleaning real meaning. They fly through books without stopping to look back and consider what they've read earlier. They can't make margin notes -- or, at least, can't make them easily. These habits are important to developing a capacity for reading critically and thoughtfully as opposed to simply racking up a long list of books consumed.

To this, I would add my own experience of many trips to the library and hours browsing in bookstores with my kids. I treasure the memories of those times and the opportunities they gave us to talk about books -- and much more. Last week my younger son, who is in the midst of his first college exams, sent me a text: "Do you think Nick Carroway would give his kids the same advice that his Dad gave him?". I was startled -- esp. since many of his texts are more along the lines of requesting advice on laundry or suggesting I watch the Daily Show so I can be truly informed about the news -- and I texted back to ask if he was reading Gatsby in English. His response: "No, I was just thinking about it." Reader, my heart leapt with joy.

Well done, Worthy Parent!