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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
One question raised here is the role of an ereader in the process. In the earliest phases, not much. A kid too young to read is a poor candidate for an electronic gadget. Actual physical paper books are a better fit. They're more durable, easier to replace, and turning pages is less of a challenge to developing motor skills.
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I don't know about that. My 6 month old can turn the pages on my ereader, but she's still figuring out how to turn a paper page without ripping it right out of the book
Very very colorful and durable board books are where it's at!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
As they get a bit older, you can start reading to them from a reader, and they can get the idea it's something that can be used to read. After a while, you can let them try it themselves under supervision, showing them how to select a book and read it. When they get old enough to ask for one of their own, you can start to think about getting them one. But no hurry.
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I think we, as adults who grew up with pbooks, are making too big a deal out of the "this device is a book!" idea. The child doesn't need to be 'taught' that the device can be used for reading. It's just a book to them. There is no reason to teach them that books are books and then think that they also need to be taught that this other device here is also a book -- there's no need to make that distinction. Kids are smart.
I read to my daughter now from an ereader, for short spans. She's not as interested in it as she is her shelf of pbooks because it doesn't have pictures, but she loves pressing the buttons and watching the screen flash when it changes the page. It's really no different than reading to her aloud from a big old hardback, which is what many people did for their kids 50-100 years ago. My dad didn't grow up with colorful books about Disney princesses; he read black and white illustrated 'classics'.