I have a six year old son. I also have a house full of technology. When it comes time for bed, there is nothing better than snuggling up and reading a plain old book together. My son and I enjoy playing on the iPad very much. Games like Machinarium are wonderful to talk about and to share but at bed time, the tech goes away and it’s time to read.
This article in the NY Times talked about others like me still making a choice for paper books for our young children. While I read almost daily on the iPad and now purchase almost all my books online, when I choose books for my son, the library book or reader from school is still the first choice.
While the current trend for young children is to use paper books, there are wonderful alternatives. When I am away from home, we use a program called Readeo where high quality children’s readers are available over a Skype-like interface. We both have our own little video window, but the book, in full colour, dominates the screen. I read and he turns the pages. It is fantastic. As close as it can be, it uses an electronic medium to once again be reading together.
The reading experience with a young child is so much more than just the book. No matter what options exist, there really are few better alternatives than simply time together watching the miracle of learning to read unfold.