eBooks for kids. Bad idea/good idea?

Take a look at this funky little device from Japan.

I found myself feeling strangely uneasy when I watched this and it took until the end of the clip to work out exactly why. Prepare yourself for an old fogey moment because I’m having one.

How are we meant to get kids to be interested in reading books? Just books. Plain books. Books without iphones in them. Books with WORDS. In black and white. On PAPER. Words that don’t move or take you somewhere else when you touch them. Books without moving pictures or screens or interactive bits.

Because there has never been more options for visual, audio and sensory stimulation for kids of all ages. My toddler can use my iphone and he’s not even 2 and I don’t say that to brag. It’s just standard. Lord my 4 year old knows how to download things and let’s not even start on what my 12 year old can do.

Where is the space and opportunity in their lives for them to use their imaginations? Giving them a book these days is a bit like giving them a rock and saying ‘go play’. THAT’S how much of a sensory jolt it is for them to have to change gears from external stimulation to activating their own minds.

Do you worry about this? Is it just me? How can we encourage our kids to read more and develop their imaginations?

Just a reminder about the Mamamia Bookclub, the next book is I Don’t Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson and you can find the details of the book here. It has been out for a few years so you should be able to find it in your local library or on sale at Amazon. If you missed the first Bookclub post, you can find it here.