Did ya’ll read that article in the New York Times Magazine last weekend, the one about online reading sites for kids?
The author of Click and Jane argues that the benefit of sites like Starfall and One More Story is that a three-year-old can read (sort of) the books (not really) himself — and, thus, "learn to enrich his solitude".
Unlike real books which, Virginia Heffernan says, "are for when he feels snuggly."
Well.
God forbid!
Look, I’m all for raising human beings who know how to be alone and at ease, who even relish their solitude.
And literacy’s one great way to encourage and access that comfort and joy.
But really?
We need to encourage three-year-olds to develop this independence through online "reading" rather than falling into that lazy, old, snuggly pleasure of curling up with your mama and a bunch of books?
Really?
In case I haven’t made myself clear yet, I don’t think so.
Since when does "enriched solitude" have to be cold, mechanical and digitized?
I’m 41 (and very comfortable being alone) and books are still a snuggly pleasure for me. Sometimes curled up with my kids, sometimes next to my husband in bed at night, and often alone, in a hot bath or on a blanket in the sun. Reading is a cozy and intimate affair, whether you’re ’round a rug in a classroom, or lined up on the couch as a family, or alone, and I don’t need some website cutting out the snuggles for me, thank you very much.
And I really don’t think we ought to be in the business of cutting them out of children’s lives, either.
Already kids compete for our attention with the endless chatter of email and cell phones and television, not to mention old-fashioned things, like chores, work and siblings. If we go to these lengths to emphasize independence over connectivity, we’re going to lose a lot more than the dog-eared stack of books on the coffee table. If we can’t offer enough undivided attention to get through a few pages a day — whether Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — then we’re not only saying to kids that we don’t value books, we’re saying we don’t value you!
This is not my cry to ban all computers, unplug the electric lights and homeschool your kids in raising chickens and making cheese. You can do all that if you want, but I’m fine with the occasional electronic birthday invitation, YouTube video, and even a dang Kindle if you really want one.
Just let’s not pretend that that’s the same good stuff we get when snuggled up with a book — the paper and cardboard kind — and the people we love.
‘Cause it’s not.
HUZZAH! it’s funny the lengths we go to to justify sticking kids in front of screens. not that i’m against sticking kids in front of screens, i’ll just call it like it is… it’s a break for mom. which is totally okay. but yeah, screen time is sort of avoiding solitude, anyway. not enriching it. IMO.
Yes! Screen time is AVOIDING solitude! Yes!!! It may really teach the little guy to read, but it is not about solitude. Go to it, gal…
enrich his solitude? Is that like what they do to cereal? How much solitude does a three-year-old need/want???
Is there some other kind of enriching going on here—like with dollar signs? I haven’t looked so maybe it’s all non-commercial, but I’m suspicious.
I know, right? I know what you mean, about the dollar signs and the cereal…
Amen sister!
Why thank you 🙂
Yeah, I’m with Kathie. Anytime they advertise some computer thing as a better (or even an equal) way to educate a child, all it means is that a real person is NOT in contact with that child. And I believe that the contact is the most important part.
Um hmmm.
And I have to say that I think there’s a very important discussion out there about the homes where there may not be books, or a literate parent, or an english speaking parent, etc. And I think there are numerous, thoughtful ways to address these issues, from parent-child story times at the library to audio books, but in THIS case, in THIS article, the premise (about independence and solitude and what not) just doesn’t fly…
This author seems to have a really grudging attitude towards books. The part that got me was “Or does he need the spectacle of hard- and softcover dust magnets eliminating floor space in our small apartment to get the full “Freakonomics” effect? I sadly suspect he needs the shelves and dust.” Why is it sad to need to have books around? I don’t get that at all. I love to snuggle up with my own books, too, and I think that encouraging kids not to do that is just plain sad.