First thing’s first. I’m a reluctant Kindle convert and it pains me slightly (ok, a lot) that Jared was right. He insisted that I would love one, ignored all of my resistance and asked his parents to buy me one for Christmas a few years ago. It’s a game changer and the same is the case when it comes to children.
Jared reads a lot (and many books at once which is a big no-no for me) and swapped his Paperwhite Kindle for a fancy Oasis one a while ago. We told Win that we would give him Jared’s old Paperwhite to celebrate when he read his first Roald Dahl book. He has loved it ever since – and so do we, because it stops him from talking quite so much (!) I initially thought that Winston was too young when we gave him his Kindle, but again, I was wrong.
Win takes it on long car journeys, takes it outside, reads it when he’s finding it difficult to fall to sleep, reads it in the morning before school and loves to keep a count of how many books he has read. His favourite joke is: “My Kindle should be so heavy because of all the books I’m carrying around”. We were also keen for him to read fiction as well as non-fiction, and giving him a Kindle has solved this problem. He would read fact book after fact book given the choice, and we wanted to keep his imagination alive. With a Kindle the most interesting distraction is the book itself, not apps, pop ups or YouTube.
I am not the best with technology but Win’s Kindle (lovingly set up by Jared) is greatly restricted. Jared or I download his new books onto one of our Kindles, and then transfer them to his library. When he’s finished reading the current selection we download 3 or 4 more to give him some choice. Our libraries are shared so if Jared has a book that I would like to read (and vice versa) we can easily share them.
I don’t let the boys use iPads, phones or computers unless it’s for homework or during the school holidays (for lots of reasons) and Win can sometimes feel like he is missing out. Giving him a Kindle has really helped with this problem too. There is a notes section on his Kindle which he has used in the past to write a diary and some little notes. He has a notes section with what he wants to buy people for their birthdays, notes about who he has been playing with at school and notes about capital cities. It’s all quite cute.
Rufus is still very much into picture books and falls to sleep within seconds, but we’ve said that he can have his own Kindle too once he reads his first Roald Dahl (or chapter book) with ease. Think The Magic Finger, or The Enormous Crocodile rather than Matilda or The BFG.
So, I’ll say it louder – I LOVE KINDLES.
Many thanks to Bean Bag Bazaar for sending us an indoor/outdoor bean bag free of charge to create the perfect outdoor reading spot for Winston.
Kindles sound great. We don’t have one, and like you say here – (ipads, phones, computers are a no no unless its homework related) I’m glad there are still people out there that have the same view as me… A lot seem to use them as a tech babysitter…. Ours have lots of books, as we’re always trying our best to show them the simpler way of life and not the unnecessary things like phones (which most of Yves friends have and she’s 8) I don’t want her to feel like she’s missing out but I’m also not giving in to this warped way that society is changing into… Maybe a kindle would be a good alternative for her in the future. Thanks for the info on it!
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Gosh! 8 is so young? I feel like that is totally crazy! I’m sure it is for the benefit of the parent, rather than the child…which is my view with computer games and tablets etc. People will always argue that technology is an integral part of our children’s lives, and I agree, but it hardly takes any time at all to learn how to use an iPad or a mobile phone. It’s hardly a skill! I am with you on the books thing – every week I wonder what we would do without books. They help us in so many situations xx