In an editorial comment today by Lawrence Downes (IHT 24/4/11) entitled, "The children's book comes to e-life," he writes: "With electronic books...mere pictures and conversations are passe, at least pictures that don't move and conversations you can't hear...Maybe the more a book supplies imagination, the less the child has to fill in, the less benefit she gets."
I am a voracious reader, my book shelves are over-flowing, and I have read to Raphaela since the moment she was born. She can sit in her room on the floor and 'read' by herself for an hour at a time, whether or not I am in the room; when the television is on and we play in the salon, Raphaela barely takes notice of the flickering images on the screen, and I have yet to introduce her to the concept of early so-called educational computer games. My only lapse occurs with Youtube, I choose certain classic Sesame Street skits and we watch them together; the clips bring back many fond childhood memories, and I know that Raphaela enjoys it.
I admit my status as a Luddite, and I know that Raphaela and her generation will use technology and take it for granted on a vast scale compared to me, or even my younger siblings. I can only hope that I instill a love of reading and learning and expanding the mind, a feeling though old fashioned, can only help her now and in the future.
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