{"id":4472,"date":"2012-05-30T11:49:30","date_gmt":"2012-05-30T09:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents-blog\/?p=4472"},"modified":"2024-09-11T10:37:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T08:37:57","slug":"what-does-reading-mean-in-the-e-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/education\/reading\/what-does-reading-mean-in-the-e-age\/","title":{"rendered":"What does reading mean in the e-age?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the world going paperless, what will reading look like in the future? The mindshift (fromseeing reading as we are accustomed to in the form of newspaper or paperback, to now embracing reading on kindles, tablets and even facebook) takes some thought and processing. Especially if your child is using his screen time to read!<\/p>\n

Typical home scenario:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Baby\u2019s asleep. Dinner\u2019s been cooked and eaten. Kitchen\u2019s tidy. Ish. And the hub and I are on our respective couches.<\/p>\n

\u2018What\u2019re you doing?\u2019 I ask.<\/p>\n

\u2018Reading,\u2019 he answers.<\/p>\n

But, is he? He has his iPad in his hands and, if I know him, his \u2018reading\u2019 is a combo of exploring tech reviews, researching gadgets, browsing images of beautiful machines, watching TEDtalks and yes, possibly reading. Using the Kindle app.<\/p>\n

The new definition of reading<\/h2>\n

We both still read \u2018real\u2019 books \u2013 me more than he. As a writer, real books are an occupational hazard for me. But the definition of reading has changed in our home.<\/p>\n

As far as our one-year-old is concerned, \u2018reading\u2019 is what happens when we sit side by side with her, paging through a book. We read the words and point out the pictures, or ask her what noise different animals make, or where the Gruffalo\u2019s nose is, and she turns the pages. Sometimes, she reads to us. Sort of.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also iPad time. Where our toddler enjoys Dr Seuss books being \u2018read\u2019 to her by cheerful apps. But she has far less patience for that than for reading by me. And she has electronic books, where the page \u2018sings\u2019 nursery rhymes (in the most irritating, affected accent I\u2019ve ever heard and one that plagues my nightmares).<\/p>\n

What I\u2019m trying to say \u2013 no, this isn\u2019t just a pro-gadget product placement article \u2013 is that, today, there are different kinds of reading. And whatever device you use or don\u2019t use, and whether it sings and snorts or simply sits in your lap, as long as you\u2019re doing it with your child, it counts as reading<\/em>. I believe that time together, heads close, is just as important as the actual words or pictures on the page.<\/p>\n

\"reading
Credit: Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A treasured memory of my grandmother, who passed away many years ago, is sitting on her kitchen floor in the suburbs of Port Elizabeth and having Agatha Christie (I know, right?) read to rapt three-year-old me. Sometimes it was cookbooks and issues of Readers\u2019 Digest<\/em>. Sometimes, believe it or not, it was Bible stories.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve loved books ever since \u2013 but the togetherness of it was so much more than the medium or the content. Bottom line? When it comes to reading to your littlies, how you do it and what you use to do it aren\u2019t important. It\u2019s simply that you do it. Enjoy.<\/p>\n

This article was originally written for Jozikids by Tiffany Markman in 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n

Note: If you enjoyed this article, and would like to stay updated with more, you can:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n