Digital books vs paper books

[This Mama Teaches]

I'm debating a big issue. I have a 5 year old, 2 1/2 year old and 13 month old, plus one on the way. They love books!! But little hands are quickly ripping and ruining our collection. They love iBooks and kindle books. What are your thoughts on going mostly digital for children's books? I'm tired of throwing real ones away!

[TracyP]

Well, I don't know that you will completely solve the problem by going mostly digital. I have to replace my kindle because "little hands" got a hold of it one too many times. ;)

 

That said, I have a friend who tries to go mostly digital due to space issues. I don't think there is anything wrong with that if that is what you are asking. It isn't for me, however. I prefer paper books for my kids, and yes, that means we have had to toss/replace a lot of books. That just means they were well loved, and I don't feel bad about that.

[regentrude]

For kids that young, I do not find digital to be a great option because, at that age, they will enjoy picture books with nice colorful illustrations and big pages.I like digital for later, when the books just have print.

[boscopup]

For children's books, I prefer paper. I've gotten stacks of books at the thrift store, and they're so cheap that it doesn't matter if they get destroyed. I've also had to be very diligent about teaching the kids how to properly handle books. We still have a few books get destroyed now, but that's mostly ones that get left out in their room instead of putting them away when done reading. So focus on putting books away and making it a habit. I also use plastic storage baskets (the medium sized Sterilite ones at Target are perfect) to put the books in. That makes it easier for the kids to put them away, rather than trying to shove books back in on a long shelf. It also helped prevent them from pulling ALL the books off the shelf. :)

 

I'm doing more ebooks now that my oldest is reading chapter books, but for the little picture books, I really do still prefer paper books that we can physically flip through, and the kids can go read the books whenever they want.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

for little ones, definitely paper. The sensory aspect of paper books is a must, when learning to read, and learning to enjoy books.

(and I'm a digital book lover!)

[HejKatt]

I'm assuming the rough handling is mainly a problem for the 13 month old (and maybe the 2.5 year old)? In that case I would work on two fronts:

- 2.5 year old: Practice the habit of turning pages gently during read-alouds.

- 13 month old: Keep a box of board books for ready access, or cheaper paperbacks.

 

Another thought is to keep the books which are harder to replace high up. The bottom two shelves of my bookcases have books which I pick up from library sales, which are not too hard to replace. I place older books which I'm saving for my dc (e.g. My Book House collection), and which are higher up. Whenever we sit down for read-alouds, I generally pick from the bottom two so they haven't shown much interest in the less accessible, older books.

 

When my dc were younger, I tried to catch them whenever they were man-handling a book, and remind them. It was tiring at first, it has become a habit that they don't even think about. So hang in there!

[Hunter]

There were bookcases the boys could help themselves to, and there were bookcases they are not allowed to touch without supervision. I put a lot of yard sale and thrift store books on the bookcase they could help themselves to, and I taught them to respect books as much as possible for their ages. My boys were pretty gentle with books, just like they were with pets and plants and windows. There were accidents but accidents were pretty rare.

[happypamama]

I do understand. People say to get board books for toddlers. Well, one of my toddlers took those as personal challenges and would actually try to rip them apart (and usually succeeded). There was a time when I just kept the really nice books out of reach, and I still do that with my curent toddler (though he's actually quite gentle with books, board or paper). Yes, sometimes things get destroyed, but I think the non-electronic aspect is important for small children. Check thrift stores and library sales for good deals, and keep the nicer ones out of reach unless you're directly supervising them.

[MtnMama]

I do paper for kids, digital for me.

[duckens]

Our librarian says that she is okay with the little kids chewing on books and such. She says that it is important that young children know that, "Books are pleasurable." Of course, if you are the one replacing them, it is an issue.

 

Invest in a roll of packing tape (for pages ripped out or board books) and a roll of scotch tape. When the kids outgrow the books, toss them. You may need to put the books up or away in a clothes basket in your room until the littles learn to be more gentle with them.

 

--------------------------------------

Beware!

 

We invested in a Nook because there were some early chapter books that our public library just didn't invest in as paper. Checking out as electric was the only option. We have read a few books together this way, but at this time, the kids associate the Nook with apps and games rather than reading a book. I can't even read to myself with the Nook while nursing the 2yo because she will insist that it is game time.

 

FTR, I don't regret the apps on the Nook because both kids have learned a ton from them. They just are not quite ready to sit for a Nook Story.

 

One more thing--

As I remember it, the electronic books for little kids have not been kid friendly. If I ask dd2 if she sees an elephant, she will point to the page, and by touching the screen, will move to a different page before we are done discussing the page we are currently on. Not a good medium for 2yos.

[boscopup]

One of my sons, who shall remain nameless, tore up board books as a toddler. So glad he doesn't do that anymore! It took a lot of training, and keeping books out of his bedroom so he couldn't handle them unsupervised, but he is safe with books now. :D

[Lily_Grace]

We found Tyvek books - there were no words, but we made up our own to tell the stories. They're called Indestructibles.

 

I buy digital books when I know it'll be read once and real books when they will be treasured. But for the 2yo we rely a lot on the library, thrift store, and freebies.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I'm assuming the rough handling is mainly a problem for the 13 month old (and maybe the 2.5 year old)? In that case I would work on two fronts:

- 2.5 year old: Practice the habit of turning pages gently during read-alouds.

- 13 month old: Keep a box of board books for ready access, or cheaper paperbacks.

 

Another thought is to keep the books which are harder to replace high up. The bottom two shelves of my bookcases have books which I pick up from library sales, which are not too hard to replace. I place older books which I'm saving for my dc (e.g. My Book House collection), and which are higher up. Whenever we sit down for read-alouds, I generally pick from the bottom two so they haven't shown much interest in the less accessible, older books.

 

When my dc were younger, I tried to catch them whenever they were man-handling a book, and remind them. It was tiring at first, it has become a habit that they don't even think about. So hang in there!

 

Good advice. We did board books and moved on to hardback picture books then paper. My kids were always very good with them. The only ones that ever got damaged in the slightest were the lift a flap books.

On a side note, the My Book House set is a family favorite here, nice to see someone else who has them.

[Mommee & Baba]

I would say physical books. The kids can really benefit from the sensory aspect of feeling a book and flipping it's pages. Just like teaching a child to clean up their dinner plate and how to pick up their toys it's a learning experience for all involved. Our books have some rather loved on pages and we just use packaging tape and fix it the best we can. Pages are colored on from one of my dc who insisted they were the author and we still own a few of those books and still read them over all the scribblings!

 

My kids prefer pysical books. We all own tablets and dh is the only one who reads the digital books. I have several digital books but haven't actually sat down and read one because the tablet to me is too distracting and I want to do other things on it...LOL! However when we're away from home and I need to have that option, I can read! :)

 

Like someone else stated, I purchase books at thrift shops, garage sales, online discount places, & $0.50-$1.00 library sales. They are cheap enough to replace if needed!

[Woodland Mist Academy]

What about browsing? Do children browse e-books? My dd will pick up random books on our shelves, read a few pages, and then re-shelve them. (OK, so she doesn't actually re-shelve them--we need to work on that. ;) ) The point is that she picks up lots of info when she does this. Do children do this with e-books?

[Giraffe]

I do paper for kids, digital for me.

 

This is what I do as well. I have to bring everything over in suitcases and usually a great deal of my weight is children's books, though I do try to get the lightest paperbacks out there. As we move into more chapter books I might start going digital, but for now DD needs and wants the tactile nature of paper. And illustrations just aren't the same on my 2nd Gen Kindle. The iPad is better, but still not the same.