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Comment by vcherubini | Hacker News Reader

As a parent, it's incredibly important to read physical books.

First, it shows your children you can be entertained without an electronic device. My oldest son is three and already an expert on the iPad and iPhone. It worries me how much he wants to use the device, and telling him he can't use it and the whole family is taking a timeout from electronics is important to his growth. He can draw while I read a book, for example.

Second, buying physical books at a bookstore is a great bonding experience. I love taking my little guys to the local Half Price Books which always has a great dedicated kids section.

These reasons aren't only for parents, of course, but as a parent I find having physical books present is important.

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I buy physical books for my daughter. We also go the library every week and borrow books. I have the same experience without having to resort to reading a physical book myself. I use a kindle fire and have gotten rid of 99% of my physical books and have no intention of ever buying another physical book with the exception of hard to get computer science books that are not available in digital format in any form or shape.

> taking a timeout from electronics is important to his growth

My 5 year old daughter has been able to self-regulate her ipad use, she's had an ipad since she was 3. We only limit videos: when and how many videos she can watch because she won't stop watching them unless we intervene.

I'm a parent, too, but to me the fear of giving children too much "screen time" is anachronistic in this day and age. Not to say that screen time SHOULDN'T be limited, but the reasons for that are primarily because of the passive nature of, say, watching videos where images on screen change quickly. There is evidence that this sort of constant passive entertainment can erode attention spans. What we're concerned primarily about is !) instilling self control, which in and of itself has nothing to do with electronic devices, and 2) exposing our kids to a variety of stimuli and not just whatever appears on a screen. But again, this latter point is important irrespective of whether we're talking about electronic devices, legos, or barbie dolls.

As to buying physical books being a great bonding experience, I agree, but I think it's also beside the point.

> to me the fear of giving children too much "screen time" is anachronistic in this day and age.

Given that there's overwhelming evidence that screen time is completely worthless for language aquisition in children, as one example, not worrying about screen time demonstrates ignorance around different modes of learning and interaction.

I don't understand why would you need to read a physical book to show them you can be entertained without an electronic device (doesn't playing with them already show that?), nor why would the whole family need to take a "timeout" from electronics so that you can tell him he can't use the devices.

I agree that physical books are best for children, and I certainly give physical copies to my younger brothers, but the reasons for the parent to read physical books seem specious.

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