Earbuds instead of a bedtime book?
April 29th, 2008 by Treena ShapiroI just recently read an article about downloading audio books for kids to listen to on their iPods.
You know me, I’m all for technology, but that seems to be going a little far. Sure, audio books are a great way to introduce kids to literature if they have trouble with regular books, but for a regular reader, why deny them the pleasure of a good page turner?
I might be in the minority, though.
Have we reached a point where parents are too busy to read to their kids and it’s better to just put on an audio file than do nothing at all?
Maybe I’m turned off by the idea because I’ve loved curling up with books for as long as I remember.
Maybe it’s because I don’t see a huge difference between an audio book and an educational video.
Maybe — in this one way — I’m just old fashioned.
I might need to ask my kids’ opinions.
There are some free examples at Candlelight Stories Audio for Kids. The “Three Little Pigs” I sampled wasn’t bad. Storynory has both classic and new tales, which pretty cool. I was amused that they have “Alice in Wonderland,” which my daughter has just consented to let me read to her.
There are tons of other sites for free audio stories if you’re up for a Google search.
If you want to pay to get audiobooks for a kid’s iPod, the Associated Press article I read focused on AudibleKids.
I do think that audiobooks have their place. They’re perfect for the car stereo or even the iPod when reading a book isn’t possible.
I know parents who have turned reluctant readers into traditional readers by getting them engaged with an audio book first.
I’ve also talked to parents whose kids have had problems learning to read and audio books opened a whole new world to them and inspired them to work harder to master reading on their own.
There’s also a whole bunch of physical issues that might make holding a book difficult.
In any case, I’m not going to pooh-pooh audio books altogether.
I’m just not going to buy my kids iPods so they can listen to them at bedtime.
Tags: audiobooks
April 29th, 2008 at 9:56 am
[…] Suburban Prepper wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI might need to ask my kids’ opinions. There are some free examples at Candlelight Stories Audio for Kids. The “Three Little Pigs” I sampled wasn’t bad. Storynory has both classic and new tales, which pretty cool. … […]
April 29th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
For kids, Ibooks, Ebooks or audio books should compliment printed books and not replace them. I love reading and so does my son who looks forward to stopping by Barnes & Noble as much as ToysnJoys. If your child can physically and intellectually read a print book they will get more out of it than having someone reading it to them, plus they will learn spelling, punctuation and sentence structure. Reading vs listening also requires a child to hold a book so she/he can’t have that GameBoy DS or PSP going at the same time. Also having a voice reading to you takes away your imagination especially when it comes to dialogue. I once bought a audio book so I could listen when I was stuck in traffic and the narrator couldn’t imitate a female voice or that of a child. A good part of reading is seeing the story in your mind and somebody reading it to you takes some of that away. Just like when you go see a movie that you once read as a book. Most likely it was nothing like the book or as good.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
i agree…maybe audioi books are a good idea for those who need extra help reading, but they use the audio along w/ the actual book. but if we allow them access to just “listening” to a good book that’ll take away from much need brain and eye stimulation right?
May 10th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I think one of the major factors for creating a good reader is the time spent together, enjoying the story together, cuddling together (or not, depending on the child, the age, and the ambient temperature), and being taught that the grownups we admire and emulate value these things called books. This is hard, and may be impossible, to do with an Ipod or an audiobook. That said, I sure enjoyed listening to audiobooks with my son on the long trips from Kona to Hilo!