Comment by illwrks
1 year ago
I unplugged the Alexa for about 6 months, that was a good reset, and we have a few tablets etc but no nonsense apps installed.
Although time is ticking and I be we'll soon have the influence from 'peer pressure' - we're getting our daughter prepped for secondary/high school next year so she's got an old iPhone to play around with but thankfully she has zero interest in tech as a distraction. She sends a message to her friends every now and then, she watches some tutorials on Youtube for the piano, and of course some cat videos. My bigger worry is that she is going to bankrupt me from books... she's reading a new one every other week and has a real attachment to them so I can't persuade her to go to the local library...
An e-reader without a web browser, especially one in black and white, and a local library card can probably get her books loaned from the library without a large investment (and more importantly a device just for reading, rather than all the other distractions). The earlier Kindle, and whatever brand name Barnes & Noble e-readers have, would probably worth the investment compared to the cost of buying books regularly.
At the same age, I read a ton, and I unfortunately got into fiction in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. Those books were WAY too overpriced, simply for using the D&D properties in their naming and stories. The books I felt were excellent, but the authors could have replaced names with something generic, and they would have been just as captivating. Having an e-reader would have made those costs far less painful, and I probably would have read at least twice as many books. I imagine if the books aren't highly trademarked or being made into movies, now you could probably get 3 times the number of e-books for the cost of a physical book.
My cousin has had success with Apple Watches for her middle school aged kids. The Watches now function independently from phones IIRC and allow her kids to be "reachable" in the way that is now socially expected/enforced, but the screen is so small and the selection of "apps" so limited that they don't disrupt daily life with addictive software. However, you have to be in the Apple walled garden for that to work.
As for books, I've fallen in love with my Kobo Clara e-reader. It can run side-loaded software like Plato or KOReader, and I've loaded it with just about everything from https://standardebooks.org/. Maybe get your daughter an e-reader (Kobo or other model) for Christmas, paired with a monthly budget/stipend for books that she chooses how to spend?
Great suggestions! Thank you!!
That attachment might be something to work on. I wouldn't mind stimulating my kid to build up their own library once they've reached the point of reading adult fiction and books can be reread by themselves after a few years, or enjoyed by others in the household. But at her age the library is perfect. Most of the books they read at that age are of transient value.
Alternatively, take her to second hand book fairs and stimulate bargain book hunting in charity shops.