A reader for my daughter (11 years old)?

[wachuko]

Just thought I would ask in case some of you have been in the same situation.

I am thinking about giving my daughter the Sony 505 reader I just got so I can buy the 600...

She is 11 years old and loves to read. So far she has read all the Harry Potter books, all the Twilight, and is now finishing her first Cassandra Clare book (City of Bones) and has the City of Glass ready for when she is done... This is in addition to the reading material she gets from school.

I love to see her sitting down with a book, unable to put it down... She read Twilight over a weekend...

Anyway, the reason for this thread. Would an eReader be a good idea for a 6th grader? She takes the books to school and gets no issues from the teachers. I am concern that an eReader would not be seen the same as a book... also concerned about damage to the reader. She is careful with her things, but not sure if she is ready for the care an eReader requires.

Any comments?

[wachuko]

I might just have to sit down and talk to her about this a little bit more... I am inclined to let her continue with the regular books for now. It just seems easier and less of a hassel when going to school with the books than if she was to take an eReader.

I was reading a few threads with some reactions from teachers asking students to turn the device off, not understanding that the student was actually reading a book and not playing with a computer...

[emellaich]

Wait! Wait! Not so fast ...

As I understand it, the question you asked is whether you could justify getting a neat new reader for yourself by explaining that you only reason for doing so was to offer your child a reader of hers .

Now personally, I would never do such a thing. My kids really did need that TV for the rec room, and the computer too. I selflessly gave up both my main TV and computer to help them out. But of course, I found myself without the required equipment in my family room and I just had to buy new (better) ones. But enough about me.

Can you afford a new reader? Are you sure that the new Sony Daily editions reader with 3G wireless and a bigger screen won't tempt you anew when its released? Are you comfortable with the screen quality of the 600 -- some people feel that it is not as sharp as the 505, but others are quite satisfied with it. Then I'd say go for it.

In my justification of a reader for my son, I realized that we enjoy reading the same books. To the extent that DRM allows us to share ebooks, the cost of a reader is easily justified. I'm getting him a $200 device, and if I can forgo the purchase of 20 to 25 books by loaning books between us, then I will have paid off the device.

I assume that I can provide him with a note that explains to his teacher that this is a book, and not a game device or a computer. We'll see how that works.

My biggest concern with my son, and any youngster is durability and potential loss/theft. E-ink screens today have glass substrates. Dropping them can lead to cracked screens. I'm not sure how they will stand up to teen/pre-teen lockers, backpacks, and running between classes. However, my son has had a cell phone for three of four years now and he has yet to loose or break it.

I guess you could treat this the other way around -- as a test to see whether she is eventually ready for a cell phone. At least it doesn't have a price plan.

On another subject. Have you read the Twilight series yourself? I haven't, but my wife has. She says the first one is a bit more circumspect, but as the series goes on it becomes more explicit in its relationships. Depending on the level of maturity of your daughter, you may want to skim through the other novels before she dives into them.

Good luck!

[PhishStyx]

School is hard place for electronics. Teachers don't like them on the notion that they're distracting. Kids on the other hand love to play with them, whether it's their property or not. Your daughter could very well be the most responsible girl in the world, but those other children. Children very often don't pay nearly as much attention keeping safe property that isn't their own, not to mention the potential presence of bullies and those sort of folk.

I would say that if any 11 year old sounds like they could handle an e-book reader successfully, then yours does. However, I think it going to school is simply too problematic, not because of your girl, but due to everyone else involved.

I hope that my opinion is helpful.

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by emellaich

...On another subject. Have you read the Twilight series yourself? I haven't, but my wife has. She says the first one is a bit more circumspect, but as the series goes on it becomes more explicit in its relationships. Depending on the level of maturity of your daughter, you may want to skim through the other novels before she dives into them.

Good luck!

Too late... she read them all...

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by PhishStyx

School is hard place for electronics. Teachers don't like them on the notion that they're distracting. Kids on the other hand love to play with them, whether it's their property or not. Your daughter could very well be the most responsible girl in the world, but those other children. Children very often don't pay nearly as much attention keeping safe property that isn't their own, not to mention the potential presence of bullies and those sort of folk.

I would say that if any 11 year old sounds like they could handle an e-book reader successfully, then yours does. However, I think it going to school is simply too problematic, not because of your girl, but due to everyone else involved.

I hope that my opinion is helpful.

It is. And why I am thinking of holding off for now... best for her to continue to take regular books to school. Thank you.

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by emellaich

Wait! Wait! Not so fast ...

As I understand it, the question you asked is whether you could justify getting a neat new reader for yourself by explaining that you only reason for doing so was to offer your child a reader of hers .

Now personally, I would never do such a thing. My kids really did need that TV for the rec room, and the computer too. I selflessly gave up both my main TV and computer to help them out. But of course, I found myself without the required equipment in my family room and I just had to buy new (better) ones. But enough about me.

Can you afford a new reader? Are you sure that the new Sony Daily editions reader with 3G wireless and a bigger screen won't tempt you anew when its released? Are you comfortable with the screen quality of the 600 -- some people feel that it is not as sharp as the 505, but others are quite satisfied with it. Then I'd say go for it.

In my justification of a reader for my son, I realized that we enjoy reading the same books. To the extent that DRM allows us to share ebooks, the cost of a reader is easily justified. I'm getting him a $200 device, and if I can forgo the purchase of 20 to 25 books by loaning books between us, then I will have paid off the device.

I assume that I can provide him with a note that explains to his teacher that this is a book, and not a game device or a computer. We'll see how that works.

My biggest concern with my son, and any youngster is durability and potential loss/theft. E-ink screens today have glass substrates. Dropping them can lead to cracked screens. I'm not sure how they will stand up to teen/pre-teen lockers, backpacks, and running between classes. However, my son has had a cell phone for three of four years now and he has yet to loose or break it.

I guess you could treat this the other way around -- as a test to see whether she is eventually ready for a cell phone. At least it doesn't have a price plan.

On another subject. Have you read the Twilight series yourself? I haven't, but my wife has. She says the first one is a bit more circumspect, but as the series goes on it becomes more explicit in its relationships. Depending on the level of maturity of your daughter, you may want to skim through the other novels before she dives into them.

Good luck!

Not justifying a new reader... I just got the 505... but seeing how much my daughter reads I thought it would be a good gift...

Just having it at home would not do since she likes to take reading material to school... and I am not about to buy both the regular and the electronic version.

Thank you for your comments.

[=X=]

My daughter also loves to read but she reads before going to bed.
After evaluating several factors like her reading habits, durability, features and price I went for the eBookWise 1150.
This eReader has a backlight that is not hard on the eyes great for night reading. Good contrast for bright lighting. A free dictionary, great battery life and is very durable still is in great condition even after my many usage. That would mean a lot more of you knew my son.
I don't let my daughter take her book to school she is only 9, but my concern is not really her teachers but more her classmates.

[emellaich]

Sounds like our situations aren't quite comparable. My son is 16. However, I was able to solve the teacher approval thing. Today was open house -- we've already been back at school for two weeks here.

Anyway, I went in just so I could talk to his teachers about the reader. I displayed mine to each of them and explained that it was just a book reader. It really wasn't a game system or an internet connection. I only got the fishy eye from one of them and I was able to show him how it displayed books. Hopefully when he receives his in a couple of weeks there won't be a problem.