“If my child sees me reading a Kindle, will they know I’m reading?” 10 Parents Weigh In
Every time I talk about my deep love for my Kindle, I get worried DMs from parents who want to get a Kindle but are worried their children will think they’re just on another screen rather than reading.
After literal years of this question, I asked my Instagram community to weigh in with their experiences reading on a Kindle in front of their children.
Lots of parents replied with their experiences reading a Kindle with kids around and here are some of the answers – I hope it’ll help you make a good decision about whether or not a Kindle is right for you!
(P.S. If you’re considering a Kindle reader, this post breaks down all the options!).
“If my child sees me reading a Kindle, will they know I’m reading?”
- I call my Kindle my “Kindle book” and my toddler knows it is for reading. When I ask her to get it for me/leave it alone/put it back, I can now use Kindle and book interchangeably and she understands both.
- I just call my Kindle my book so my kids knew it was for reading. Eventually they learned the actual name of the device was a Kindle, but always treated it like a book. They can tell the difference between when I’m reading and just scrolling on my phone.
- It took reading one kids book (Princess in Black) to my kids from my Kindle for them to get that it is a device for reading. So if they think their kid hasn’t made the connection, that might help (although it may open them up to repeated requests for that book – ask me how I know)
- My two year old knows my Kindle is “mama’s book” and so after so plays with my pop socket for a minute, she always brings it to me. If I’m reading on it, somtimes she’ll go get one of her books and we read sitting together.
- Can confirm! I was worried about this but my kids call it my book! They know!
- Yes, my kids (8 and 5) definitely understand that my Kindle is a book. My 5 year old even said “mom, do you want your Kindle to read on the couch?” I didn’t even know she knew that it was called that. Kids definitely get it!
- I listen to a lot of audio books, I started when my youngest was a toddler. Now he sees me with 1 ear bud in and asks me about the book I’m reading. We listen to audiobooks together and read paper books as well. I think being open and talking about your love of reading is just as important and kids seeing you read a paper book.
- I have read on a Kindle since before my children were born and when my oldest was around 8 he asked for a Kindle and my daughter followed suit the next Christmas. They are both readers now and both enjoy being able to get books instantaneously no matter where we are.
- My kids have always read on Kindles…even picture books for my toddlers! As they’ve gotten older, they love having so many hundreds of ebooks available in one tiny package.
- Our household is PRO Kindle. I tried to put my phone to bed and keep it away from my bed for a while last year, so when I couldn’t sleep I read my Kindle. I read SO much that season (3rd trimester pregnancy good for sleeplessness)…both husband and I value the simple, purposeful, convenient but not ultra connected (like a phone!) aspect of Kindle reading!
