Sounds like how I was as a kid, and then the advent of access to desktop internet in middle school. But hey, at least it’s a better foundation of literacy.

I think desktop computers are great for kids. I grew up using one from an early age, and I would have no hesitation giving my own kids that same access.

It's portable entertainment (phones, tablets, maybe even books unless you have a rule that they never leave the house) that I am deeply reluctant about. You can't lug a desktop to the park.

This was me 18 years ago, I think as long as the curiosity transfers to something in the real world over time, this is an amazing thing. Like reading museum placards, writing in a diary about her day to day observations, etc. Also, the reading to writing pipeline is probably the easiest to achieve when someone is young and inculcates a lot of thoughtfulness.

Also I don't think the two dependencies can be equated. Electronics create super short attention spans, books are the complete opposite. So I think she's already doing better than most her age.

Also me when I was young. The only downside was a more realistic (not mature) view of the world. This has lead men to not doing things that would have been mistakes easily forgiven at that age. My real life was a bit boring (I’d carefully select friends, keeping myself out of troubles) because my imaginary life was exciting enough). Apart from the knowledge I acquired, the upside is that I can keep track of a lot of abstractions needed for problem solving.

Whoa, same here! I too had a realistic view of the world, but at the same time was super naive. And the entire phase of teenage rebellion did not exist for me, kinda weird when I see it mentioned everywhere all the time. And "boring" was and sometimes still is the way to describe me - too cautious, and not enough spontaneity.

But I don't think I'd change anything even going back. Too many benefits...

That was me as a kid, and can confirm, that did transfer to the internet.

Same and same. Although I mostly use the internet to read stuff so it's kinda full circle.

OP here - I wouldn’t have anything like the same reaction to books, even though it might be argued that they’re the same as an iPad in being a technological distraction device. I don’t think they are at all, being a world of artistry created by the author, and requiring mind and imagination to decode. If my child needed a book all the time, I’d be pretty pleased about it. My general point was toward both the iPad use as some kind of defeater for the child being bored AND the content on those iPads - every one I see seems to be rapidly flashing, multicoloured simulation of barely even a cartoon, just some irresistible schema of child-directed content. Books are a world away from this. I’d encourage the book reading, it’s a different thing for a child to be engrossed in reading opposed to hectically distracted away from thinking and acting by an irresistible supernormal stimulus. I hope your child grows into a great writer one day.

I was this kid. It led to a lifelong love of reading and illustration which I’ve shared with friends and continue to cherish to this day. Sometimes the only think driving me out the door is the opportunity to draw something new or chance upon a good book or magazine. It also led to terrible eyesight, but generally your daughter is probably going to be fine.

Why does reading lead to poor vision? You've got me interested particularly because I have such an odd dynamic with this. I don't feel like my lens prescription has really changed at all (like ever) but I suppose I would have to check the prescriptions to be sure.

Are there ways to attenuate what you're referring to you are aware of?

It's long, uninterrupted periods of staring at a very near object, usually lit artificially unless you have a pleasant reading space by a window. It leads almost invariable to nearsightedness more than just 'poor vision'. This effect is more pronounced in children due to the fact that their eyes are still growing and change shape much more easily. There have started to be myopic toddlers where this was previously a very rare genetics based phenomena.

My daughter does have some wicked myopia. The optometrist blamed her reading.

You should get her something like VoiceDream or SpeechCentral and load books on to that. I feel like it would keep her eyes more active

Do you ever notice her "hiding" behind books to avoid social interactions or activities?