Parent-Child Dialogue with eBooks

Research shows that dialogic reading (adults and children engaging in conversation about the book they are reading) facilitates young children's language and vocabulary development and success in learning to read. A growing body of research suggests that parent-child dyads engage in less dialogic reading with e-books than with traditional paper books. Previous researchers have suggested this effect may be due to interactive features such as animations and games distracting children from the storyline, or that voice-over narration may compete with parent verbalization. The current study is the first to test this explanation directly, by comparing parent-child reading of a "feature-free" e-book with reading a paper book. Results showed that even "plain" e-books with severely limited interactive features led to less parent-child conversation about book content than reading with paper books. It is critical that these results inform parents, educators, developers, and the research community with regard to policy and practice for young children's media use.