Children and reading

I have been wondering for a long time how ereaders will impact reading in the home. My dad wasn't a big library user, but bought book and magazines that interested him. My mother, on the other hand, rarely bought books, but frequently took us to the public library when we were little. My parents always found extra money when it came to the monthly book club flyers that my brother and I would bring home from school. There was plenty for me to pick up and read around the house.

As a life-long reader I own quite a few books. Buying books seems like a good move until you have to move. I have begun switching to ebooks for many purchases and avoiding buying fiction titles that I will most likely only read once. Despite this switch in formats, I have invested in print children's books that never seem to go out of fashion and my daughter (due in the fall) already has an enviable library in her room.

Over the last few days I have been clearing out a massive pile of magazines that have been building up. My husband says I am a marketer's nightmare as my interests run quite a gamut, but we can't make their job easy, can we? The thought crossed my mind more than once that as I make the switch to ebooks and audiobooks for much of my reading (especially with the super cheap daily deals), what will be lying around the house for my daughter to pick up? We certainly aren't going paperless, but I will have to make a concerted effort to continue print magazine subscriptions in those topics that I may want her to stumble across (Popular Science, cooking, crafts) and may benefit from keeping others out of her hands at too young of an age (my fashion fix) by subscribing to the emagazine. I do intend on ordering the print children's magazines even if the digital version is available and look forward to her getting her first mail.

I suppose that we will have to address this issue down the road, but it makes one wonder how ereaders will change how children read in the home.