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Park Slope Parents Say Library Has Too Much Technology
By
Lauren Evans
Published Mar 26, 2013
Modified Mar 26, 2013
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Mar 26, 2013
Modified Mar 26, 2013
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Not a lot of people realize this, but it's tough being a Park Slope parent. Will little Sienna grow up to be happier and more successful if she's pushed around in a Maclaren Techno XLR stroller (features: head hugger, reversible seat liner, fully reclining seat) or a BMW Buggy (features: padded liner with a luxurious bucket-seat feel, contoured hood with mesh windows and insignia details)? Was Luther's Pre-K admissions essay good enough for Berkeley Carroll? Will we get to Tea Lounge in time to get the goddamn GOOD chairs for kids sing-along?
So anyway, these people have enough going on without having to worry about all the computers and gadgets simply overpowering the library, standing sentry between children and the pages of the real, musty-smelling books their parents so desperately want them to touch, just once, before they're extinct for good.
Josh Skaller, father to a 12-year-old and a 3-year-old, told DNAinfo that while he appreciates the resources offered by the library's Park Slope branch, he worries that his children may not be able to locate books under the heaps and heaps of gleaming technology. (Which, for the record, no longer includes iPads, which were taken off the floor after one of the library's four was stolen promptly after the branch reopened in September.)
"It’s not so easy to peruse the stacks because the tables with the computers are right there," Skaller said. "There's not a lot space away from those screens... For the 3-year-old, there's an immense opportunity to discover new things to read, and anything that's pulling her away from that gets in the way of the purpose of the trip to the library."
It can be tough to overpower a 3-year-old, but sometimes good parenting means ripping the tablet out of a child's grubby hands and replacing it with a nice, old fashioned paperback. Or hell, bundle them in a coat and push them outside, if for no other reason than the kids need to build the strength and savvy to defend their pricey gadgets from people like this.
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Lauren Evans
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