B is a four year old Pacific Island boy. English is not his parents first language, however they tell us that they speak English to him, at home. F does not appear to understand what we are saying to him. He stares blankly at us when we ask him something. He rarely speaks to us and if he does it is very difficult to understand what he is saying. He doesn't engage in any other activities apart from playing with cars, trains and bikes. I have also found that he isn't interested in books or pictures of any of these. We have considered beginning observations with the view of suggesting a referral to Special Eduction Services.


One day he indicated to one of the teachers, by gesturing, an interest in an interactive video game. When she asked him about the game she was stunned at how clearly he was able to tell her about the game. She said “It was as if I was having a conversation with an adult!” When she spoke to the boy's father he told her that he plays these games all of the time, even before he comes to childcare. It is the first thing he wants to do when he gets up. When she told me about this I found that thoughts of disapproval started stirring through my mind. How could they let him play this type of game so much? They should be reading to him, doing other activities with him. How is he going to manage at school?


According to Maney (2005) many authors are challenging the belief that books are automatically better than video games. For example Steve Johnson, author of Everything Bad is Good For You: How Today's Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter proposes that a lot of positive learning takes place when children are engaged in video games. They have to think about patterns in the game, long-term goals, resources, decisions, feedback and adjusting decisions which are all valuable cognitive processes (Maney, n.d.). Howeve research of violent and non-violent video games reveals some negative behaviour including aggressive feelings, thoughts and behaviour, and some desensitisation. Some non-violent games have been related to some positive learning effects, so it appears that there is some benefits depending on the types of games played.

 Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett and Farmer (2005) suggest that educational settings tend to validate the main stream practices such as the book based literacy practices in English. This is seen as the norm and more valuable than experiences with television, video game and computer texts (Kavanagh, 1997, Makin et., 1999 cited Arthur, Beecher et., 2005).  This, they say, marginalises children who don't have book based literacy experiences. With technology playing a greater role in children's literacy experiences I realise that I will have to shift my practice towards their daily realities. I found my thinking beginning to change. I am excited about developing more of a relationship with B and his family in order to build on this strength that he has.