Rarely ever are we reminded that technology is a bane than a boon, especially in the hands of a toddler. Too busy sometimes, parents get Alexa to do the job of playing a nursery rhyme or a Bollywood number to keep them busy. Their new toys are not clay, dough or blocks, but tablets and smartphones. A book like Once Upon a Gift (The Write Place; Rs 249) by educationist and childhood activist Dr Swati Popat Vats and journalist Nasrin Modak-Siddiqi, thus, couldn’t have come at a better time to remind us how these new easy-peasy distractions are hampering children’s development.

The book, in effect, explores the kindergarten method, founded by Friedrich Frobel (1782-1852), a German pedagogue who “recognised children’s unique needs and capabilities”.