When I was about 11 I started to read whatever I could get my hands on. That included my father’s collection of Stephen King books. I read them without pause and without fear and that was only the beginning of my journey into the world of adult fiction.
Do your kids read adult fiction? Do you monitor the books that your children do read? I started thinking about this because there are ratings on everything from video games to movies but there are no ratings on books. I am thankful for this. Books should not be rated. However, as a parent I wonder how my daughter will react to certain content inside of books. I wonder if I should read the book before giving it to her to read. Is that too much?
I’ve read and reviewed my fair share of young adult and tween books. Most of them are mild compared to what I myself was exposed to. Of course, I exposed myself to what I did and was able to handle it. Part of me wonders if children can handle more than what we think they can. After all, I handled quite a bit and turned out just fine.
I suppose my main query is, Do we shelter our children too much? I think the answer might be yes. I think we want to protect our children from everything but in the end we hurt them.
Imagine this, a child grows up without television, without books, without any connection to the outside world. The child has never eaten candy or junk food. When the child is grown it ventures out into the world and is exposed to all of the things that it had never experienced. The child, now an adult, tries it all.
It’s psychology. The child would have never eaten candy or junk food and so he will eat all he can. He has never watched television or movies, so he will watch all he can. If we allow our children healthy doses of reality they will be less likely to overdo it in their adolescence. Basically, we need to allow them to be exposed to the world, within reason.
But back to books…I remember reading Lord of the Flies and thinking it was disgusting. This is required, or was, reading for grades 6 to 8. Who determines what reading is okay and what reading is not okay for students? Does the time in which it was written matter?
For example I remember reading Romeo and Juliet in school and thought nothing of it. But it is a story about teenage suicide. I find these things curious and wonder what you all think of it. Please comment and let me know.
Allow your children access to your bookshelves but be sure to let them know what to expect before hand. I knew what I was getting into reading Stephen King and I’m not disappointed. However, my dad had no idea that I had read those books at that time…in fact, this might be the first time I’ve mentioned it. Sorry dad…
William Golding: The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies
