tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post2425857890659999525..comments2023-09-13T08:51:38.047-07:00Comments on My Overstuffed Bookshelf: DISCUSSION POST: Teens and CensorshipAmy Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009768142315390944noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-36972087887596969112011-03-02T18:09:47.826-08:002011-03-02T18:09:47.826-08:00Thank you for posting this.
My parents never cens...Thank you for posting this.<br /><br />My parents never censored me; the only form of censorship I found was the "High School Only" section in the library, and my parents were always willing to sign a permission slip allowing me to read those books.<br /><br />I feel like kids are smart enough to know what they like to read and what they can handle; I know I did. I feel like I might have been a bit more advanced for my reading group, but I knew what I liked to read and I learned a lot from the variety of books that I picked up.<br /><br />Jane<br />janestoryblog.blogspot.comJanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978268928014084939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-1367591540030936622011-02-15T08:39:53.343-08:002011-02-15T08:39:53.343-08:00I LOVE the answer that lostinbelieving said!! I wa...I LOVE the answer that lostinbelieving said!! I was not censored in my reading as a child and I don't think I will for my child(she is only 1) either I want her to have a LOVE for reading and have already started her a little library of her own. I think that teaching right from wrong and open communication like you have with your child is key... then it's not about censorship!! It becomes something more!!MMARhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11396535980127409042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-15921995200445481252011-02-15T08:02:26.067-08:002011-02-15T08:02:26.067-08:00Great subject! I was raised by my grandparents, an...Great subject! I was raised by my grandparents, and by the age of 15 I was reading and watching what I wanted. I remember reading Danielle Steel romance novels in 5th grade LOL My son is almost 11 and I do monitor what he reads, watches, and what video games he plays. With that said I’m very lenient compared to other parents I know and believe if you make something off limits they’ll just want it more. He is great about asking if I think books will be too scary for him. I hope to monitor what he is exposed to for as long as I can , but I will trust him to make his own choices as he gets older. I don’t think reading a book with teens drinking or having sex will make a teen run out and do the same as long as parents are involved and paying attention to their children. I try to keep a very open relationship with my son and so far it is working well.CHRISTIEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08201194083470343354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-85709449341940790882011-02-15T05:51:41.394-08:002011-02-15T05:51:41.394-08:00My parents never censored what I read (with the ex...My parents never censored what I read (with the exception of one book that I inherited from my grandma – Scruples by Judith Krantz), and for that I am extremely grateful. From kindergarten on, I read way above my classmates’ reading level and would have gone crazy if I had been stuck reading what they were reading simply for the sake of propriety. It was also a nice way to connect with my parents – my dad gave me all of his favorites from back in the day, and I grew up reading and talking to my dad about books by Douglas Adams, Alistair Maclean, and Kurt Vonnegut.<br /><br />I don’t believe, as someone posted, that once the sexual switch is turned on it stays on. I started reading James Patterson’s adult novels in 5th grade and my mom’s romance novels (not just the “clean” ones but also the Temptation and Blaze lines) in sixth grade, and I still managed to keep it in my pants. I think that when kids start having sex early, it’s because they don’t have a support system in place to tell them that it’s okay to take things at a pace they’re comfortable with instead of what society and their peers dictate. If you teach your kids to trust and value themselves, they’re much less likely to do stupid things.<br /><br />I have found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place at times, because my half-siblings’ parents definitely do not share my parents’ beliefs. My experiences with them over the last few years have only cemented the idea that I do not want to censor my future children’s reading.Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00344466922294662661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-32887549548237479542011-02-14T20:38:50.877-08:002011-02-14T20:38:50.877-08:00Growing up my parents never censored what I read. ...Growing up my parents never censored what I read. I read crazily and by elementary school I was reading books at an adult reading level, but my parents didn't mind I was reading books for adults because I took responsibility for what I read. They were actually pretty happy I was reading. I don't remember coming across anything bad and I'm so thankful to my parents for giving me the freedom to read what I wanted back then. I learned a lot from my books and I really enjoyed reading different type of books at that young age. I think responsible censoring is okay though, it's all up to the parents choice. I mean, it's their kids, so they have every right to censor what they want. I'm just thankful that my parents never censored what I read, I had a pretty fun childhood reading super fun books. :DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-54637618545994912072011-02-14T17:47:15.244-08:002011-02-14T17:47:15.244-08:00Like your daughter, I am also 15. My parents are t...Like your daughter, I am also 15. My parents are the exact same way you are. They never had things censored growing up and my mom says that they turned out 'just fine.' I'm thankful that my parents don't try and censor the books I read. I don't try and read the adult stuff, it's just nice to know I have the freedom if I wanted too.<br /><br />To be honest, I don't think censoring is as amazing as people think it is. Learning about different things that are more 'mature' is apart of growing honest, and I can tell you that my school is probably worse than any books I've read. High schoolers (and even middle schoolers) know/do/say things a lot of adults would never expect us to do. <br /><br />Censoring isn't helping because we either know about it already, or try and rebel to know about things they don't want us too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-78981819816777229892011-02-14T17:25:19.687-08:002011-02-14T17:25:19.687-08:00I think that censorship on reading is much the sam...I think that censorship on reading is much the same as censorship on anything else you do with your teenager. I was raised in a very controlling atmosphere and thereby chose not to do the same with my own children. We had open discussions about sex, drugs, alcohol and any other subject they brought up. I always knew what they were reading, doing or who they were hanging out with. Unfortunately, not all parents do that and I had kids at my house whose parents did not know where they were. <br />We live in a brutal world where things change in an instant and communication is really the essential key to EVERYthing. Books are a tool whereby an author is trying to communicate a message, so the answer you have to decide is whether or not you want that message communicated to your child - how it is delivered should not matter.<br />I hope that made some sense.Brenda Youngermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14005915631509507354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-89707569702412873092011-02-14T11:42:17.109-08:002011-02-14T11:42:17.109-08:00I have sensored some of the books my son wanted to...I have sensored some of the books my son wanted to read. I knew he just wasn't emotionally able to handle them. He wasn't happy at the time, but accepted my decision. Now, he is older, he has read the books, and thanked me for making him wait. He said he wouldn't have been ready to read them. I think sometimes you do have to censor a book, depending on your childs maturity level.debbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02405024070305705837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-89359815631267397332011-02-14T10:21:27.094-08:002011-02-14T10:21:27.094-08:00A topic dear to my heart...
I have a 12 yo and 15...A topic dear to my heart...<br /><br />I have a 12 yo and 15 yo, and at times...I do censor what they watch and read. We are definitely lenient, but there are some things that they don't need to concern themselves with. May sound funny, but we don't care about language, drug use or violence in movies, tv, and books. Our main concern is with sexually related material. We are a very open family and discuss everything under the sun. That doesn't mean that I am comfortable with my daughters reading books with explicit sex scenes.<br /><br />This may sound strange, but once you turn that sexual switch on...it stays on. I've heard sexually abused people say the same thing. If that switch can remain off for as long as possible, I'm okay with that. My head isn't stuck in the sand, we talk about rape, incest, and all the dating stuff. We are realistic about sex with our kids - we don't shove the 'marriage before sex' thing down their throat. It's almost to unrealistic to ask of such a thing. Sad, but true. We hope for that and ask them to consider waiting to be in a longterm committed relationship, but this country is literally sweating with sex. It's all over the place! I sound like a grandma, but sometimes, it's just too much for an impressionable teen. <br /><br />Short answer: Yes, and it's my right to do so for MY child, but no one else's.Jen Bighearthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04549123296922258428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4272447557425149349.post-7156459461595339172011-02-14T09:29:00.893-08:002011-02-14T09:29:00.893-08:00I appreciate your opinion on this, my parents did ...I appreciate your opinion on this, my parents did censor me.. in tv related shows growing up but never really with books, <br /><br />I cant say for sure how i will be when the kids are teens seeing there 5 & 7 but all the books here will be available to them as they get old we have books from stage 1 reading for kids to sexual secret books and religious materials of all type in the house I feel that they should be able to make there own decision and believes as they age. I have never believed there opinions have to be the same, what better way to learn than to have a bunch of options and learning materials. <br /><br />Thanks for bringing up this topic.ReaganStarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06633962254181172571noreply@blogger.com