[blparent] Censoring reading?

Sun Aug 7 04:28:11 UTC 2011

I agree with Bridget.  I believe that children do not have the same 
understanding of things that we have, and their curious minds don't need to 
be exposed to any more than is appropriate for their age.  My son comes to 
me to ask questions all the time, but I would never allow him to read 
Stephen King at the age of 11, even though he reads at a 9th grade level. 
He has read Harry Potter and other books that I consider to be for older 
readers as well, but we have also read the books and can talk about those 
things.  But I read Stephen King when I was young and it definitely took me 
to a world I didn't belong in at such a young age.  My parents never 
sensored what I read or watched on TV, and honestly I wish they had.  Some 
of the things in his books were disturbing to me even as an adult.  I always 
explain why certain books are not appropriate for my son and he understands. 
This doesn't mean he won't sneak around and read them anyway if he gets the 
opportunity, but I can still do all I can as his parent to keep him on the 
right track.  What he chooses to do with that information is up to him, but 
he'll do it knowing it's wrong, and chances are he'll realize why I 
discouraged it in the first place.
Leanne

-----Original Message----- 
From: Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2011 4:43 PM
To: blparent at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blparent] Censoring reading?

Hello,

Wanted to chime in on this topic.  I don't believe in censorship, but I
do believe there is age-appropriate material as well as
age-inappropriate material.

Movies based on books are often changed quite a bit for film for various
reasons.  People watch a film based on a book and decide to read the
book only to discover material that wasn't included in the film by any
means.

Growing up, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was one of my family's favorite
films.  I've seen it a hundred times.  Then I read the book later,
probably early 20's, only to discover the book contains adult subject
matter including sex.  The book was never meant for children, and the
film is based off of one chapter.

I don't believe any Stephan King book is appropriate for anyone younger
than a teen and even then I have my doubts.

This is just a few things in the books that I'm aware of:

In the Stand, a man forcibly sodomizes another man with a gun.
In It, the group of kids have sex with one young girl- a gang rape of
sorts, plus the demon is pretty disturbing stuff.
In The Green Mile, a man rapes and murders two young sisters.
In The Dead Zone, the main character has sex with a married ex in a barn
while her baby sleeps on the porch.
In the Shaw shank Redemption, a group of prisoners rape Andy, the main
character.

The list goes on.  Plus, many King novels contain dark and disturbing
material.  And there's a reason King books are not sold in the youth
section.

If kids choose to go against what parents say, well, it's going to
happen- this is just a part of life, but it doesn't mean parents cave
and give in.  We still set certain standards.

Trust me, I was a rebellious kid and very curious.  Perhaps my parents
were too strict, and I've tried to hit a balance with my own parenting,
but based on my own experience and retrospective distance from
situations, I understand why my parents didn't want me doing some
things.

Personally, I think King is not appropriate material for anyone under 15
or 16, and regardless of how much a child wants to read King, a parent
should not be the one handing them the book.

Reading and literacy are extremely important, and we encourage this at
home, but to say, "As long as they're reading," seems like a flimsy
reason to allow a child to read material written for adults.  Take kids
to a local library, spend time in the youth section, attend readings for
children, research age-appropriate books and give them as gifts or check
it out at a library and present to your child.  As late as my teens, I
did library activities with my parents and had an opportunity to explore
all the different types of literature.  Give kids a reason to explore
their literary options instead of being solely influenced by peers,
pop-culture and the media.

If your teenage daughter decides to get pregnant, do you go along with
it?  Of course not.  Will it still happen?  Maybe, but at least you
communicated your reasons for not wanting her to have a child so young.

Maybe this is a bad analogy, but I just think we steel innocence from
our kids way to early.  Beyond the sexual and dark content, King books
contain subject matter meant for adults- dealing with adult problems.
No matter how astute or bright a kid is, they just don't need to be
confronted with this type of subject matter yet.

You don't forbid it; you don't put your foot down and deny with no
reasoning, but you make it clear why you feel something is wrong or
inappropriate.  And present alternatives.  I believe this should be done
whether the issue is literature, films, sex- whatever the topic,
especially when they reach adolescence- the ten to teen age period.

Plus, if a child is more astute and has a higher comprehension level,
they're probably going to be more affected by such subject material.  My
vote is that King books, and films, are not at all appropriate for
children.

Bridgit P

Message: 7
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 11:50:44 -0500
From: "Pipi" <blahblahblah0822 at gmail.com>
To: <blindparenting at googlegroups.com>, "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing
List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>, <blv-moms at googlegroups.com>,
<singleblindparents at googlegroups.com>
Subject: [blparent] Sensoring reading?
Message-ID: <5A5CD5D14A8F4A43965A8A0FA803A6C3 at BLAHBLAHBLAH>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hey y'all,
After a conversation with a few people last night and this morning, I'm
curious. A bit of background: My nephew and I were watching Stand By Me
last night. He said that he wanted to read the book. Red flags went up
in my mind. He is 12. I know that he'd be fine reading half of Different
Seasons, by Stephen King, which is where the novella of stand by me is,
but I can't remember about the other half of the book. I think he'd
enjoy shawshank redemption as well. People I spoke to said they were
reading IT and other Stephen King books at anywhere between 9 and 12.
I remember still reading the baby sitter's club books at that age. A
friend pointed out that if my nephew wants to read the books badly
enough, he'd find a way. I understand this point, but then think that he
really wouldn't have the access to them. His 2nd point was that as long
as a kid is willing to discuss the books with someone and is openly
talking, then it could be a great thing. What are your opinions? Would
you or do you allow your kids to read books above their age rating? Is
this anything like sensoring TV and video games, or are books different?
Pipi

------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 10:57:15 -0600
From: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] Sensoring reading?
Message-ID: <SNT116-DS23F8531896A2A467C189FFAC3F0 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original

Good morning.  A lot depends on your nephew--does he openly talk about
things, does he read well and understand what he reads, is he prone to
nightmares or being easily influenced by dark thoughts.  I know nothing
of
him, but my stepson wants to read Stephen King, and his dad and mom and
I
think that as long as he's reading, it's better than nothing.  It keeps
his
mind going, but then, he knows it's just fiction.  Our hope is that
eventually, he'll broaden his reading choices.  So maybe letting him
read
the books isn't so bad, because like you said, if you forbid it, then it

adds an element of mystery that will make him want to get his hands on
those
books even more.

Jo Elizabeth

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