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kateelliottA few days ago I posted a query to You All asking for suggestions for a reader, turning 12, who would like something to read as she finishes the Twilight series. I noted that I had some specific requests, such as no graphic sex or strong violence and no deeply Fraught issues that I personally would consider more appropriate for an older teen reader.
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cristalia commented: N.B., my inherent bias in this situation is a concern that anything the reader considers too young for her or an effort to "tone down" her reading will be seen as talking down and interference, and it'll never get read.
I think this is a useful point.
What do we consider age appropriate, and how do we reach those conclusions?
I was a parent who did not take my young children to PG-13 films until they were, well, 12 or so. I monitored reading content when they were in elementary school. Once they were in middle school (grades 6 - 8, ages 11- 14 or thereabouts), I stayed aware of what they were reading. I bought a lot of books for my children (they are all college age now, and all remain readers) and at that tween age I stayed away from what I will call deeply fraught content. It was rare for them to bring home something I didn't care for--I'm not sure I can even think of an example--and if they ever did I likely would have said much what my father said to me when I was 14 and asked if I should read "The Godfather." He said, "you can certainly read it if you want; I don't think it's a very good book." (I never read it.) If I really disapproved of the content of a book, I felt free to explain what I objected to. By the time they were 16, I figured they (like me in my own time) would be completely independent in what they chose to read and view--that was my goal as a prent, and I think I can safely say that it's one I achieved.
I was not a particularly precocious reader (I was not one of those children who read through the entire library by age 8; I was still reading animal stories in 7th grade), nor were my children in that particular sense, but we are all readers. And we think about what we read.
Ultimately, when I consider age appropriateness, I take into consideration two things:
1) there are some subjects and/or levels of graphic-ness, some content, that I do think is not appropriate for younger children or tweens (although I think precocious tween readers may well read things and miss entirely certain kinds of content because they don't know how to process it yet)
2) my goal as a parent, in this case, was to instill a love for reading in my children as well as the idea that you, as the reader, could think about what you were reading in terms of whether you liked it or didn't, and why.
But I think there are people who, as children, felt their reading was interfered with, and not in a positive way.
So, how do you approach the issue of age appropriate reading (and viewing, if you will)?
cristalia commented: N.B., my inherent bias in this situation is a concern that anything the reader considers too young for her or an effort to "tone down" her reading will be seen as talking down and interference, and it'll never get read. I think this is a useful point.
What do we consider age appropriate, and how do we reach those conclusions?
I was a parent who did not take my young children to PG-13 films until they were, well, 12 or so. I monitored reading content when they were in elementary school. Once they were in middle school (grades 6 - 8, ages 11- 14 or thereabouts), I stayed aware of what they were reading. I bought a lot of books for my children (they are all college age now, and all remain readers) and at that tween age I stayed away from what I will call deeply fraught content. It was rare for them to bring home something I didn't care for--I'm not sure I can even think of an example--and if they ever did I likely would have said much what my father said to me when I was 14 and asked if I should read "The Godfather." He said, "you can certainly read it if you want; I don't think it's a very good book." (I never read it.) If I really disapproved of the content of a book, I felt free to explain what I objected to. By the time they were 16, I figured they (like me in my own time) would be completely independent in what they chose to read and view--that was my goal as a prent, and I think I can safely say that it's one I achieved.
I was not a particularly precocious reader (I was not one of those children who read through the entire library by age 8; I was still reading animal stories in 7th grade), nor were my children in that particular sense, but we are all readers. And we think about what we read.
Ultimately, when I consider age appropriateness, I take into consideration two things:
1) there are some subjects and/or levels of graphic-ness, some content, that I do think is not appropriate for younger children or tweens (although I think precocious tween readers may well read things and miss entirely certain kinds of content because they don't know how to process it yet)
2) my goal as a parent, in this case, was to instill a love for reading in my children as well as the idea that you, as the reader, could think about what you were reading in terms of whether you liked it or didn't, and why.
But I think there are people who, as children, felt their reading was interfered with, and not in a positive way.
So, how do you approach the issue of age appropriate reading (and viewing, if you will)?