“Would someone please watch out for my children”?

gypsy librarian says:

On risque YA books
Like the clip points out, it does boil down to parental guidance and supervision. The WSJ list looks interesting, and it does have a broad mix, but some of the titles are indeed risque. While I don’t believe in censorship, and I do believe kids should be allowed some freedom to read, I also believe parents and their children should be having conversations about what they read. This should be a given. I hate to agree with some critics, but the fact more of these books are out means the market is asking for them; they sell, and they often do reflect what is going on in the lives of some kids. For adults to pretend nothing is happening and that they can simply shield their children forever in some innocent world is doing the children a disservice. Better that they learn from their parents than their peers on certain issues. The key: dialogue with children often and early, and be aware of what they read. If they pick up a book you may disapprove of, don’t make a big deal out of it: that only will bring attention and likely dispel any opportunity for good conversation. Ask your teen questions about the book, appeal, themes, so on. Use the book as a springboard for talking about other things. Do I sound idealistic? Maybe a little, but so far, I am lucky I can supervise what my child reads and know she can come talk to either of her parents; she is comfortable doing that. How do you do it? Start early. If you waited until your kid was a teen to do it, it’s already too late. As a former teacher of high school, I saw what happens to kids whose parents made a big deal of something like books and failed to communicate instead. Overall, what can I say? Let your children read and discover, but do your job as a parent as well.

gypsy librarian says:

Re:On risque YA books
Interesting replies. It is true, at the end of the day it will boil down to parents actually being willing to do their parenting. Do I wish at times there was a bit less of some things? Sure, I think every parent does on some level or another. That is part of raising their children. But it is still a matter of parents taking the responsibility to instill those values. Once you do that, and we are still working at it at our home, the rest will pretty much follow. If you wait for libraries, stores, Hollywood, whoever to do it for you, it is too late, not to mention you are probably neglecting your children in the process. And as someone who taught high school at one point, yes, young people can be extremely intelligent and insightful. I will tell readers this: during my days as a school teacher, all I had to do was meet the parents to often know why a kid turned out ok or turned out to be a mess, so to speak. You could tell which ones did their parenting job and which ones simply drifted. Anyhow, this may be of interest: a young student out in New Hampshire wrote a column to an editor simply asking others to let her read. http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/ 20050620/NEWS1301/106200060

I think it may be worth a look.