I really don't feel it's that big of a deal. In our honors classes they read historial works that are far worse than Clockwork Orange.
Books with violence, drugs and sexual content were required reading in my 14 year old daughter's honors English class. In particular, The Things They Carried.
No, I do not censor my kids reading material.
A Clockwork Orange is not Saw, Hostel, or even Halloween. Nor is it porn. 50 Shades of Grey might be a bit much for a 14 yo, but hell, *I* read From Russia With Love when I was 12, and Lady Chatterlys Lover when I was 14! Books --and movies-- on mature subject matter can open a childs mind, and be the springboard to wonderful conversations about how the characters choices affect their lives. As with anything, don't make value judgments unless you TRULY understand the subject. Read the books, and watch the movies, YOURSELF, and then decide if your daughter is mature enough to understand them.
my favorite book as a teen was Go Ask Alice and I loved The Bell Jar
And To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, A High Wind in Jamacia, Farenheit 451, In Cold Blood, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Slaughterhouse Five...,
Books are different than movies because our brains process them in different ways, and we tend to sort of auto-edit content when we read, whereas movies provide a visual whether we want it or not. I did not audit my dd's reading material necessarily, but everything on her Kindle was purchased against my Amazon account so I would get notifications to my email when she bought something. Normally she would ask before she bought it anyway. If I hadn't read what she was reading, I would at least look at what the content was, what age group it was written for, and what the summaries and reviews said. If it was particularly adult or serious, I would read it myself. That way I had the opportunity to discuss content with her. Learning that things happen in the world is fine. For instance, Ellen Hopkins has an awesome serious of books written in poetic form that cover topics like drug use, addiction, and cutting. My dd read every one of those books, and I read them too so we could talk about the topics. She never glorified drug use. In fact, I think she learned a lot. I think there were 2 books that I actually said I didn't think she was ready for. I didn't forbid them, but she respected my opinion. If she is reading Clockwork Orange, then your dd must be an advanced reader and somewhat mature, or she wouldn't even have an interest in that content. That makes me think that your informed discussion would be more valuable in this case than censorship.
need ideas on activities to do together with my teens
Appropriate or Asking for trouble?
- stephimummy
on Feb. 18, 2013 at 4:46 PM