How far would you go in monitoring your childrens’ reading material?
From about 11 til 18 I used to read ALOT of magazines and trashy books, even though my parents never approved of the magazines.
I started reading the “teen” mags, like Seventeen, CosmoGirl, YM, when i was 11-12…Cosmopolitan when i was 15. Now that I’m older, I realize exactly how bad those magazines were and no wonder my parents hated htem…I dont think i’d want my daughter to read teen magazines, or esp womens magazines.
For those of you who read these regularly, would u be okay with ur kids reading theM?
I had this huge issue too. My middle son was behind in reading this year (in 2nd grade). It was SUCH a struggle to get him to read and sadly, to get him to understand that reading is FUN.
WELL. He discovered (thanks to a "friend") these books called "Captain Underpants" and he began reading voraciously and over the span of 2 months jumped 3 levels in reading.
Since then, I've been able to coerce him into reading Tom Sawyer and White Fang - NICE books lol! But I guess he needed something to really grab him and like many boys his age, bathroom humour just did the trick. As much as I dislike it, it did get him where he needs to be and helped him to truly understand that reading CAN be fun.
As parents, you have to choose your battles. And keep the hair dye handy to cover all the grays that sprout as a result :)
I use to read seventeen too - just borrowed them for the library. My parents hated it too but it's okay when they are 15+. I don't want a seventeen in the hands of a 9-10 years old.
I don't want my child reading cosmo - I can't even read cosmo :)
I am okay with literature as long as it's age recomended.
i’ve read them all my life; actually i’ve read everything and anything I can get my hands on.
My mom never stopped me my father was afraid I’d go blind from all the reading.
But mom did discuss what she read and hence I’d tell her what I read. I think thats actually how I become such a reader; so it was good quality time spent together and she kept an eye on what I was reading. Sneaky WOMAN THAT MOTHER OF MINE!
As for Cosmo; I’ve always read that (teens on) and honestly I read the funny mishaps in the begining; jump to the best cosmetic finds of the month and then to the horoscopes and party pages. Its all about what you take away from such things.
Its difficult to completely ban kids to do things...somehow they do get their hands on it and sneak away to read them. I guess I would prefer if my kids did read openly.
My daughter reads those Twilight and Dark Moon (is it?) series. Just wondering what age are those sort of books meant for? All the kids in her class are reading them. I have to let her read otherwise she feels left out.
Then again she also reads a completely different genre of books too. She recently finished Diary of Anne Frank...made me remove my storage box to fish out Wuthering Heights. Seems interested in the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Oh and she made me read Jane Eyre cos she loved it. (OK it was an abridged version...but still)
I was quite an advanced reader for my age… i remember reading Lolita when i was a kid… one word: woah.
I was never into girly magazines…and the only things you’ll find around our house are stacks of Science/Medical journals, newspapers, The Economist and the odd Vogue magazine. Vogue obviously being at the bottom of the pile, where i hope my girls don’t see it :halo:
how old is she Kikoy?
The last book of Twilight is a little ummm risky for the younger clan.
She read Wuthering Heights!! Holy Mother!! I read that as an adult and I had a hard time with it.
Oops sorry I forgot to mention she is 12. Sometimes, I wish she would stick to those Mary Kate and Ashley type of books. I am steering her towards Nancy drew. She seems to enjoy them.
She asked for wuthering heights, and I guess will attempt to read it at some point. Lets see how far she gets.
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As for Cosmo; I've always read that (teens on) and honestly I read the funny mishaps in the begining; jump to the best cosmetic finds of the month and then to the horoscopes and party pages. Its all about what you take away from such things.
I dunno, when I was in HS it all seemed totally okay, now I look at it like...softcore porn. Some things u just shouldn't know until ur married.
the whole tendency to hide stuff scares me.
we all did it and our children will likely do it.
it still scares me.
Its okay..im sure most/all kids wont be as bad as I was. :)
I started reading cosmo when i was around 18-19 ... the only thing my mother went on at me for was the amount of $$ I wasted on magazines. It wasn't just Cosmo, but People, InStyle and occassionally Vogue as well. It was all so glamorous at that age. I read a lot of books in high school. Nobody monitored it, but I was reading historical fiction. My parents did tell me off for reading late into the night, resulting in me getting really bad vision and the need for glasses from Grade 10. :(
I too was a voracious reader....still am when I get the time....but I only ever hid those awful Mills and Boon books. I thought they were so risque for the time...quit tame really compared to Cosmo though.
I used to borrow some mags from friends to read,but they were always about boys (never had a boyfriend,so no problems) or what to wear clubbing (never allowed out so no problems),or what to do with your skin (no spots so no problems).
But I would hate my daughter to read the sort of teen mags available now.I think she may have read Glamour once when her friend was round.She enjoys reading books too....from Enid Blyton to Lemony Snicket via Harry Potter of course!.She has discovered Jane Eyre and Tess.
I had read all the mills and boon I could get my hands on by the time I was 15...not to mention started reading khawateen digest and those kind of magazines...although it didn't contain any thing explicit .... it made my mind wander.... I don't think as a teenager I should've read those things but I hid them so well from my parents.... I just wanted to read.... I really want my kids to develop a love for reading... but I pray that they don't read age inappropriate stuff.... I agree with sara... there is sooo much in these books/magazines that really does us no good especially as teenagers..
Same here. Gosh what i could’ve done with that money
What is Mills and BooN?
I used to read babysitters club, RL stine, whcih were fine…but then I graduated to VC andrews and Nora Roberts…and thats just stuff no one should read (cz its just so…cornY!).
since i was in college, I stopped reading books..its only now that im getting into them again.
If you read Babysitters club and RL Stine the you are prolly too young for M&B.They were books with really crappy storylines like both characters hating each other at the beginning and the falling in love at the end.All the men were well off and macho, and there was usually a misunderstanding.However as far as I can remember the heroine was a virgin and nothing actually happened.I shudder to think I actually read them.Plus, I think I would only confess to that on here where no one knows me…lol.
VC Andrews…is that the Flowers in the Attic legacy?..and I think I have read a Nora Roberts too…does she write as JD Robb as well or am I way off base?
