Should parents censor what their kids read?

What is acceptable reading material for your child?

It’s a legit question, especially since banning books by some schools has in turn created a demand for these books.

Suppose your middle schooler wants to read Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus? Would exposing them to certain truths harm them, or frighten them?

Looking at this list of banned books, I realize I’ve read nearly every one of them as a kid, and I didn’t become a deviant, sex fiend, or whatever awful person some of these legislators think children might become if they read them.

To me, the real issue is, however: You tell a twelve year old they can’t read something because they aren’t mature enough, and you may as well have told them “Read this now!” In this way, book censorship is bound to backfire.

So what do parents do?

Carolyn Hax, who writes for the Washington Post writes, “Our rule with our kids was, ‘If you can read it, you can read it.’ No books ever held back, for any reason. Stephen King included. I’d do it that way again.”

Readers gonna read

My mother let me read stacks and stacks of comic books until my young eyes grew bleary and my fingertips were dark from turning the inky pages, starting with Little Lulu and later Archie. In middle school, I moved on to Mad Magazine, a comic full of riotous satire on popular culture. I would get positively giddy when a new issue appeared in the drug store. Some content was so subversive (such as parodies on movies I sensed were too adult for me to watch) that I wondered if I should hide it from Mom.

She gave me free reign when we visited the public library twice a month in the little town of Ohio, where the Victorian poetry books called to me. I salivated over the sexual metaphors hidden in the verse of poets such as John Donne.

I think it pleased my mother that reading kept me busy and out of her hair.

Other parents chime in

Carolyn Hax’s column on censoring books for kids included comments from wise parents who aren’t overly concerned about what their children read:

“I read all kinds of stuff I wouldn’t have been allowed to read (had I asked) at that age: “The Godfather,” “The Happy Hooker,” “M*A*S*H,” “Sybil,” “The Exorcist,” etc. I emerged just fine.”

“Let them read the book! High school English language arts teacher here. It’s okay to give an easily frightened kid a heads-up about a scary book. But do not stifle curious readers.”

“I started reading Stephen King and John Grisham when I was 12, and I’m no worse for wear. In fact, John Grisham got me hooked on everything law and now I’m an attorney.”

“My son was a very advanced reader, and I had trouble keeping him in appropriate reading material. I was greatly relieved when a school mom friend, a psychologist in a public school system, told me kids generally censor themselves. If it is too heavy or distasteful, they will put it down.”

“As a librarian and a parent of a 10-year-old, I say let your daughter read it! Our rule in the house has always been to allow full intellectual freedom where books are concerned; we are much more careful about TV and movies, which are passively consumed.”

“When my young teenage son wanted to watch “Game of Thrones,” I made a deal — he could watch it if he read the books first. Since there are so many of them and they are so long, I figured I was good to go. He called my bluff, read them all.”

“They want to read! Celebrate this. Protecting them from things they might read is a bit of a joke today with the access they have to everything else.”

Let’s talk

Books can open up a discussion on unsavory or controversial topics. I remember my mother flipped out when she noticed I’d picked up a book on communism from the library when I was in high school. She angrily shamed me, “I suppose you’re going to be a communist, now!” Truthfully, I was simply curious. Unfortunately her harsh comment had shut down any discussion we might have had on politics.

Interestingly, when I look back, she didn’t try to stop me from reading it, however. She was willing to let me make up my own mind.

As one of the parents in Carolyn’s column said, “As a precocious reader who read Stephen King books and The Clan of the Cave Bear at 12, and sometimes had non-related adults aghast that my parents would ‘allow’ it, I was more comfortable asking my parents about things that went over my head in said books. It was a natural way for them to discuss some challenging or complex things with me.”

That’s exactly what parents should aim for. Instead of book censorship, try Let’s talk about it. Reading is good. Reading fosters empathy and intelligence, and opens discussion. Most importantly, reading makes for a well-rounded adult who isn’t afraid of other’s opinions.

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Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her multi-award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her poetry chapbook, Security