Did your parents censor your reading? - Page 5

[terrordactyl]

nope i read some weird books like VC andrews and i dont think i'm any worse cause of it

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by Belia

My mom took away one of the Judy Blume books- the one with the boy as the main character- sorry, I have no idea what the name was. There was a wet dream scene in it. She put it in top of the fridge.

I remember being completely incensed. Like, WHAAAAT???? Outraged. I remember it so clearly.

"Then again, maybe I won't"

[jeca]

My parents did not censor my readings and I do not censor my kids.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Nope my parents never even knew what I read. I was reading romance novels at around 13-14 that my gramma shared with me I miss her badly.

I have no intention of censoring what my kids read either. I am looking forward to discussing the stories with them.

[Aubergine68]

No, but in retrospect they should have, at least, kept the Playboys out of the house while I was growing up. Or hit them better

My grandma wouldn't let me read Lady Chatterly's Lover, which just drove me CRAZY to read it.

I went through our house and got rid of anything I would be ashamed for our kids to read. I'm all set....they can have free rein and hopefully won't get into anything too adult till they are old enough to handle it.

[LaLaLaLa]

My parents never censored my reading, although I did self-censor when books got too scary for me. We had lots of Stephen King stuff in the house when I was growing up, and sometimes I'd get into a story and have to skim over huge sections of it when bad things were happening. I think "Firestarter" particularly affected me, probably because I was close to the main character's age and could identify with her when I was reading it.

I read lots of sex stuff before I should have, I think. I'll definitely pay attention to the content in my kids' books when they start to read, so at least we'll be talking about what they're learning and I'll be able to set them straight when some book gives them a weird idea. I was kind of muddling through on my own.

[reece19]

Originally Posted by Shaina

nope i read some weird books like VC andrews and i dont think i'm any worse cause of it

I read all the VC Andrews books! Just a few weeks ago my mother was getting rid of my old books (we tend to hang on to books waaaay too long) to a friend with a young teen daughter. I had to tell mom that the VC Andrews books *might* not be considered appropriate by another parent. My mom had no idea about what I was reading as a kid.

My parents didn't censor at all. I love(d) to read and would have been pretty angry if I were not able to choose my own reading material. I think I was better off for having read the things I did.

[Imogen]

No, I remember reading Nancy Friday's My Secret Garden when I was 13-14 yrs old.

[TEAK's Mom]

My parents never censored my reading and I am glad that they did not. I was reading adult novels at a very early age (Clan of the Cave Bear at seven, etc.). I do remember that my fourth grade teacher had a total fit about Lady Chatterly's Lover, but my mother totally backed me up. Like others here, I read things that frightened and disturbed me, but I learned how to regulate and how to process. So many difficult things that I have faced in my life were easier to handle because of all of that reading.

Now, I have a 6.5 year old dd who is an equally precocious reader. Technically, she can read anything at all and I would never censor her choices. That said, I do take a more active role than my parents did. This is partially because I have just plain read more than they ever did so I am familiar with a larger number of books. It is also because I have a degree in gender studies (among other things) and own some books that many people would find shocking.

I would never forbid my dd to read something. That feels wrong to me on a very deep level. However, I do occasionally mention why I think she might prefer to wait on something. She certainly knows about sex, but is very disturbed by rape, so she avoids books with such scenes. Because she knows that I won't stop her, she actively seeks my advice when choosing adult books.

When the Twilight issue came up, I told her why I thought that she might want to wait (more about relationships than vampires, etc). Then, we found her some good vampire literature that suited the interest. If she picks up Twilight tomorrow, she can read it.

[Drummer's Wife]

I still have all my VC Andrew's books! My mom did say she thought they were trashy (or some similar word) yet she definitely never refused to allow me to check them out at the library or buy them, and read. It was just clear that she, herself, would not enjoy reading them and that she knew they contained explicit and sometimes horrifying plots.

This all reminds me I have Judy Blume's Forever on a bookshelf and if DD seriously was interested in reading it (she's almost 8) there's no way I would deny her of that. She hasn't noticed it and I'm sure if she looked thru it she would decide it was too advanced for her... but it would definitely be her choice.

music and books: I can't imagine censoring either in my home

[DvlDg]

Nope my parents never censored what I read. I read sci-fi and fantasy though. I sorta got into a little bit of romance when I was in high school. But by then I was old enough to understand. Now I read, sci-fi, fantasy, romance, mystery and occasionally horror.

I probably won't censor, when I have kids. I love to read and would read all the time. I'd probably suggest waiting on some books like romances but Clan of the Cave Bear, etc I'd let them read it when they wanted and go over anything they had a question on.

[Jessy1019]

All this talk about V.C. Andrews -- I can't be the only one whose mom was reading those books at the same time she was?

[Getz]

Originally Posted by Jessy1019

All this talk about V.C. Andrews -- I can't be the only one whose mom was reading those books at the same time she was?

No, but all my VC Andrews books used to belong to my mom (from her teens).

I just found a couple of my old copies and read them last week. I have been reading VC Andrews for at least 20 years and they don't get old. (well, I stopped reading "her" new books after the Dawn Series). I have probably read Flowers in the Attic 15 times.

I certainly won't stop my daughter from reading VC Andrews, but I would rather she wait until she's around 15ish versus age 10 when I started. They are extremely explicit. (but, I could definitely skip the birds and the bees talk and just give her Flowers in the Attic instead!)

[Jessy1019]

Originally Posted by Getz

I just found a couple of my old copies and read them last week. I have been reading VC Andrews for at least 20 years and they don't get old. (well, I stopped reading "her" new books after the Dawn Series). I have probably read Flowers in the Attic 15 times.

I stopped reading after "Dawn" too -- it was really just the same story, different location, over and over again. My Sweet Audrina never gets old to me, though.

[moneymaker325]

no I was allowed to read and discover

[Dahlea]

nope i could read whatever i wanted. not like they won't learn the "bad" stuff anyway

[Trinitty]

nak

nope.

i was reading all of stephen kings books really young. not sure if i should have though, as they really disturbed me and i didn't have enough self control to stop reading the author... i guess i didn't really understand what quality and genre were, books were just books then... some were wonderful stories about black stallions, others were about a town in maine with a nasty clown. kwim?

we plan on guiding dd's reading to some extent. meaning, i wouldn't want her reading Marquis de Sade.

trin

[bscal]

My parents never censored my reading. I read everything that had words in it. Books, newspapers, magazines, heck, even brochures/flyers at the doctor's office! A friend of my mother's once said something to her about Stephen King's "Misery" (which was sitting out on the couch) b/c she didn't think it was the type of thing Mom would be interested in... it was mine. I was 11 at the time. Misery remains one of my favorite SK books, btw. I read Gone with the Wind at 11... completely did not get the sex stuff.

My parents are pretty darn conservative. But they have always encouraged us to read anything we wanted. (They would not have allowed porn of course). And my dad plays guitar in a band so he's always been pretty cool about letting us listen to whatever music we like.

Never read any romance novels... my mother reads them constantly though. I read the Sweet Vally High ones when I was a pre-teen... but stopped b/c of the lack of plot in them. I have to read interesting books or I get bored and put them down.

Beth

[Carlin]

I was never censored. I remember reading Atwood's the Handmaiden's Tale at about 11 or so and Cider House Rules shortly after that. My reading ability often outstripped what I was "supposed to" be reading for my age group, so I think it would have been a lost cause.

I tended to get on genre kicks and would read all horse books, then all fantasy etc. so I think my parents did try to expand the range of what I was reading occasionally. Romance books were somewhat discouraged, but due to the generally poor writing, rather than due to inappropriate content. Our house always had lots of books in it and they were all fair game.

[Ceinwen]

I was never censored with books. Movies yes, because of the graphic nature - but by ten or eleven years old, I read whatever my parents were reading.