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twilight book - for a 7 year old?

post #1 of 26
1/8/10 at 5:50pm
Thread Starter 
would you let your 7 year old read twilight? i've read it but dont really remember it. i am not a big fan.

i am conflicted. she has seen the movie (apparently its the rage for 7 and 8 year olds. they have older sisters and almost her whole class has watched this movie. so dd had to watch it and she really enjoyed it) and now she REALLY wants to read the book. i know that there isnt much of sex or for that matter violence in there.

dd is v. mature for her age. she understands and gets a lot of things. she is an advanced reader. she loves, loves romance. has always done so as early as 5.

i cant remember if there was anything seriously inappropriate in the book. was there? i expect some of the stuff to go over her head.

so would you call this book inappropriate or am i being too strict?

have any of you experienced saying no with books to your child? a book they REALLY wanted to read? how would you handle it?
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post #2 of 26
1/8/10 at 5:54pm
I don't have a 7 year old, but if I did, I wouldn't let her read Twilight. The whole series is sexual tension, culminating in the last book in which there is actual sex. The scenes aren't graphic, but it's not exactly unclear what the characters are doing, either! And if she reads Twilight, she'll want to read the rest of the series. I'm no prude, but I think it is inappropriate for under-10, and probably even under-13.
post #3 of 26
1/8/10 at 5:58pm
I really enjoyed the Twilight Saga, but no way would I let a 7 year old read the books no matter how mature he or she was.
post #4 of 26
1/8/10 at 6:38pm
NO, I wouldn't let a 7 yr old read it.
post #5 of 26
1/8/10 at 6:56pm
No, I wouldn't let my 7 year old read.
post #6 of 26
1/8/10 at 7:04pm
I wouldn't either, you aren't being a prude at all! I can't stand the books, so I will probably discourage it even when DD is older. The sexual tension and the helpless damsel-in-distress stuff really bugs me...that may just be the feminist in me though. I just don't feel that even as fiction I want my daughter reading and possibly identifying with these characters at a young age, when she is so impressionable and barely understands what is going on. Okay, I do sound like a prude!

Whenever I am in doubt I like to use this site for a guideline (along with mdc of course!) http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ It gives you an idea of what is in the book/movie/game in case you haven't read it.
post #7 of 26
1/8/10 at 7:59pm
I loved the books but I can't really think that it would be appropriate for a 7 year old. I feel like society tries to push our children into seeing the world romantically and coupley(?) SO YOUNG, that would be my hesitation. I just hate to encourage that. My 1st grader ds just turned 7 and I can't even imagine him reading Twilight, but he's an immature boy, rather than a mature girl. That being said I've never really had to deal with limiting book selections and I can see how that would be very difficult! My 9yr old ds is very cautious so if I've ever thrown out "I think that might be a little scary for you and you should probably try it in a couple of years", he immediately went along with the suggestion. Good luck!
post #8 of 26
1/8/10 at 8:14pm
I definitely would not let a 7 year old read the book. The movie was geared more for the yournger audience, but the book is adolescent fiction.

There is not just sexual tension, but a fair amount of violence (when James captures Bella).
post #9 of 26
1/8/10 at 8:20pm
No, I would not. I would not allow it until middle school age (so 5th/6th grade is the youngest I would consider it).

The book is full of mature themes - violence, death, blood, romance (stupid teen romance), and sexual tension.

A 7 year old does not need to be filling their head with intense/melodramatic romance intended for an older audience.
post #10 of 26
1/8/10 at 8:23pm
Nope. But I probably wouldn't have allowed the movie either.
post #11 of 26
1/8/10 at 8:29pm
No. I wouldn't have allowed the movie, either.
post #12 of 26
1/8/10 at 10:52pm
I don't censor, period.

My kids have seen both Twilight movies, and I wouldn't object at all to my daughter reading the books. They're poorly written, but the stories are engaging. Unfortunately, when we watched the movies, I was into talking about the differences between the movies and the books, and I can't see why she'd want to read either of the first two books at this point.
post #13 of 26
1/8/10 at 11:07pm
My daughter just turned 8 in October. She is able to read better than she does. She was curious about Twilight. I told her that if she finished the book, she could read the movie.

The writing isn't that great, but the story sucks you in. I hope it will suck her in, too.

I'm also a "no censoring" kinda mom. Better that she encounters it with me, and we discuss it, then she encounters it *out there* and develops crazy ideas about it.
post #14 of 26
1/8/10 at 11:14pm
Probably not. It just seems more appropriate older readers.

There are *so* many great books out there. I'd see if I could get her started on something else.
post #15 of 26
1/9/10 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebethmom View Post
There are *so* many great books out there. I'd see if I could get her started on something else.
That is exactly the reason for my hesitancy. Dd is a reader and i dont know how to inculcate in her what is good and what is poorly written writing. not that i want to do it now.

i am so conflicted on this. i am not encouraging it - which is why at the bookstore the other day she did not walk out with the twilight book. she wanted to but we never went to that section. and by the time we were checking out she had already found a good book to read so didnt want twilight then.

and yet i dont want to be the censoring mom.

and no i dont want to fill her head with this kind of story. she absolutely is not going to read the rest of the series. i have already suggested that the content would be too scary for her and she has accepted that.
post #16 of 26
1/9/10 at 9:34am
I'm in the no camp. I would also say no to the movie as as well. My 7 year old is still afraid of the dark and it was only this last year that she was allowed to watch The Wizard of Oz. I think there is something to be said about innocence--and there is no reason to rush that or introduce her to sexual overtones in literature. It's not about censoring, it's about parenting styles.
post #17 of 26
1/9/10 at 10:19am
I have a 9 year old, and wouldn't let her read the book or see the movie. She hasn't asked, though.
post #18 of 26
1/9/10 at 5:03pm
At 7 I'd have to say no. At 9 I'd say "sure, but only if I get to tell you exactly what's wrong with it and make fun of it. In fact, let me find one of the sites online that MST3Ks it..."
post #19 of 26
1/9/10 at 8:27pm
I guess I'm odd b/c I let DD read Twilight, and she's 8 (almost 9). But TBH, she hasn't finished it, after several months of reading a bit here and there. She is a really good reader, but I think some of the content is just not too interesting to her, or over her head b/c she is more drawn to books like Matilda, or the Wimpy kid series. But I certainly didn't forbid her from reading when she became interested (and yes, she wanted to read it b/c of all the hype).

While I admit to not reading any of the Twilight books in full (it's so not my thing), I did read several chapters worth to DD when she has asked. I honestly don't see the big deal. She is mature for her age (IMO), and certainly isn't shielded from stuff like that. Hey, she watches my soap with me on occasion, certainly can't be worse than that. I guess I just think that anything that is too adult for her, she just wouldn't understand -- and I don't personally think it would harm her. For example, the sexual tension several of you have mentioned, would your average 7 yo really get that? From reading the one book? I guess it depends on what they have been exposed to, and how they interpret what they have read -- but I am honestly curious about it.

Anyway, while my answer is yes, I would let my particular child read Twilight because I am not one to censor much, especially books -- my DD chose on her own to put it down after a few attempts. I imagine at some point, maybe in a couple years, she will want to read it -- but maybe not (assuming it's not still all over the media).
post #20 of 26
1/11/10 at 2:11am
No.

Honestly, I have been thinking for about a month if I am willing to let my 11 year old 6th grader read the book (who could have *read* it at 7, but NO WAY would I have let her). She has also not seen the movie though a FEW of her friends have. I am shocked it is the "rage" among your child's peers. DS is 8 & in 2nd grade and I just can't imagine the girls in his class being into Twilight. Only a few of the kids in DD's class (11 & 12 year olds) are into it. Our niece is really into it, but she is almost 13 and in junior high.

The "romance" doesn't bother me, the "sex" doesn't bother me--- the idealization of stalking, co-dependency, hurting yourself to interest a boy... THOSE bother me. Definately not one of the first stories of "love" I want my child reading.
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