Do You Censor What Your Youngsters Are Reading?

Censoring Books 

Do you check out the books your youngsters are reading, especially those that are labeled as young adult (YA)?  Perhaps it’s a book they got from the local library, the young people’s section of the bookstore, from their school library or even read in the classroom.  So it must be okay.

However, books nowadays deal with topics that were considered taboo years ago.  Authors write about real life situations that young people face, often in very graphic terms.  These aren’t simply religious ideas that parents feel go against their faith.  They deal with sex, rape, homosexuality, drug addiction, alcoholism, abortion and other controversial topics.

 So, should you know what your youngsters are reading?  Do you want to know? Or do you feel if you ignor the books, they will go away? 

Should you ban some books from your children’s reading list?

When my daughter was a teen, I tried to read or at least skim the books she was reading, if I was uncertain what they were about.  We’d discuss them and I’d explain my opinion about them and Beth hers. 

I realized if I forbid Beth to read certain books, she’d probably read them anyway, as her girl friend did when her mother wouldn’t let her have them in the house.  She kept them her locker at school, or a friend’s locker, and then read them. 

What do you do about books you don’t approve of for your children?