Skipping the scary bits
Paren'ts’ natural instinct to protect their children from harm is completely understandable. But what about shielding them from potentially disturbing images or scenes in books? An article in today’s Boston Globe explores this phenomenon—how some paren'ts skip over violent, scary or things they feel are inappropriate when reading to their child.
Drawing upon various sources including a psychologist, an professor of education, a children’s librarian and other paren'ts, the article talks about the importance of risk-taking in a safe space for growth and development, not just on the playground but also in books. It explains how books can help children deal with questions about life and the world they live in and provide paren'ts an opportunity for discussion. The article also refers to understanding a child’s emotional age and that paren'ts should be aware of what their child can handle.
Children’s literature has a long tradition of violence and death from early fairy tales to modern stories. Even Disney, often criticized for sanitizing stories for children has significant deaths like in The Lion King and Finding Nemo.
If you’re interested in reading more about the history of indecency laws and other restrictions aimed at protecting youth, I recommend Not In Front of the Children: “Indecency”, Censorship and the Innocence of Youth.
Feel free to continue the conversation—do you find yourself skipping past the scary bits to protect your child?
One thought on “Skipping the scary bits”
As a caregiver it is very hard to know what the answer is. We want to expose our children to as much as possible and help educate them so they have the tools to cope, but not over expose them. I recently borrowed two books – Fragoline (which I thought had illustrations of cemetaries that were just to likely to result in nightmares) and Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs (which presented death and handled this topic is an abstract way). It just depends on the age and exposure the child has had to a variety of topics. I personally believe, it is good to error on the cautious side, (so Fragoline was returned to the library without a reading taking place in our house). Maybe we will borrow it again, in a few years!