Having not read the article, I'm not sure that sentence was intended as an either-or... standalone, it struck me as being more a question of whether kids should have access to either.
And, TBH... I had friends and classmates who definitely read and watched media that were 'beyond their years.' But was I considered one of 'the smart kids' and I think that because my classmates were all their parents' special snowflakes they were given fewer boundaries
( ... )
It's the subtitle of the article, and it may be that you can read it that way, but the writer seems to be considering that FitA is something that pre-teens and young teens should read.
I actually never read it - I shied away from 99% of all horror (other than Scream) until Supernatural so FitA freaked me out because it was a "horror story", or so I was told, not because of the sexual content. But I read Forever and Wifey when I was 11, at camp, so...
I never read either. Maybe I should? I was more a child of the '90s, so they were probably a little before my time, even though I devoured books as a kid. I did attend Xian school until I was almost 10. :P
Oh good gracious that video brings back memories. (Class of '88 represent!!) I had huge hair. I should repost my prom pic cause I had HUGE hair during those days.
Here is one of my fave songs and videos (We didn't get MTV till 1986 so I would watch my videos on Friday Night Videos on NBC..lol. I was always praying for a Duran Duran video.)
Oh shoot here is a Duran Duran video too:
As for books. I pretty much read anything and everything I could get my hands on, the only thing my mom censored was Stephen King till I was 16. I think if you have a firm foundation in life then reading everything you can get your mitts on can be ok...because in the end you realize it is only fiction after all. (I love the His Dark Materials trilogy and still am a firm Orthodox Christian. lol.)
Hey, I was Class of 88, too! Oh, what a year for music that was!
And I agree with you about reading fiction. Haven't there been studies that show that reading about something manifests differently in the brain than watching a still picture or motion picture about it?
Heh. I remember that "Love Is A Battlefield" was my theme song. Pat Benatar was a big influence on me. I wanted to dress like her, be tough like her, etc. but my mother was a very strict Catholic. No earrings, no makeup, no cutting of my bum-length hair... sweaters, t-shirts and jeans when not in my school uniform. She finally caved in about the earrings when I was twelve, stating that if I had them done, they were my responsibility.
I thought I had it bad until my reborn Christian aunt visited, and I realized that she was even more strict than Mom! My cousins were not allowed to watch most of the movies I loved, and I remember her blowing a gasket and praying for my soul when I bought a pair of earrings at the Salem Witch Museum. I would have been angry or thought she was trying to be difficult if she had not been extremely serious and panicked.
Oy....I am so lucky that my parents had rules but that they weren't stifling. I was the kid who always snuck the books to my friends who could not read them. I remember in HS I gave my copy of that wonderful sweeping epic Forever Amber to a friend, her mom found it, called my mom and was dumbfounded when my mom told her that yes she knew I had it and read it and what was the problem? lol.
Same with my half sister who has friends whose parents won't let them read Harry Potter and of course our dad bought her all the books and she loans them out to the friends who aren't allowed to read them.
You just have to let kids explore and read, no harm, no foul imo. Also I let my girls get their ears pierced last year when they were 5 and 3. They really wanted it. I figured why not? and they look adorable in their little gold hoops.
I'm definitely a child of the 80's. I miss my stirrup pants and L.A. Gear sneakers, and wearing clothes like Punky Brewster's.
FitA scared me a lot more than Cujo or any horror novel. I do remember that I thought the title sounded interesting, and I was expecting something a bit more like The Diary of Anne Frank. I read quite of few of Andrews books, and they all seemed to be full of nonconsensual incest. I don't remember how old I was, since I had read a lot of young adult novels when I was in third grade. (I had exhausted the children's library in my town.)
I've never read His Dark Materials, or The Dark Is Rising series. The best thing about Harry Potter is that it was one of the first books to appeal to a broad age range. Before Goblet of Fire came out, I had not heard of the series. Can you believe that? And now, Rowling's books are my main obsession. ^_^
I have a hard time believing that reading a book is somehow morally wrong, no matter what book you're reading. True, with younger kids its better to be guided through certain books, be able to talk about and put it in context in that particular child's life, but I just cannot see books as evil.
First time someone tells me not to read something, I wonder what they want to hide. Even if a book is talking about or espousing ideas that are not in line with your own, it should still be YOUR choice to read or not. And even then I look sideways at people who say they avoid certain books -- its like closing a window on a view you may never see again.
Sorry, went off on a little rant there. I just really really really dislike people who want to control books and ideas.
How bout Duran Duran? Tho I remember being titillated by the video "Wild Boys" with Simon LeBon all wet and tied to the water wheel thing. I should go looking for that.
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I actually never read it - I shied away from 99% of all horror (other than Scream) until Supernatural so FitA freaked me out because it was a "horror story", or so I was told, not because of the sexual content. But I read Forever and Wifey when I was 11, at camp, so...
Reply
I never read either. Maybe I should? I was more a child of the '90s, so they were probably a little before my time, even though I devoured books as a kid. I did attend Xian school until I was almost 10. :P
Reply
Here is one of my fave songs and videos (We didn't get MTV till 1986 so I would watch my videos on Friday Night Videos on NBC..lol. I was always praying for a Duran Duran video.)
Oh shoot here is a Duran Duran video too:
As for books. I pretty much read anything and everything I could get my hands on, the only thing my mom censored was Stephen King till I was 16. I think if you have a firm foundation in life then reading everything you can get your mitts on can be ok...because in the end you realize it is only fiction after all. (I love the His Dark Materials trilogy and still am a firm Orthodox Christian. lol.)
Reply
And I agree with you about reading fiction. Haven't there been studies that show that reading about something manifests differently in the brain than watching a still picture or motion picture about it?
Reply
I thought I had it bad until my reborn Christian aunt visited, and I realized that she was even more strict than Mom! My cousins were not allowed to watch most of the movies I loved, and I remember her blowing a gasket and praying for my soul when I bought a pair of earrings at the Salem Witch Museum. I would have been angry or thought she was trying to be difficult if she had not been extremely serious and panicked.
Reply
Same with my half sister who has friends whose parents won't let them read Harry Potter and of course our dad bought her all the books and she loans them out to the friends who aren't allowed to read them.
You just have to let kids explore and read, no harm, no foul imo. Also I let my girls get their ears pierced last year when they were 5 and 3. They really wanted it. I figured why not? and they look adorable in their little gold hoops.
:)
Reply
I was obsessed with this video thanks to my sister. And I was, what, 6 years old at the time? Though the uploader added those words NO IDEA WHY.
And also...I know everyone was all about I Ran with this group - but not me. I was all about this song...
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FitA scared me a lot more than Cujo or any horror novel. I do remember that I thought the title sounded interesting, and I was expecting something a bit more like The Diary of Anne Frank. I read quite of few of Andrews books, and they all seemed to be full of nonconsensual incest. I don't remember how old I was, since I had read a lot of young adult novels when I was in third grade. (I had exhausted the children's library in my town.)
I've never read His Dark Materials, or The Dark Is Rising series. The best thing about Harry Potter is that it was one of the first books to appeal to a broad age range. Before Goblet of Fire came out, I had not heard of the series. Can you believe that? And now, Rowling's books are my main obsession. ^_^
Reply
First time someone tells me not to read something, I wonder what they want to hide. Even if a book is talking about or espousing ideas that are not in line with your own, it should still be YOUR choice to read or not. And even then I look sideways at people who say they avoid certain books -- its like closing a window on a view you may never see again.
Sorry, went off on a little rant there. I just really really really dislike people who want to control books and ideas.
How bout Duran Duran? Tho I remember being titillated by the video "Wild Boys" with Simon LeBon all wet and tied to the water wheel thing. I should go looking for that.
Reply
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