Do you set age limits on reading books for your children?
I set lower age limits only. I believe that there are some books which shouldn’t be read by children. There are books that are too mature for children. I don’t believe that there are any books that are too young, however.
Books Need Lower Limits
I think most of us have had that experience of lying in bed, trying to sleep, when an old mistake starts running through our head and won’t leave.
Books can put new images there. I read Sarah Kane at university and some of the images from her play Blasted still haunt me.
I want to protect my children, as long as I can, from the most disturbing images in literature. There are things that I don’t want them reading, yet. I think that it’s most important to protect growing minds from these images, because they have fewer other images to dilute the ditressing ones.
That’s why, though I think he is a talented writer, I won’t let my children read Stephen King – yet. And, though we are all big fans of fantasy fiction in my house, I am cautious about which authors I allow my children to read. Frequently, I read books myself to decide if I think that they will be too much for my children. Guarding their growing minds from more disturbing images is part of my role, as a parent. So, I put age limits on reading books.
Real Adult Life is Boring to Kids
Honestly, it’s sometimes pretty boring for adults too. But, for kids it can just be incredibly dull. They’re not interested in dynasty novels. Up until a certain age (/level of development?), children are not remotely interested in romantic partnerships – a huge theme of many works aimed at adults.
When I was about ten, my parents got me a subscription to ‘Classic Adventures’. A teacher noticed me reading ‘Silas Marner’ (I was an advanced ten year old, at some point my age caught up with me – it’s not so impressive being a middle-aged woman with the reading age of an eighteen year old 😉 ) and suggested that I read ‘Middlemarch’. I found it interminably dull.
It’s not just learning to read that prepares you for reading mature books. You have to be ready for the subject matter too.
I didn’t return to George Eliot for years, I was convinced that I disliked her. But, I loved Thomas Hardy, and I loved Anthony Trollope, so I gave George Eliot another go in my late twenties, and discovered how brilliant it is! My problem – of course – had never been that the book was dull, it was that Middlemarch is a book about adult concerns, and I wasn’t ready to be interested in them.
Childhood is for childish things. I prefer to give my children books that capture their current interests. They’ll have their whole adult life to enjoy mature themes and ideas. There’s no sense in rushing them now! Which is why I have age limits on reading books.
No Upper Limits on Reading Books
No book is ‘too young’ for anyone.
There are so many picture books that I love to read. I love ‘A House is a House for Me’ – I have loved it ever since I was a child, and I still love reading it now. It wasn’t until I read it to my middle son, that I discovered the joy and poignancy of ‘Oh the Place’s You’ll Go’. I wasn’t too old to fall in love with it. My toddler daughter adores ‘Elephant Cat‘, and I think she’s right – it’s a fabulous story with stunning illustrations. Picture books – when they’re to my taste – are as joyful for me as they are for my children.
Nor is it only picture books that can be enjoyed by any age. I recently read ‘The Strangeworlds Travel Agency‘ and found it enormous fun. It’s a short book, with simple language, certainly possible for a young reader to enjoy. But, I enjoyed it too.
Of course, not all books are to everyone’s taste. I think that ‘No-Bot‘ is hilarious, and lovely to read aloud. Not every parent will feel the same. I really love the Rabbit and Bear series, but they’re not going to delight every reader. I don’t think that’s a matter of age, however.
There is no sense in cutting ourselves off from a source of delight. And there’s no fairness in cutting our children off from a source of delight. I think we should resist upper age limits for books, and encourage our children to explore picture books, early chapter books, and everything else, for their entire reading lives. The Frogotter Activity Book contains extracts from different writing to help children practise their reading and comprehension skills.
Reading can fill our minds with ideas and images and help us to grow. I’m pleased that all my children love to read. We have to choose the direction in which we wish to grow, and read accordingly. I don’t think that it stunts a child’s growth to be selective in their reading material. It guides their growth.
I want my children to read widely, but I also want them to read well.
