The article is basically saying that Fantasy books expand a child's imagination, and that can be good or bad thing. Wallace also says that children are unable to establish reality from fantasy until a certain age, so if parents are worried they should censor their child's reading. I guess my question to everyone is do you think that it is a good idea to censor your child's reading? Is it ever ok to censor their reading, and if so when?
My thought personally is what is so bad about getting involved into a series such as Harry Potter, or the Chronicles of Narnia. We want our children to find something that they are passionate about, and parents shouldn't be so critical when it comes to the genres of literature our children choose. I think as adults sometimes we do not give children the benefit of the doubt, and we assume that they will take everything out of context. One comment on the article I think clearly shows that we should not be censoring our children from this type of genre:
"What do children have most at a young age? Imagination. What do fantasy books feed? Our imaginations because of the different races involved and the worlds they inhabit. When reading, children will be whisked away from real life.
Fantasy is the best genre for children to start reading in.."By giving a child a good book that they enjoy you are helping them make better choices in life. I know this is my personal thought, but I feel as though having them obsessed with reading fantasy is a lot better than getting into drugs or other behavior that could be more harmful to them. So what if they dress up as their favorite fantasy character and decide to "cast spells", they're children and their imagination should never be limited. They are only young once, so why not let them live it.
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5 comments:
I agree with what you had to say about fantasy and science fiction in reading. It is important for children to experience different types of genres to help engage them as well as to hold their interests in reading. This is an educational purpose that is good for children because the children who are interested in these types of books would be gaining more knowledge in reading by reading these books.
I also agree with your personal opinion, I too see that there is nothing wrong with children being interested in reading series like Harry Potter. It is definetely important for children to find books they are passionate about because otherwise they would be bored and this would result to them hating to read, which is not a message we want to convey to young readers.
I too believe that by giving a child a book that they enjoy you are helping them make better choices and this is so important for children to like the books they read as they are growing up because if they don't this can result in many negative associations with reading which might not only hinder their reading ability but their ability in many siginificant academic settings. This is why it is so important for children to read books that they like.
I know for me, I personally don't always love to read but when I am reading a book I am interested in it makes it so much easier to focus and understand the book, it is amazing to me to see the difference when reading a book that I actually what to read.
This post is very interesting even though I've never really been into fantasy. The question of whether fantasy books are good for children or not is something that I never really thought about. I have never seen a problem with children reading fantasy books. I agree with the article about how fantasy books expand children's imagination.
Even knowing that children can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy up until a certain point doesn't make me think that I should censor what a child is reading. In some situations it may be necessary to be aware what your child is reading to ensure appropriateness, but I believe that any reading being done by a child is great no matter what the genre. A child should be able to read whatever genre they like if they are enjoying it and engaging in it.
I also agree with the poster with the idea that reading can help a child stay away from making bad decisions and getting into drugs or alcohol. Even if you don't like what the whole fantasy genre is all about, I would still encourage my child to read it if that's what they were into. I would rather them be reading and being interested in that instead of finding other things to do that could potentially harm them.
In conclusion, even though I am not interested in fantasy or science fiction books, it doesn't mean that my child will be pushed away from that genre. I would want to let me child read something that they enjoy. Reading is a great way to learn and engage your mind no matter what the genre they choose.
I don't disagree with you but first when I thought about my childhood I do not remember my parent censoring too much about what I read and see. Which I am thinking has created alot of positive and variety ways to think. Time changes as we grow and we cannot assume that the books we read is books for our children. The values and likes change for children over the time as well. So censoring just don't mean parent is going to stop how children think or choose. There are still millions of books which children can read and its better than letting them choose their own books such as comic books. Same for other books, parents are leading child in certain ways to like or dislike the book since it is whether you or someone else who read the picture or stroy book when they didn't know how to choose the books that they like or not. Further, I would say the word "censoring" doesn't even really match. If censoring was the type of surpressing one's choice of like and dislike, we have been censored by elementary,middle,high school and even now. Because we feel like we are taking courses that we actually chose but what we actually face in class is all ready made sources by our instrcutors.
Interesting thoughts. Fantasy is one of the most controversial children's literature genres to discuss. Its a clear division of which side a person falls on: either you like it or you don't, there are usually no inbetweens. To a certain degree I agree with your post and the benefits of submerging children in the fantasy genre, however as a 'realist' I have other thoughts on it also.
Reading fantasy books at a young age can give children a blurred perspective of the world. Usually those students that read heavily into Harry Potter and other books of that nature are not as socially productive as those that do not. The books cast a false setting for students therefore they are not able to socialize with other students because of their lack of realism.
Fantasy literature can also affect children when they age. It could challenge future beliefs and ideas that students gain later on in life. It also challenges many religious values. Many parents that are deeply rooted in their religious values do not allow they're children to read these books because of their controversial matter.
On the other end of the spectrum, this genre sculptures and helps build an imagination for children and helps them virtually 'think outside the box'. Fantasy can also provide food for thought for students.
In the end I think that core beliefs should be deeply rooted and a social background should happen before fantasy based books are introduced.
I also feel like there is nothing wrong with children reading fantasy books. Children have amazing imaginations; something that we adults have unfortunately lost through the years. It is something special about children, which is why I am studying to be a teacher, where they can imagine things virtually impossible for us to. Maybe fantasy books contribute to this in some way. Children often resort to their imaginations when they need to "get away" from real life, this is a way of coping. Just like in Where the Wild Things are, Max could possibly have escaped to where the wild things lived because he didn't feel like dealing with his life at home; getting in trouble and missing supper. Personally I think anyone who would ever say that fantasy books aren't good for children is out of their mind. :)
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