Hi friends and happy school vacation week!
As mom of a soon-to-be teenager, I’m learning to accept that his ability to mature will partially depend on my ability to let him. Not easy but I try.
And once in a while I fail. Like when he asked to read The Hunger Games because “EVERYONE is reading it!”. I had a mini-panic – how to square my fear of this book with my urge to make sure my son keeps up with “EVERYONE”?
Today’s query is to parents of all ages and in all parenting stages:
How do we know if we are being overprotective?
I asked him that I read the book before deciding whether to let him. What I discovered surprised me —
First off, if you haven’t read The Hunger Games, be warned – it’s addictive and very, very good! On the plus side, there’s:
And yet:
MY VERDICT
I saw enough in this book to make it, for me, a bad choice for my 11yo.
WHY? Not by choice, my son interacts with human violence through current events and history lessons. Such exposure is unavoidable and, while painful, also important for his growth; we take pains to help him digest it.
But the amount and selection of “entertainment violence” is a parental luxury I want to control for a while longer. I’ve been taught that repeated exposure to intense violence can both scar and desensitize young brains so I choose to be choosy. And I chose to punt The Hunger Games for now.
I think – I hope! – he understood…and promised to wait until he’s 14!
As a compromise, we’ll watch the movie together – I previewed it 😉 it’s not as good as the book but it is also much less violent! And “EVERYONE” is definitely watching the movie 🙂
(I was not paid by Lionsgate to say this.)
SO. Back to my original query – am I overprotective?
A survey of middle-school mom friends concluded, “Not necessarily!” —
Some mature 11-12 yo’s read & found the book entertaining with no scar residue
Some parents read it with their kids and took pauses to put extremes in perspective
Some parents thought the book was terrifying and are holding off.
The point is…
There is never a shortage of opportunities to consider what literature is right when and how for our children. And as long as we are thoughtful and intentional, we’ll feel better about the outcome.
Whether our children will agree with our choices? Well, tough, for now… 🙂
What do YOU think???
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