Should Children Have Access to This Graphic Book?
3:03 PM
Trisha from MomDot just made me aware of a very detailed book that is supposed to teach children about where babies come from and how they are made. I know that the correct age for children to receive this knowledge as well as how much detail they should be given has been the subject of debate for years. However, in a sex oriented world where children already grow up too fast, I find this grossly inappropriate for the age it is marketed to.
"My Mom's Having a Baby!
" written by Dori Hillestad Butler is the controversial book at the center of this debate. A story run by Fox News yesterday includes a video story about a mother who took some children she babysits to the local library to pick out books, only to find out that the book that the nine year old boy picked out had graphic language such as:"The man puts his penis between the woman's legs and inside her vagina. After a while, a white liquid shoots out of the man's penis and into the woman's vagina. The liquid is full of millions of sperm."
The Author admits that the book "is not for everyone," but the listed age range that the book is marketed to is from Kindergarten to Fourth Grade. Let me say, that my oldest son has only the vaguest of ideas of what sex is and I for one plan to keep it that was as long as possible. Apparently the book also includes anatomically correct drawings of both men and women's anatomy as well as depicting a man lying on top of a woman in bed. These are just not images I would want shown to my own children.
I can appreciate the need to educate our children, but in a society where everything is already geared towards gratifying sex, drugs and alcohol, do we really need to start their education any earlier than it is already being doled out?
So, I leave it up to you readers. Is this porn marketed to children or an educational tool for children in lower grades?
18 comments
wow. yeah that seems in poor taste to me. Please tell me it is at least in a parent's section at the library, not the children's books.
ReplyDeleteWow.. I would not want mykids to look at that either. I think it goes a little far for young minds.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would call it porn for children...but I do not like how it tells them what goes where and what comes out of what...KWIM?
ReplyDeleteTHAT kind of conversation is the kind I had with my TEENAGE daughters ... to go along with the puberty talk.
NO WAY do I think that elementary students need to be bothered with that type of information. I think vague is best when you are dealing with 4-8 year olds.
Unfortunately, it was located in the children's section of the library for any child to pick up and read without their parent's knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThere is absolutely no way I'd allow my kindergarten-age daughter to read such a book. What's wrong with telling such young kids "When a mommy and daddy love each other very much, they make a baby"? The details, and certainly the images, in a CHILDREN'S book are beyond inappropriate to me.
ReplyDeleteUGH! I am pretty forthcoming with my boys about stuff. But thank god I was a surrogate! I used that to explain about babies and got to leave out the entire penis/vagina part! He just thinks the eggs spontaneously erupt into babies. LOL I don't think this is a book that should just be left out for little kids, who are not ready, to just find. But I do think that it should be a resource for parents who are ready to have "the talk."
ReplyDeleteI agree Rhea, my boys know that the mommy has an egg and that it joins with a daddy's sort of egg and slowly grows into a baby in a mommy's tummy. It is still honest without being graphic.
ReplyDeletei guess i am in the minority. i see no problem with it. my son is 3 and knows he has a penis and i have a vulva.
ReplyDeleteimpchild that is completely different. My son and daughter both know these terms as well. They have no idea what a "sperm" is or what that "liquid" is that comes out not to mention the color. My stomach is churning just thinking about this and a kindergartner! This book goes into graphic details and photos which in my honest opinion are way inappropriate for children especially our little k-4 graders. I would never allow or pick this book up for my children to read. I think that should be in an adult section of the library for parents to decide themselves if they would like to read it. But in no way should this be in a children's section. It's kinda sick to me.
ReplyDeleteI see a big problem with it...this is disgusting! Though the intention (supposedly) is to have a parent read it with their child, books are left on library tables, and the parent usually assumes that those in the children's section are appropriate for all children. If the parent was not RIGHT there, a child would be reading this alone, and might be horrified. It's just too much for little ones to be reading or looking at. I would be livid if I found this in the children's section.
ReplyDeleteI agree Nichol, knowing the parts is a lot different than knowing what to do with them. I have no problem with a parent making their own decision to tell their child whatever they want at any age, it is their right to parent, but to have the book openly accessible is where I have a problem.
ReplyDeleteHmm..that's a bit graphic. Just shows that parents need to read the books they intend to buy for their children first and make a decision based on their beliefs and how they want their child to learn.
ReplyDeleteI feel mixed about it. While I agree that the word descriptions are a little graphic, I don't really see what's wrong with showing how it really happens. Kids are exposed to television and movies where there's all sorts of suggestive material. We need to take a closer look at ALL the media that we let our children view; at least this one isn't full of misinformation and innuendo like TV.
ReplyDeleteWow, I would not have wanted my children to read such a book when they were little. I would have to say that this book IS too graphic in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteBoth of my children are teenagers now and I believe that it is our responsibility as parents to not only teach our children about sex, but to also be the last defense of their innocence. Yes, TV, Movies and even Video Games push sex - but as a parent, we can limit both the amount and the type of sexual situations our children are presented, faced with, etc. To have a book like that, so easily acceptable to small children is unacceptable.
I think that's a bit over the top. My kids are young so we don't need to have this discussion quite yet and when we do it certainly won't be that graphic. And I agree...does the book speak to responsibility and consequences and love? Because those things are far more important than the mechanics of it all if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's a bit over the top. We've always used the correct words for our body parts, and I've been forthcoming with my boys about their questions. I've let them take the lead, and I answer their questions. When I was pregnant with my 2nd child, my oldest was in Kindergarten. I looked for a book based on the questions he had been asking. Since he's a VERY visual child and thinks in pictures, I wanted the book to go along with what was going on in his head already.
ReplyDeleteI think it's too much information too soon! Way to soon. I didn't learn about the Birds and the Bees until I was almost 12. You're not 11 or 12 even in the 4th grade, unless you've been held back a couple of times.
ReplyDeleteWe use the proper terminology in my house (penis/vagina) but I really don't think my girls need THAT kind of information when they're 4-8...
ReplyDelete