Q of the W: Should Books be Rated?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Q of the W: Should Books be Rated?
12
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 8:31am
Opening a can of worms here. The movies are rated. Should there be ratings on books as well?
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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2003
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 11:42am

I think if books were rated I would probably avoid buying books for my kids that I thought may not be age appropriate. That said I'm not a big censor of what they read ,however, being interested in what they do read if the books they were reading were rated and I saw something in the rating content such as "sexuality" I would make a point of discussing it with my child. I don't think a rating system would keep me from reading anything.


As for whether there should be one or not I really have no strong feelings either way and if there were one instituted it would in no way hinder my book buying.


Avatar for guili12737
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-1997
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 12:02pm

No. I think it's unnecessary in the case of adult books. If you get to a part you don't like just skip over it or put down the book completely.

For kids or teens I think it's just too hard. Who is going to read all these books and what is going to be deemed offensive. This would only lead to more censorship. Children's and YA books usually come with an age recommendation and that often gives you a clue whether or not it has things parents might find objectionable.

From a parent's standpoint, I don't want anyone else telling my kid what is or is not appropriate. Would we then have librarians or library clerks asking for ID before a kid could borrow a book? It's just too weird. If parents are so concerned with what their kids are reading they should talk to them about it or skim through the books they bring home. In my opinion the media is a much more powerful force and it's filled with cr*p that many parents let their kids see.

I also think there is a big difference between what you see and what you imagine when reading something. As a teen I loved Stephen King books. I loved horror books but I CANNOT watch horror movies even today. They scare the pants off of me and I can't stand the gore, but I loved reading them.

JMHO

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-09-2000
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 10:27pm

>I think it's unnecessary in the case of adult books. If you get to a part you don't like just skip over it or put down the book completely.


Funny you should say that...when I was at the library a couple of days ago, an older gentleman was returning a large-print

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Thu, 04-06-2006 - 3:41am

Possibly, but it sure does open that can of worms. My question would be rated according to whose standards? When my kids were in grade school I was good friends with a woman who differed sharply with me about movies appropriate for our kids to watch. I refused to take my kids to see movies with a lot of violence in them and she refused to take her kids to shows with any hint of skin, kissing, hugging or groping. My take was I'd rather my kids see people in love than people killing each other. She was sure it would encourage our kids to have sex early. Well, one her kids knocked someone up while neither of mine did. (Which likely had nothing to do with what they watched, but more to do with how they were raised along with a lot of luck.)


I'd like to know what the content is. Not G, PG, R or X. If I was screening literature for my children, I'd like to know if there is gratuitious violence in it, explicit descriptive sex acts, light romance leaving the particulars to the imagination or

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-1999
Thu, 04-06-2006 - 9:59am

I think they should be rated.. but not subjectively... it would be nice if the ratings were simply factual.

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Avatar for guili12737
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-1997
Thu, 04-06-2006 - 11:40am
Two more cents from me. This is a hot button topic to me as a librarian. If you are concerned about what your children are reading, go to the library. Ask the children's or YA librarian if they have read the book, or ask to read their copies of "School Library Journal". Almost evey children's, YA or school librarian reads this journal, if not this one, something like it. They reveiw just about everything that comes out. Often they give a heads up about the content. School librarians in particular are very concerned about book challenges. When I order books, I always try to read more than one review. If a book has sexual content I will not purchase it if it hasn't gotten a few good reviews. I've never had a book challenge, but I have had parents argue with me about book content and one parent hung up on me once. If a book has good reviews its purchase is easier to defend, than if does not.
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-09-2000
Thu, 04-06-2006 - 8:23pm

>>If I was screening literature for my children, I'd like to know if there is gratuitious violence in it, explicit descriptive sex acts, light romance leaving the particulars to the imagination or

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-09-2000
Thu, 04-06-2006 - 8:30pm
The director mentioned that she has the option of subscribing to a "clean book service" - I guess they get certain large print books sent automatically each month (she doesn't do the choosing) - and I asked if there was some way to differentiate between them on the shelf, with stickers on the spine or whatever.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2005
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 9:09am
I don't think their has to be a rating system on books.I think it would be way to hard to do that.There is just so many different gemres of books out there that I just don't think it possible to do without a lot of mistakes.People are so different and what may seem mild to some are over the top for others.

 

Avatar for guili12737
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-1997
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 10:17am
I could only guess why she said she's not allowed to single out those books. One would be that what if someone read one and still found something objectionable, would they then sue the library or something riduculous like that? The other is that the ALA's official position is anti-censorship so she might think it goes against ALA's position. Or it is possible that the library board said that they don't want this. You could always ask her if you really want to know.

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