Comments on I'm Not Hannah: At War With Jeffrey's Reading Habits

Dude, Mrs. Ray...Did I ever tell you that I saw El...

2011-10-31T16:01:20.742-04:00

Dude, Mrs. Ray...Did I ever tell you that I saw Elie Wiesel speak at GSU?? I TOTALLY thought about class.

Been there, still doing that. Son is AS. We have...

2011-10-27T10:53:33.883-04:00

Been there, still doing that. Son is AS. We have a pack rat book habit as a family so from the time he decided he could read he's done so voraciously because the books are just there.

I grew up the same way, so did my husband. We decided early on that restricting what he read to our choice was not sensible and would lead to a major fight we couldn't win.

What we did was to pack up the books we really didn't want him delving into. This included some of my father's medical textbooks, and a lot of my film books and art history stuff. Found suitable friends, explained the situation too them and gave them custody of the books until we were ready to have them back - i.e. when son was mature enough to deal with them in our judgement.

Then he could roam at will. He also loved non-fiction for a long time, but has now moved on to fiction and loves Victorian ghost stories.

Well, Joe is almost 9 and I know that I would not ...

2011-10-27T10:37:03.657-04:00

Well, Joe is almost 9 and I know that I would not want him to be reading about or looking at pictures on those kinds of topics just yet. He loves the Horrible History books (we have a tv series too here in the UK) but it's all done in a very humerous way. I think he would actually find pictures of concentration camps pretty distressing, but that's just the kind of aspie he is. At the end of the day, you know your child best, but I think a mother's instinct is rarely wrong.

I am impressed that your son is reading. So many k...

2011-10-26T22:09:16.267-04:00

I am impressed that your son is reading. So many kids today are not. If this is what he is intrested in I would just check and see if what he is reading is suitable. If not look for something along the same lines that you agree with.

You know your child best, and maybe you can find o...

2011-10-26T17:00:31.050-04:00

You know your child best, and maybe you can find out what it is in particular, since has his particular brain, he is getting into ABOUT these subjects. As someone else said, that may then allow a redirection to other sorts of events that can capture his attention.

And if it is the mayhem, you will find a way to put the brakes on that, to get him to understand that the lessons of the suffering of those victims of torture, of the Holacaust, of other prison camps, is not in the methods, but in the immorality and inhumanity of it.

Boys are boys are boys. We can try so very hard to get them NOT to be interested in aggressive fighting, in weapons, in "noble" battles, but I'm afraid most will go through some sort of stage of that. Some will grow and choose to opt out. Others will not.

But I DO get the concern for his obsession. I hope you will let us know how this goes for you. It may be a minor thing; but being SURE cannot possibly hurt.

Regardless of how smart our kids are, there are ju...

2011-10-26T16:05:08.856-04:00

Regardless of how smart our kids are, there are just certain things they're not ready for emotionally, well, until they're ready. Sounds to me like your intuition is telling you something and you're on the right track :)

I understand your concern, especially since he wou...

2011-10-26T15:34:33.261-04:00

I understand your concern, especially since he would tend to obsess over whatever interests him. Just set you boundary and stick to it, really it is all you can do and maybe find get some historical fact cards that he can memorize and enjoy?? Good luck!

That's a tough one. My daughter, despite all m...

2011-10-26T14:11:51.770-04:00

That's a tough one. My daughter, despite all my best intentions, gravitated towards horror movies and the criminal shows at what I thought was too young of an age (her dad let her). However, she grew up to be a very kind, compassionate adult. She is bi-polar btw.

As far as reading goes, only you can decide what it's doing, where to set boundaries, and how to handle it. I am no help, but the previous comments all make sense.

as someone who works in a childrens book and toy s...

2011-10-26T10:04:59.935-04:00

as someone who works in a childrens book and toy store, i actually get asked this question (or variations of it) fairly often. there are a lot of kids whos reading has long surpassed that of their peers so they end up reading things that may deal with subjects they arent yet ready for. i HIGHLY suggest you find a book store with a good childrens section and knowledgeable employees. chances are they'll be able to help you out more than you think.

it sounds like jeffrey digs nonfiction and at our store we have a pretty good nonfiction section. the books are informative and not dumbed down, but they are also FOR KIDS. most of them deal with different aspects of history or science. (theres also an entire series of 'ology' books that are gorgeous: Vampireology, Pirateology, etc. they're coffee table books and super informative with great pictures. maybe that would appeal to jeffrey.)

Since jeff likes the I survived series, use that as a jumping off point. ex: "my kid likes this, what do you have thats like that?"

also, and you probably already know this, but kids fiction has come A LONG WAY. there are some really great, well written series' out there for kids ages 9-12. (my personal favorite, that i suggest to EVERYONE who asks, is the Among the HIdden series by margaret Haddix.)

so yeah, go into a book store and use those people for their knowledge.

I think there is a detatchment available when it i...

2011-10-26T08:39:24.560-04:00

I think there is a detatchment available when it is machines doing the fighting? I mean the people don't die any less earnestly... but the concentration camp stuff was a helpless victim by helpless victim thing. And the long torture of it first... I can see where you're coming from...

I take it he is way past Captain Underpants? And it ALSO sounds like he prefers non-fiction? Man, i don't know. My son at that age loved Cirque de Freak and Percy Jackson--which is an urban vampire series... but if Jeffrey doesn't like fantasy it might not be his thing.

I used to be fascinated by all that stuff in a det...

2011-10-26T08:18:22.930-04:00

I used to be fascinated by all that stuff in a detached kind of way. Not at 9 years old, though. I wasn't as brilliant as Jeffrey is, though. As you stated, he has always read above his age. But I don't think you're wrong is trying to steer him away from that sort of reading. Perhaps you can find him something to read that may include the horrors of it all and how people overcame them. Maybe you already do that. Nine year old boys do like gross stuff, though. What should be is that he gets beyond the gross stuff, realize that it is real, and learn about how great the human spirit is. I think you are already on this trail anyway. Good luck! Love you, sweetie.