Do you edit books for your children?

[inquirer]

I read it aloud to my 11th graders, leaving out the N word.

 

This came up in a different thread regarding the reading of Huck Finn and I was wondering how many of the rest of you do this.

 

My mind says that I could not and should not edit the great Mark Twain. An explanation/discussion on how this is not appropriate today would be in order I think, but not an edit. What other books would you edit for your kids sake?

[Chris in VA]

I don't really edit much, if at all. Once in a great while, I'll edit for understanding, like the first time we read thru A Secret Garden, I edited a little of the Yorkshire dialect. But I believe my high schooler needs to read books as written, then we will discuss. I guess as people push down the Great Books to younger ages, they may find the need to edit more--that's why I use Omnibus for high school, not 7th grade, what with Gilgamesh and Suetonius being thrown in there.

[SheilaZ]

My 12 year old is reading Huck Finn. (He says that Tom Sawyer was ne bad kid with no supervioson.)

I pointed out the word and told him that we never say that word....no matter who else we hear saying it.

I will prescreen books for sexual content and glorified violence but I don't object to accurate violence or social issues.

[nmoira]

I rarely edit, but I will provide context, explaining why we don't use certain words anymore. We'll often talk about the power (perceived or otherwise) of denigrating language and labels.

[Jenny in Atl]

No, but we talk about what they have read.

[Kris]

It just never occurred to me to edit anything, which might have been because I felt the books were age appropriate to begin with. My folks never paid much attention to what I read -- and I was a voracious reader. Whether they discussed my choices between themselves, I'll never know.

 

My son is free to read anything he likes -- I've never been "afraid" of anything that's in a book. On the other hand, if I was reading it aloud, I'd probably be uncomfortable with the "N" word, but I doubt I would do any editing.

[Greta]

Personally the only things I've ever edited were those that I knew would frighten my very sensitive 8yo girl. Other than that, even if it's something that I disagree with or find uncomfortable, I just view it as a starting point for a discussion. My parents way over-edited what I was able to see or read, and I'm pretty determined not to do that with her.

[ArwenA]

We don't edit, discussion works much better. They will come across violence and bad words at some point and need to be prepared. I don't push them into reading books that have bad words and such but when they're ready we read the book word for word.

[nmoira]

I won't read aloud explicit, prolonged gory violence - for example, I use Serrallier's wonderful Beowulf adaptation, but I don't read the 'ripped off Grendel's arm with all its attendant grossness'. When I do this, I do make it clear I am skipping stuff, and the kids know my 'and then he killed him', is a euphemism.

My older (and sometimes younger too) tend to act things like this out as I'm reading.

 

:leaving:

 

 

With very young children, I alter references to any non-Jewish religion so that the 'this is what ___ people believe(d) is clear. I don't want the line between our beliefs and others to be blurred, and altering the language a little helps prevent that with very little ones.

We're a secular family. I do this too, but as an aside: "They're talking about the Christian God", etc. I make sure to read varied materials so it's not always the Christian God I'm pointing out.

[Ravin]

About the only time I edit is when I'm reading a book of mythology, especially Norse myths, that talks about the myths as something no one believes any more--such as the introductory chapter of D'Aulaires Norse Myths. As these myths are part of our religion, I edit out this viewpoint.

 

That's about it. As DD gets older, we'll talk about things, rather than edit them.

[MelissaM]

I edit only when I read aloud. I can't bring myself to use swear words, especially in front of my dc (i.e. Bridge to Terebithia). If I feel a book has too much violence, language, etc for that aged child then we choose a different book.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

I don't edit books per se, but, I will edit a curriculum book choice that I feel may not be appropriate for my dc.

 

In the case of Huck Finn or something like that, I read it, and we discuss it. It's good for the kids to talk it through and understand the "why" of the controversial nature of the book and the writing. It's good for them to understand the historical references and for them to see how far (or not, depending on the case) our society has come in certain cases.

 

As my dc get older, I'm less inclined to do this, because I know that they'll face this type of thing outside my home. I don't want to shelter them so much that it's difficult for them later on.

 

I struggle with the balance in this. I want to do what is the best for them, I'm not always sure what that is!

[akmommy]

I would rather save the book for when it is age appropriate and then use it to discuss. In the case of Huck Finn the "N" word was acceptable at the time the book was written, so we would discuss how our societies beliefs and morals have changed and along with it the language.

 

Just my 2 pennies

[Tutor]

So far, I haven't edited anything, but we often define or discuss as we go. (This is easier to do with read-alouds, but I will try to figure out where my kids are in the books they are reading and discuss it with them as they read.)

 

The only phrase I can see myself editing, or at least hesitating before reading aloud, would be "G-d d*mn" or some variation. I have a mental editor that kicks in when I fear taking the Lord's name in vain, so I'd automatically hesitate if reading out loud.

[kalanamak]

with things like "that's amazing" or "how wonderful". Modern youth slang sounds snotty and "hard" to me, and is more catching than the measles.

 

Personally, I wouldn't edit Twain. He was a great and he had a reason for it to be there. Constantly editing a word such as that giving it **lingering power**, and I agree with Lenny Bruce in proper unloaded use (and historical is proper use, IMO) would take its sting. I particularly loved the poor (BTW, black) government worker who was fired for using the word niggardly. He was reinstated after someone pointed out it was an entirely different word.

[LaMere Academy]

If I'm reading it aloud I will edit on the fly if something comes up I don't like...a bad word or something "adult"

 

I'm prereading books for my son's freshman year b/c I don't want him reading books with adult content...which seems pretty hard to stay away from with this SL core he'll be using.:001_rolleyes:

[Tami]

Theoretically, I'm not a big fan of editing in the case of books like Huckleberry. I maen the whole point is to shed light on ugly social issues. I agree with waiting until it is age appropriate when less editing is necessary.

 

In practice, I cannot say the "n" word aloud - it is too vicious. We came to it while reading some older books (can't remember which now!) and we discussed the hatefulness of a term like that. WHen I came to it in book, I edited it to "n word."

 

I will not read or say racial slurrs aloud. And, I come from 'red-neck country' where these types of things are commonly heard. I absolutely will not abide it in our home or in our presence.

[Plaid Dad]

When my dd was very young, I skipped stories that had objectionable language and very, very occasionally edited words that have a very different meaning today. When she was able to read the stories for herself, I either explained the change in meaning ("in this story that word means 'sticks,' but it has a rude meaning today, so we don't use it anymore") or directed her away from stories with harsh language. There is a big post-it note stuck on the first page of one Kipling story, for example, on which I've written, "Contains objectionable racial epithet." I originally put that there for babysitters who might not know Kipling well enough to recognize the danger until they were already well into the story, but dd knows that that story is not for her, at least right now.

 

As she gets older, though, I think it will be important for her to understand the impact of these kinds of words. It would be very hard for me to read a work like Huck Finn aloud, and I almost certainly would not try. But I would not edit Twain, but rather discuss the language in the context the attitudes of the time and the overall message of the book.

[Philothea]

While I would edit out something of an adult nature, like details about some of the "lady friends" of Greek heroes. I would also not allow older children to read anything of this nature.

 

I won't read anything aloud that is blasphemous to God or to Catholicism. I'd probably think twice about letting my children read something like that anyways- if it was on The Index, I wouldn't be reading it either.

 

I'm pretty selective about read alouds, so I would probably leave out any words that I was not comfortable saying in front of my children.