Do you sensor while reading aloud?

[Diana B]

While reading aloud to your children, do you sensor any of the words/phrases that might be said?

 

We are reading The Secret Garden. Tonight there was an instance of Mrs. Medlock using God's name in vain. It wasn't in a super bad way, but we don't even us most common euphemisms in this house.

 

I paused. I wasn't sure if I should read it or not. I couldn't pause too long, and I couldn't think of an easy euphemism for it - so I read it once. I didn't read it when she repeated the phrase.

 

It got me curious. Should I really worry about it? I'm reading what someone else wrote. But it's hard for me to physically say the words, sometimes.

[jewellsmommy]

Yes. I read, out loud, all of the "How to train Your Dragon" books. For whatever reason, I could not bring myself to say 'Big Boobied Bertha" out loud. So, I read it as "Big Bosomed Bertha." :D This was just the first example that came to mind.

 

ETA: We love the books, and I don't recall having any other objections. I would not allow that one little thing to stop us from reading the book, but at the same time, I just felt it a little distasteful to say out loud.

Edited July 15, 2011 by jewellsmommy

[Embassy]

While reading aloud to your children, do you sensor any of the words/phrases that might be said?

 

Yes, I have. When reading Huckleberry Finn I didn't read the n- word aloud.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I censor some for dd9 and did more when both my kids were younger. Some of it depends on how important the word is in the context of the story. If it is "gratuitous" then I will substitute another word.

[Dandelion]

I censor sometimes for the types of words or phrases that I don't want repeated ad nauseum in my presence, or never want repeated in polite company. :)

[My3Monkeys]

Mostly I will read it as it and then discuss what I find offensive. I can't say the N word though, so that's the exception.

[sbgrace]

I have. Now I have a kid who follows along and he'll correct me if I miss-read--intentionally or not. I'm starting to move toward an explanation orientation now for that reason. I also have to be more careful about content because my kids are sensitive and skipping stuff is harder now that they can read well.

Edited July 15, 2011 by sbgrace

[Sara in AZ]

Yes. We are nearing the end of SOW3 and have been reading a few books about slavery (biographies of Nat Turner and Levi Coffin.) There were a few descriptions of pretty violent acts that I skipped over.

[Dobela]

Depends on teh situation and the book. When ds11 was much younger, I sensored much more. Now I will let him know the word is there and then let him know why I am not reading it.

[amey311]

I have. I can remember reading Forest Gump to my Counselors-in-Training (so this would've been the summer before 11th grade for all of them) and changing all the swear words to other epithets. I was reading it to them at camp and swearing wasn't allowed.

 

I was really surprised how much they liked being read to at that age.

 

I edit a little with school reading, too. There are some ways things are worded in "A Child's History of teh World" or "Story of the World" that imply that the reader is Christian and we're not. We like the books well enough that we'll keep using them, but I do alter the wording a little.

[Lovemyblessings]

I do not censor, but I use it as a mini learning experience. I explain why the phrase is inappropriate as well as the consequences of using it.

[cuckoomamma]

Yes. I don't even find it necessary to read things like, "you're stupid". I just skip right over or insert "silly". The more they hear it, the more they think it's acceptable. When they're older, they can read it as much as they want on their own.

[LaxMom]

Yes, I have. When reading Huckleberry Finn I didn't read the n- word aloud.

 

:iagree: that is, I think, the only word we have ever censored out of a read aloud. It's the only word that I can think of, actually, that I would be absolutely ashamed if my children said in public. Anything else I would correct, but that one, no matter how innocently they came in contact, I would just be horrified.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I don't censor.

[kwg]

Yep. Most recently in the same book as op, different part though. It is a great story!

[Farrar]

Not for fiction, no. Issues that come up get to be discussed.

 

I will, however, sometimes censor for science and history because that's clearly meant to be "real" - we often have older books that have many wonderful qualities, but every once in awhile there is some language I find prejudiced or some scientific details that are just incorrect with current knowledge. If my kids were older, I would read it and we'd talk about it, but as they're so young, I usually just skip it or change it on the fly.

[EKS]

I have very rarely censored something. Most recently, it was something from The Grapes of Wrath. I figured my 14yo son didn't need to hear his mother reading that particular bit aloud. I even told him I was skipping it and if he was interested he could read it himself.

[Garga]

My kids are only 8 and 6, so I do censor. Actually, quite a bit at times.

 

Like...I read The Secret Garden to them, but parts of it are really dull. The characters will go on these long and drawn out monologues about doing experiments and the magic and blah blah blah blah blah...and then they start talking in their dialects ad nauseum. Now, I love to read with accents as much as the next Doctor Who/BBC fan, but really, it was a bit much.

 

So, I cut out entire paragraphs of Ben Weatherstaff and Dickon.

 

And if there are words that I do not say myself, then I will edit them, as I do not like to say them. I don't tell the kids I've edited it.

 

When they get older, I will tell them when I'm editing and they can read it on their own if they like.

[Amy in NH]

I skipped over whole paragraphs when reading aloud from Herodotus. Some of it was wildly inappropriate! :tongue_smilie:

[NanceXToo]

Yes, I do censor now and then what I read aloud to my 10 y/o daughter. It doesn't happen often, but there's definitely been a few times where it's come up in the course of the hundreds of books we've read together in the past few years, where I've skipped over something or replaced it with something else. Like someone else said, though, when that does come up, it would depend on whether it was central to the story or gratuitous.

[Jyniffrec]

I was reading an original source document the other day to Thing 1 and Thing 2. I didn't censor a particularly graphic part about an illness and Thing 2 said, "So if you can read that, why was it inappropriate for our camp counselor to tell us about him wanting to commit suicide?" :001_huh: Honestly, if I had known it was coming I would have skipped over it, but it went even into the sentence fairly benignly.

[JessReplanted]

Yes! And if I find that I am censoring too much, then we dump the book.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I do. Whenever a book says stupid, I usually substitute silly, and other things like that. It just sounds nicer to me.

[Paige]

I do. I censor for foul language and subjects that may be too mature or gratuitous. I also censor for vocabulary if I'm being lazy and don't feel like stopping to define a word. Usually when reading a word that is new to them I'll stop and explain what it is or I'll read it without explaining and let them try to figure it out with context, but sometimes I think it is important that they understand the meaning and it would interrupt our flow or the excitement too much to pause and define words, so I'll replace it with a synonym they'll understand and move along.

[beccad777]

I do quite a bit. There are many words and phrases I don't want my kids to say. My 5 year old especially will get all riled up if I read a word they aren't supposed to say, like stupid, so I just skip it or change it.

[Julie Smith]

I did when reading Matilda. That one just had to much name calling. Especially on the second time through reading it outloud. I was tired of all the name calling and prepared to sensor it on the fly.

[FO4UR]

Yes, I do. It only happens occasionally. Racial terms get edited to their appropriate term. (I explain to mine what I'm changing and why.)

 

In Aesop Fables, I use the term "donkey" for....donkey...:tongue_smilie: I know it isn't bad to say the old term, but *I* just can't let the word pass my lips. We listen to the audiobook with no problems...I still talk about the stories using the term "donkey."

[Desert Rat]

No, I don't censor.

[FriedClams]

Yes! And if I find that I am censoring too much, then we dump the book.

 

:iagree:

[mrsrevmeg]

I do censor. Some words are impolite. I have read Captain Underpants, but my kids decided that mom takes out all the fun. :tongue_smilie: Other times if a word is racist or otherwise outdated to the point of making me uncomfortable saying it I will change it (like donkey for @$$)

[Elizabeth in WA]

I do not censor, but I use it as a mini learning experience. I explain why the phrase is inappropriate as well as the consequences of using it.

 

:iagree:

 

I even go so far as the read the n-word, because, well parts of To Kill a Mockingbird wouldn't make sense at all if you censor out the word, particularly where Atticus is telling Scout not to use it. My listening audience needs to know what word it is Atticus is telling his daughter not to use. Of course, half my listening audience is teenage, and the books I read out loud these days are pitched more to literature discussions with them than just family read aloud. For some reason I have a hard time making discussions work as well when we don;t do them as read alouds with ad hoc mom commentary and group discussion as we read. (I do pre-read to make sure I know what I am in for, as well as study commentaries myself to prepare for this. I wish I could make less mom intensive lit work at the high school level from a time point of view. On the other hand, I really enjoy these reading and discussion times.)

[Jennifer3141]

I censor CHOTW like crazy but after the reading tell my kids what it really said and we usually laugh about it.

[KRG]

No, I don't censor. I think censoring takes away from the character that the author has created. Not everyone in the world is nice and sweet and well-spoken. If I had to censor what I was reading to my child and could not use it as a character lesson I would examine why I was reading the book to my child in the first place.

[ereks mom]

I do. I censor for foul language and subjects that may be too mature or gratuitous. I also censor for vocabulary if I'm being lazy and don't feel like stopping to define a word. Usually when reading a word that is new to them I'll stop and explain what it is or I'll read it without explaining and let them try to figure it out with context, but sometimes I think it is important that they understand the meaning and it would interrupt our flow or the excitement too much to pause and define words, so I'll replace it with a synonym they'll understand and move along.

 

This is exactly what I do. :iagree:

[lisamarie]

Yes! And if I find that I am censoring too much, then we dump the book.

 

:iagree: I sensor all the time. If the relating is very negative, sensor. If they say words we don't use in my house, sensor. If they talk about the history of the world in a way I don't agree with, sensor. A word that's too hard and I don't feel like explaining it, I change it. If there's no way to continue the story without editing huge amounts, I dump it.

[ocelotmom]

Yes, on occasion.

 

We're reading Cheaper By The Dozen currently, which I remembered as being more age-appropriate than it actually is. I've censored some of the more racy parts (don't feel like explaining what petting is during bedtime stories, you know?) and the examples of racism that would make me uncomfortable to read aloud.

 

I'm not going to place huge restrictions on what my kids read or anything like that. Just not somewhere I want to go at this particular place and time.

 

Other times if a word is racist or otherwise outdated to the point of making me uncomfortable saying it I will change it (like donkey for @$$)

Oh yes, I substitute donkey automatically at this point :)

Edited July 15, 2011 by ocelotmom

[Lainey]

I do if it makes me uncomfortable to say out loud.

[nmoira]

Rarely, and typically only for non-fiction. If I think discussion is warranted, I'll pause and discuss or debrief :tongue_smilie: afterwards. When DD the Elder and I were reading Stardust, I skipped the (mild) sex scene; I told her it would make me uncomfortable, wasn't essential for her further understanding of the book, and though she probably wasn't ready for it (she was 8 at the time), she could go back and read it later if she wished (and afforded her the courtesy of not asking after the fact).

[Joanne]

No.

 

Phrases cursing God in The Secret Garden, and the "n" word in Huck Finn are important literary elements of setting, characterization and plot development. Censoring them takes away from the literature.

[tntgoodwin]

Never had to.

[stripe]

I say the other words for donkey and rooster as much as possible. ;)

 

Okay, I censor. I left out some drunken scene from The Borrowers just yesterday. I can only get away with it sometimes. One of my kids can read pretty well over my shoulder and corrects me. Sigh.

[Mommy22alyns]

Yep, I've done it.

[6packofun]

Sure, a little bit if I think it's necessary. In Swallows & Amazons, I'm not interested in using the name "Titty" so I change it. Isn't that ghastly of me?!!! LOL!!

[Mandi in Ohio]

Yep I've done it before, especially when we read about a topic/scene in a book that is too old of a subject for our little kids.

[HRAAB]

Rarely, and I only remember censoring for racial slurs. Mainly because my children don't want to hear them anymore than I want to read them. There are some books I won't read aloud because I don't care to say those words, yet I think they are important to the story so they wait until my children are old enough to read on their own. Also, by that time they have - hopefully - absorbed their parents' views on race issues. I've never read a book aloud with swearing so bad that I couldn't say it. If it was that bad, we wouldn't be reading it.