I'm taking a summer course, and there are five students besides me, three of which are grown women (and all of whom are female. Thank goodness we have a male professor; otherwise the estrogen levels would become deadly). Today, when I came back from a short break, I found most of the students in the middle of a conversation with our professor about preschool. They had just touched upon the fact that most parents don't bother to teach their children things like their letters and numbers before sending them to kindergarten when one of the mothers in the class proudly announced that she has her eight-year-old daughter reading the Twilight series.
I was immediately scared for this child. The entire point of Twilight is centered around an obsessive relationship that, frankly, would be ridiculously unhealthy in the real world. When an older person reads the series, they have a chance of understanding that it's fiction before they buy into the lie that romance will solve all their problems, but a child as young as eight barely stands a chance. At that age, a kid is still learning what to expect from the world. They take most of the things they learn as fact without question, especially anything that comes from their parents.
When I pointed this out, the mother said that she just thought it was good because Twilight was making her child want to learn to read. She thinks her daughter is old enough to know better, but I think she's treading on dangerous ground. I know people my age who have let the media convince them that a romantic relationship is everything, and I'm in college.
What are your thoughts?
5 comments:
I defiantly agree. While it is one thing to encourage reading in your children, its another idea completely to focus all their attention on one book. If the mother has brought other books into this child's life that's one thing but if that's all she's reading then there's something wrong. And you say "she Has her daughter reading" almost as if she's forcing her to read the book against her will. Either way it sounds like a bad situation.
today's literature and media are effecting people a lot more than they notice. Especially when it comes to the romantic side of things, and the younger girls. But even the older girls and women can be effected. I have a friend who's 19 who has just decided to stop watching "chick flicks" because she's realized that none of her relationships have turned out the way she wanted. and the guys she meets never add up the way she believes they should. and she's realized it's because of what movies and books have taught her about how relationships are "supposed to be". she's realized it's unhealthy.
First commenter: I'm not entirely sure. I think her daughter may be reading other things as well, but it was Twilight that she was emphasizing in the conversation. Either way, it still worries me, too.
Second commenter: I agree completely. The media skews our views on lots of things, but usually we are at least partially aware of it. The scary thing about this issue is that most people don't notice it and think that their view on relationships is their own when it's actually been spoon-fed to them. It does affect women (and men) of all ages. I've heard of middle-aged Twilight fans, too.
Holy crap! She had her eight, EIGHT, year old reading twilight?!?! *shakes head* That is frightening.
Ha, I just realized that I commented that I would love to see you blogging again, and then I went AWAL. Ha. Sorry 'bout that :(
I'm back now :D
Nice to see you again, Dork Vader! :)
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