Random Post #9: Rating Restrictions for Under 18 Year Olds

What's Up everyone?

Anything new and exciting happening??!! :)

Once again I've got a topic that I think is worth discussing...

Ratings on books!

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post that got a LOT of traffic and comments, both negative and positive, involving a certain famous blockbuster dystopian series.  (You can find that post HERE).

Anyway I wanted to take that post and sort of expand the topic a bit.

To be honest when it comes to Ratings in books, the book industry doesn't do a good enough job in protecting our children.

I don't know about where you live, but where I live we do not get carded if we buy an "Adult" book.  And while I will admit when I was a teenager (which wasn't that long ago) I sometimes found myself wanting to read some of those promiscuous reads; I am 22 now, and while I'm not ready to have children of my own, I do work with children, elementary school kids to be exact.  I see how innocent some of these kids are, and then I see some of the kids heading towards some tough times.  It worries me!

Now another thing...I know there aren't a lot of kids out there who LOVE to read, so getting them to read at all is a miracle!  However, do we really want our kids reading books that contain sex, teens acting WAY MORE like adults then they are?

I personally don't!

I believe, books need to have clear ratings on the back, just like movie ratings!  Let there be a "G", "PG", "PG-13", and "R" on all books!  And if a book is for 18 and over year olds, then ID them, if they don't look old enough!

I'm sorry to be the responsible one here, but I personally am getting tired of these over sexed teenagers walking around my town!  The other day I saw a girl walking around, with two people who looked like her grandparents maybe, and she was wearing these shorts...and can I just say, I use that term lightly, because these shorts might as well have been a pair of boyshort briefs!  Her butt was hanging out of these shorts! No joke!  And she honestly could not have been more than 15!  15!!!  What the hell is wrong with parents buying their kids these clothes???!!!

While that is besides the point, and while ratings on books may not change much, it will still be one thing that can give to the children when they are actually old enough to have it!  Adults don't seem to have much control now-a-days anymore, everything's run by children!  I notice this more and more at the job I work at.  It's at an elementary school, where the fifth and sixth graders walk all over us adults!

I find it despicable!  I wasn't a teenager that long ago, and I learned to have respect for my elders, and that is something, that in my opinion, is seriously lacking now-a-days.

Now if I were a parent, I would personally check the books my child was reading. I would want to know if they were reading something that might not be appropriate for them!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this matter! :)

Comment below, or email me at: romancebookie@yahoo.com! :)

The Romance Bookie :)

Comments

  1. Afraid the genie is out of the bottle here. Who would you recommend makes these decisions? Publishers know ho their audiences are

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry, I tried to correct a typo and couldn't - had to publish. Publishers know who their audiences are. Are you talking about libraries? Book shops? It starts to get complicated. There are some good readers who were, in the past, not allowed into the adult section of the library, even though they'd read everything in the children's section and outgrown them. And what about Harry Potter? It was fine when kids were growing up with the characters, but now they're all out, from child to YA. How many of the books are on your school's shelves? The first two or three? Are you going to tell the young readers they're not allowed? I work in a secondary school. There are soe books I wouldn't buy, true, but I can't stop the kids from buying them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting idea. I sometimes still get carded for rated R-movies, lol ... I look young but apparently look 16 :P and am 27.

    Did you change the font on your site, btw? (random, but I notice these things usually)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You crack me up Mandy! Only 22 and already talking about "kids these days" :)

    Your idea about ratings on books is an interesting one but probably not something we will ever see. People are quick to blame video games (which do have ratings) for bad behavior but never books. I wonder why? Some publishers do include subject matter classifications in the front of books but not all. It would be helpful for all readers, not just parents, since I am not always in the mood myself for a book that has violence or other explicit content.

    ReplyDelete

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