Reading by Nightlight

When she was about 3 1/2, DD started to turn on the light in her bedroom so she could read past her bedtime.  This went on for a couple of nights (I think!) until I started "checking in" on her to "make sure she was alright" about 5 minutes after I put her down for the night (when they're 3, they don't always realize that you can see the light under the door, nor the impulse control to wait until you are far gone from the bedroom area!)

I recently discovered DD trying to read by nightlight (Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, if you must know).  (I wonder if that's why she suddenly started complaining that one nightlight wasn't bright enough?)  So now we've decided to remove all interesting books from the bedroom at bedtime so she can get some sleep.   The nightlight stays to ward off the dinosaur shadows. (Yes, I realize the shadows are created by the nightlight.  Terrified 4 year olds don't always listen to reason.)

Any other ideas?  Share a comment!

Should we censor what our kids read?

At some point in every parent's life, you begin to realize that your little kid is starting to get very independent.  Maybe they can reach the top shelf of the bookcase. ( Mine do it by climbing while I have my back turned making sure dinner doesn't catch fire.)  Or maybe they devour books faster than you can vet them for appropriateness.  So why bother censoring what they read when you can't possibly shelter them from everything?  Besides censorship reeks of dictatorships and all things unAmerican and anti free speech.

Except that a family is not a democracy.  We teach our kids how to choose what to eat, what to wear, and maybe even what friends to have.   Most of us have no problem regulating what our kids watch on TV or online, and what movies they watch.  If your child goes to public school, you also may find that some books have been banned from the curriculum.  So, don't feel like you are the bad guy for censoring what your child reads.

Young precocious readers especially need some kind of shielding as they are able to explore things that most of their age peers are unable to do.  We are talking about things that are not only inappropriate from a socially correct standpoint (like rude language and sexual themes, which some parents really don't care about), but also things that may be very scary to younger children (like death, separation from parents, violence, sickness,  bullying/namecalling) which they still do not have the resources to cope with or process.   You may choose to censor books with "mature" content, or you may choose to read them with your child and teach them gently, if its appropriate.   Even if you get to a book after your child has read it, exploring certain themes with your child after the fact can mitigate the negative effects.

When your child is ready, they will be able to make wise choices on their own about what is good reading and what is not.  They will learn that it is ok to put a book down when its not appropriate.  And when they are able to make those decisions for themselves, you will not need to be a censor anymore.