Hey all! I’m working on a rather lengthy article for World Magazine right now about literature for teens. I will be talking with a family tomorrow about the loss of their son to suicide, and the role his secular reading classes played in his depression. I am NOT planning to report that the literature he read CAUSED his suicide. But clearly he was very influenced by the hopeless worldview of many books he read.
Here’s my question to you: if you are a parent, teacher, or librarian of Christian kids, how does your Christianity change how and what your teens read? And what advice would you give to a mom and dad who maybe don’t have the money to send their teen to a Christian school, but who find the reading choices affecting their child in a negative way?
Many thanks in advance for your input on this really difficult but significant subject!
Stay Up to Date!
Get the information you need to make wise choices about books for your children and teens.
Our weekly newsletter includes our latest reviews, related links from around the web, a featured book list, book trivia, and more. We never sell your information. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Support our writers and help keep Redeemed Reader ad-free by joining the Redeemed Reader Fellowship.
Stay Up to Date!
Get the information you need to make wise choices about books for your children and teens.
Our weekly newsletter includes our latest reviews, related links from around the web, a featured book list, book trivia, and more. We never sell your information. You may unsubscribe at any time.
We'd love to hear from you!
Our comments are now limited to our members (both Silver and Golden Key). Members, you just need to log in with your normal log-in credentials!
Not a member yet? You can join the Silver Key ($2.99/month) for a free 2-week trial. Cancel at any time. Find out more about membership here.
12 Comments
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Here’s my perspective as a mom of an avid and adventurous reader (19), a reluctant reader (17), a happy reader with Down syndrome (14 and the only one in public schools), and an avid reader who is not eager to challenge herself by reading outside of comfortable and juvenile genres (11). I’m also a Latin teacher (grades 6-8) at a Christian school, and was a literature major in college.
The battle for getting a child to love reading is lost or won before the teen years. The battle for getting a child to be discerning in the choice of reading material is also lost or won before the teen years, at least for the kids who are already hooked on reading and want more. And of course, the battle for getting a child to respect the authority of his parents in choice of reading material is lost or won before the teen years. In view of all these things, I think it’s very important to develop a relationship with your child on the subject of literature long before then. If all goes well — and there is no guarantee — your child will consult you about the suitability of a book before reading it, or at least be willing to dialogue with you about things you find troubling. It’s a natural part of growing up when teens distance themselves from parents, but where to draw the line is endlessly debatable.
Often students who are slow in developing literacy skills, or not reading at grade level, in the public schools are put into learning support classes, and the “high interest” reading material used in them can be a problem for some. My daughter with Down syndrome actually had very little interest in it and sometimes found it too scary or sad. The school staff actually suggested she might not want to watch the movie version of “The Outsiders” with the rest of the class for that reason. Other staff intervened when she checked a Steven King book out of the library… they were looking out for her! It worked better the following year for her to be reading classic children’s literature (Little House, Narnia, etc.) individually in her special ed. class, although it felt like we were giving up some valuable inclusion in the process.
But I think the kids most “at risk” from YA literature-induced depression are the smart kids who read early and fast and are bored by the grade level offerings. They want something new, and if that something happens to be paranormal romance or violent horror, then it’s up to the adults in that child’s life to steer him or her through what is hopefully just a phase. Developing a taste for good literature is one excellent approach – I have heard well-educated kids make fun of the current fads in teen lit precisely because of their poor literary quality. Another is plain old-fashioned clean living – developing healthy hobbies and relationships and keeping too busy to be brooding on internal life. I don’t think that being overly legalistic about reading choices is the answer, because it will likely just create resentment.
But ultimately, I suspect that the kids with depressive/suicidal tendencies seek out literature that enables them, not that the literature causes the depression where none existed before. It’s only a small part of the picture. We were grateful that public school staff intervened when our daughter might have been exposed to inappropriate material, but their training is so strongly anti-censorship that I suspect it was only because of her disability, and even then they were hesitant to offend. I don’t know whether school staff would intervene in the same way with a child without a diagnosis, just on the suspicion of depression or mental illness. But with the national attention focused on mental illness and its treatment, I think the time is right to have that discussion.
These are great insights, Kathy. Thank you so much for taking the time to think through the question so deeply. So, just to clarify, do you think that teachers and librarians ought to be given more authority to direct kids’ reading not just toward certain books but also away from some stories, especially if they know a child is struggling with depression?
I am a parent of a preteen and I have been working at a public high school library for the last year and a half. I have been shocked by what I have seen the books at our library.
My child is an avid reader and reads above level. We often encounter books that do not align with our values and beliefs. My husband and I try not to forbid certain books (even though sometimes that is necessary) but to discuss them with her. I often read the same books as she reads to open dialogue. Pre-reading and reading along with her is often just not practical so I rely on others reviews like RedeemedReader.com.
I have recently started a website (www.teenbooklook.com) to help us navigate this terrain.
Emily – yes, I do think teachers and librarians should be trained to observe signs of mental illness and depression in students and report to parents and school counselors, but the problem is a lot more entrenched than just that. I think the training they receive now is so extremely anti-censorship and pro-literacy (at any cost) that quality standards go out the window. The books on the shelves are reflective of the best-sellers on the teen lists, although you can still find the classics. At some point since I was in school, librarians became so afraid of being guilty of censorship, and teachers became so worried about falling literacy, that the shelves started getting stocked with increasingly edgy literature on the one hand, and inane drivel on the other.
I don’t blame the teachers or librarians, who are working hard and can’t possibly hold back the cultural tide on their own. My opinion of the public schools has improved exponentially since my own daughter started going there. School counselors and psychologists can do a lot if they know there’s a potential problem. But parents should be aware that it’s primarily their responsibility to monitor the mental health of their teen, and get help if necessary. Also, I’ve seen enough kids struggling with anger, depression, negative self-image, etc. in my career as a teacher that I’d like to see our Christian culture de-stigmatize mental health issues and come up with common-sense and positive approaches towards what is starting to be acknowledged as a national problem. One thing I’d love to see (hint hint!) is a searchable database of juvenile/YA literature from a Christian perspective, that includes warnings about problematic content along with ratings of literary quality and reading level. (Hmm, sounds a little like the “trigger warnings” being proposed for college courses… but it would still be a nice resource for parents!)
But I want to stress that I don’t view dark literature (or TV, movies or video games for that matter) as the cause, but rather a symptom of possible depression. I don’t think parents banning or restricting books is the right answer; building the right kind of relationship with your child where you can discuss worldview and the source of true happiness is still the best way.
Thanks for letting me sound off on this subject… it’s been good for me to formulate my own thoughts.
Emily,
I am a mom who homeschools my four children ages 11, 13, 15, & 17. I find that being a Christian has an all encompassing effect on what I have guided my children to read through the years. I have chosen to keep a house full of good children’s lit culled from sites like this, recommendations from friends and books on children’s lit (like Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt). I have found that reading out loud to my children, then having piles of good books on hand has been a significant factor in their continuing to choose good, wholesome reads. I have also made it a huge point to read my children’s high school literature books and discuss the author’s worldview as my children are reading through the books. This past year their reads included All Quiet on the Western Front, Animal Farm, The Cherry Orchard, The Pearl, Old Man and the Sea, The Glass Menagerie, Fahrenheit 451, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Every one of those books gives a reason to despair and not trust the Lord. It is only because of our familly’s Christian worldview that we can see these authors are blindly seeking answers without looking to Him who is the answer. If my children had read these books without seeking to discern an author’s worldview, and having the opportunity for a discussion of such, they would have read much good literature, but have come out not enriched, but impoverished.
I don’t claim to have any information about mental illness or depression, I can just share how applying my Christian faith to my children’s reading has benefited our lives and helped my children to understand something of the mindset of so much of the rest of the world. I will also add that supplying many non-fiction reads on heroes of the faith and those who have used their abilities to help others has helped to elevate our vision for our own lives.
Thanks for addressing the “garbage in, garbage out” aspect of reading. No guarantee that following Phillipians 4:8 in reading will keep children from depression or suicidal thoughts, but it does seem like a good (and biblical) start.
Thanks so much, Susan and Denise, for your input. I love your concept for a website, Denise, and I am very heartened to hear how successful you’ve been in your reading curriculum, Susan. It gives me hope for my kids!
Thanks for the follow-up, Kathy. And I think you’re right…the trigger warning development is very interesting in light of all this. Almost like they have had to concede that literature might just somewhere, sometime affect someone in a negative way (gasp!).
I’ll chime in as a high school English teacher. I’ve always taught in Christian schools, but they were schools that generally taught the standard classics albeit with discussion from a Christian perspective. This means that when I teach a piece of literature (say, Lord of the Flies), I make sure we discuss worldview issues, look at Scripture to confirm/deny what we’re seeing in the book, and talk about how the book enlightens any of the essential elements of the Biblical story (i.e. creation/fall/redemption). Lord of the Flies is just about the best example of the Fall in literature that I’ve ever taught, and we had great discussion in class (10th graders) about how the Fall is seen in that book and how the boat at the end signifies that everyone on the island was in need of redemption, just like we are. That may be “reading too much” into the story, but we never assumed Golding intended that message. It became a great teaching tool over all.
That being said, there are some books I think we should never require fellow Christians to read. The Catcher in the Rye has so many instances of 3rd Commandment violations that there is no reason anyone should “have” to read it. We are wise to use our knowledge of our students and our communities as we choose even “classic” works of literature. It’s a hard line to find between teaching the works our students need to know to do well in their academic careers and the works we, as Christians, might deem unnecessary, offensive, or downright unacceptable. There’s just no substitute for knowing your students/children!
In the last line of paragraph two, did you mean “the reading choices” or the reading assignments?
For the designer(s) of the curriculum, of course, the chosen books were choices. For the students in her class, however, the books were assignments.
Betsy implicitly made this distinction in her comment (6/30). I agree with the rest of her comment, too.
Good point, George. Thanks for bringing that point to our attention!
As a former high school librarian in a public school, I would always add a subject heading of “Christian Fiction” in the library catalog for any books written by Christian authors. Then, when students wanted a Christian book or when I was asked to recommend certain books, either I was able find a good book for them quickly or show them how to pull up a list of books they might be interested in themselves.