An article I recently read by Julia Eccleshare for The Guardian entitled, “Can Books Teach Children to Behave Badly,” prompted the sarcastic title above. While I can’t say for a scientific fact that books can’t affect a way a child acts, I don’t think that reading a book about a kid misbehaving is going to make your child misbehave.
If we look at books that way, then we need to get rid of books like Harry Potter, because Harry can fly on a broom. Will his flying on his broom make our kids be able to fly? Maybe we should also ban books where animals can talk because, after all, we don’t want animals talking to our children, right?
I’m in no way saying that books don’t affect children, and by all means parents should monitor what their kids read, just like they monitor what they watch. However, if your child acts out because of a book they read, it is your responsibility as a parent to stop those actions. Children misbehave because they are children, not because a fictional character in a children’s story does. Reading is a fun thing that takes you to magical places within its pages. Trust me when I tell you children are smart enough to know when to behave…and that a book can’t really take them far away. Just saying…