6/15/2009
Reading. It is what my oldest daughter could never live without. When she was 3 years old she came to me and said, " Mommy, teach me how to read." She is now 17 and her love of books is a part of who she is. She can read a novel faster than anyone I know. There have been many times that I have caught her under the covers with a flashlight, reading away at 2 in the morning on a school night. I hope she never loses her love of reading!
Does your child's school have the Accelerated Reader program? This is a program where the child's reading is tested and they are assigned to a certain reading level. The Accelerated Reading is a great program, but to me has a big flaw. Many kids scores put them on a reading level that is way past their maturity level. I am sure a lot of you know what I mean. This happened at our house all the time. The teachers expected my girls to read on their level, but t the books on this level were way past their maturity level. Books that I, as their mom, would not allow them to read. So, off we would head to the library and bookstores to find the books that were in their reading level and still acceptable for them to read.
I am always amazed, as I wander around the bookstore, at the novels that are geared towards teen girls. Some of them, in my opinion, are x-rated. Just the titles alone are enough for me to say to my girls, "You will not be reading this book". My daughters are older now and thankfully they know that there are book series out there that may be "culturally acceptable" but not "Godly acceptable". One of the book series that comes to my mind is the Gossip Girls series. So many young girls are reading these books and so many moms have no idea what their girls are soaking up into their minds. God wants our daughters to grow up in purity of mind and spirit, and reading this type of book is just going to muddy both. God wants them to become mature in Christ, not mature in what the world wants them to be like. God wants them to have a pure heart. "Create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10). Growing an Agape Girl© may mean censorship on your part, mom, but in the process you are shaping a heart and a mind that will grow in purity and spiritual maturity.
If you have any questions about whether or not your daughter should be reading a certain book, open it up and thumb through it yourself. It won't take long to find out if it is an acceptable book!
Does your child's school have the Accelerated Reader program? This is a program where the child's reading is tested and they are assigned to a certain reading level. The Accelerated Reading is a great program, but to me has a big flaw. Many kids scores put them on a reading level that is way past their maturity level. I am sure a lot of you know what I mean. This happened at our house all the time. The teachers expected my girls to read on their level, but t the books on this level were way past their maturity level. Books that I, as their mom, would not allow them to read. So, off we would head to the library and bookstores to find the books that were in their reading level and still acceptable for them to read.
I am always amazed, as I wander around the bookstore, at the novels that are geared towards teen girls. Some of them, in my opinion, are x-rated. Just the titles alone are enough for me to say to my girls, "You will not be reading this book". My daughters are older now and thankfully they know that there are book series out there that may be "culturally acceptable" but not "Godly acceptable". One of the book series that comes to my mind is the Gossip Girls series. So many young girls are reading these books and so many moms have no idea what their girls are soaking up into their minds. God wants our daughters to grow up in purity of mind and spirit, and reading this type of book is just going to muddy both. God wants them to become mature in Christ, not mature in what the world wants them to be like. God wants them to have a pure heart. "Create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10). Growing an Agape Girl© may mean censorship on your part, mom, but in the process you are shaping a heart and a mind that will grow in purity and spiritual maturity.
If you have any questions about whether or not your daughter should be reading a certain book, open it up and thumb through it yourself. It won't take long to find out if it is an acceptable book!
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