Dork Diaries causing these issues?

[Anonymous]

I’ve done a combination of “if you continue this behavior you will no longer be able to read these books” (and did once gather up the books and institute a temporary ban) and reading parts together and talking about how mean/inappropriate/rude whatever the character was doing was and I hoped my child would never act like that. The later I would do with a fair amount of good humor/joking so it was more a fun conversation than a lecture, but I made my point. In some ways, the books were helpful in that they prompted those conversations.

If memory serves this was back when my kids was 8 or so and reading My Weird School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also the best inappropriate book series for 10 year old girls is the Alice books from Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Hands down. And, set in Silver Spring! So maybe try to get her hooked on those instead.

I have never heard of these. Did you mean to write "inappropriate?" Are you recommending the series or saying they promote bad behavior?
-OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my DD was in kinder & 1st grade, the hot books were Junie B. Jones. And all the little girls reading them became super bratty, just like the main character. I told DD that these books were not good for her, and I would help her find books that wouldn't cause her to have bad behavior, because it wouldn't be fun if she got punished. And then we went to the library and did that.

Since your kid is 10, I would give her the choice. "Since you've been reading the Dork Diaries, your behavior has become unacceptable. You do A, B, and C, which I can tell you lift straight from these books. The Dork Diaries are a bad influence on you. I know you love them, so I am going to put you in control. If you can manage your behavior and stop doing A, B and C, then you can keep reading them. If you don't stop within two days, I am taking the books away, and we will find other books that are conducive to better behavior. Go think about what I said and let me know which direction you've chosen to go in."

We too had to pull the snarky and disrespectful book series. Hate how the schools doesn’t care either.

I do go on Amazon to check reviews too, they are mixed and I don’t bother with any where there are comments on main characters being bullies, name calling, hating their parents, etc.

[Anonymous]

Don’t take the books away and make her cry! I think you should read with her when possible. If you can’t but your daughter can, have her tell you if she sees something inappropriate. I have 2 sisters and one is 5 and one is 8. 5 years old was reading 8 years old books and she has the same books! After a while my mother got calls from her teacher saying that she is doing name calling almost daily and once wore magenta lip gloss! MY magenta lip gloss, I am the same age as niki and I don’t like the idea of my sisters

[Anonymous]

My daughter got 2 of these books from the school library. The 6 book and the 7 book. I thought both were okay. But oh boy! SCHOOL DANCES AND YELLING AT PARENTS IN BOOK 6?!?!? Okayyyy! We tried the seventh book and there could have been not one but TWO scenes of kissing! Inappropriate in some books! My daughter is 4 YEARS OLD!

[Anonymous]

Offer her better books instead of making a fight over the bad books.

It's pretty obvious from the title that that you shouldn't have started that series.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We saw this with Disney and Nick shows with kids being rude to parents and teachers.

Yes! There are some Disney shows (iCarly is one) where the kids are sooooo bratty. My first grader was immitating that. Cutting off her access to the material has helped a great deal.

[Anonymous]

Artists, performers, writers, and characters say and do things that are are fine in their own context but wouldn't be acceptable in real life. Apply to books with bratty characters, performers wearing overly sexualized costumes, songs with bad language, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD loved these books and no she is not getting the attitude from the books

because the main character who is writing diary entries is a huge pushover and people pleaser who never says or does anything mean and thinks the mean girl is terrible.

This!

If OP's daughter is getting this from the book, then she's emulating the villain, which is sort of a problem. The book doesn't encourage bullying or name-calling, it just writes about it.

It would be like if your kid starting reading Harry Potter and thought Voldemort was the hero of the story....

"my child has recently started reading the Harry Potter series and is now starting to organize a group of pure blooded neighbor children to both worship my child as their leader and to systematically eliminate those that aren't pure-blooded. are these books a bad influence on my child?"

Thank you! Your child is copying the villain. Every story has a villain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Artists, performers, writers, and characters say and do things that are are fine in their own context but wouldn't be acceptable in real life. Apply to books with bratty characters, performers wearing overly sexualized costumes, songs with bad language, etc.

And btw, my elementary schoolers have no trouble understanding this. That's why they didn't become Junie B. and I can listen to whatever music I want in the car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We saw this with Disney and Nick shows with kids being rude to parents and teachers.

+100 - I hate how the kids on these shows are so sassy and rude, and the parents are portrayed as such idiot dolts.

I don't disagree with earlier posters' advice to talk to your kids about why certain behaviors are inappropriate, but better to steer them to better literature/entertainment. There is nothing redeeming about the dork diaries, diary of a wimpy kid, or Jessie. Yuck.

[Anonymous]

Yes dork Diaries is trash. I assumed it was ok because they have them at the school library and sell them at the book fair. My sister told me actually read them, and yes, they are trash. Same issue with Disney shows with these snotty characters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my DD was in kinder & 1st grade, the hot books were Junie B. Jones. And all the little girls reading them became super bratty, just like the main character. I told DD that these books were not good for her, and I would help her find books that wouldn't cause her to have bad behavior, because it wouldn't be fun if she got punished. And then we went to the library and did that.

Since your kid is 10, I would give her the choice. "Since you've been reading the Dork Diaries, your behavior has become unacceptable. You do A, B, and C, which I can tell you lift straight from these books. The Dork Diaries are a bad influence on you. I know you love them, so I am going to put you in control. If you can manage your behavior and stop doing A, B and C, then you can keep reading them. If you don't stop within two days, I am taking the books away, and we will find other books that are conducive to better behavior. Go think about what I said and let me know which direction you've chosen to go in."

Not OP but this is great advice. Especially the last sentence where you put the kid in charge of the outcome.

[Anonymous]

We don’t allow that trash in our house. We allowed a few books like that and it really changed their behavior. Sassy and obnoxious to us, mean to each other. I took them away and things improved and then I tried it again in case something else was the cause and my kids got sassy again! Most Disney movies are the same. No thanks. Now I’m very careful about what they’re allowed to have in the house. They still sneak other books occasionally at the library or watch movies at some other places but at least they aren’t reading or watching them over and over like they would if they were at home.

[Anonymous]

The Dork Diaries authors (it's a mother-daughter team.. the mother is an attorney on her second career.. daughter is the illustrator) live in the area, in NoVa. I met them at a book signing. The story is loosely about the daughter, who was bullied at school for being a dork. It's about how being a dork is OK.