Do you let your kid read Diary of a Wimpy kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we had this issue with junie b books. was shocked the school recommended them.

I laugh out loud at the Junie B. books. Who knew kindergarteners could be so subversive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Boys do not want to read books about pigs falling in love with spiders, as much as their moms loved it. This expectation has led to so many "reluctant readers" among boys and Jeff Kinney has said outright that he had those boys in mind when he wrote the Wimpy Kid series. Your SON IS READING FOR FUN. Be thrilled. Do all you can do encourage that. And use the opportunity to teach him that the behavior seen in books (tv, video games, friends' houses) isn't always appropriate in your home. It's a good lesson and the right time to learn it.

Some boys like Charlotte's Web, other boys don't. Some girls like Charlotte's Web, other girls don't. Some boys (and girls) like the Wimpy Kid series, other boys (and girls) don't.

(Also, Charlotte's Web is not a book about a pig falling in love with a spider. I don't like the book (and I'm a former girl), but good grief.)

Yes, you are right pp. It is about a pig who doesn't want to die and the spider is helping him out. And the girl, Fern falls in love with the boy Avery. So it is about friendship too.

Do what now? Avery is Fern's brother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think that we're all clear on the idea that boys and girls are different. But people don't read books with their genitals.

Male and female brains are different, too, genius. That's why they're interested in different things, and want to read different books and see different movies.

Which kind of a brain did E.B. White, the author of Charlotte's Web, have? How about J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series?

[Anonymous]

13:32 and 14:29, thanks for the additional book recommendations.

Thanks everyone for the advice. For now, I won’t ban the Wimpy Kids books, but will try very hard to get him on to some other series.

Thanks also to the parents who shared that they are going through similar attitudes with their eight-year-olds. Perhaps it is the age and the phase. DS is generally a great kid and has, hitherto, been pretty empathic and kind to friends, so the phrases I’ve started to hear post Wimpy Kid series have been really startling.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the kid. When my DD read them (at 7-8) she thought they were hilarious but also that Greg is a loser, not someone to emulate. So it was more in the “can you believe this?! Oh my god!” kind of way.

I agree with the PP about Junie B. Jones books. WTH?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think that we're all clear on the idea that boys and girls are different. But people don't read books with their genitals.

Male and female brains are different, too, genius. That's why they're interested in different things, and want to read different books and see different movies.

Which kind of a brain did E.B. White, the author of Charlotte's Web, have? How about J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series?

Haw. Brilliant examples. I will tell you that, as a former teenage boy, JK Rowling has no frigging idea how teenage boys think or act. It was so far off base it wasn't even funny. Harry's relationship with Cho Chang and especially Ginny reflected total ignorance of teenage male psychology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think that we're all clear on the idea that boys and girls are different. But people don't read books with their genitals.

Male and female brains are different, too, genius. That's why they're interested in different things, and want to read different books and see different movies.

Which kind of a brain did E.B. White, the author of Charlotte's Web, have? How about J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series?

Haw. Brilliant examples. I will tell you that, as a former teenage boy, JK Rowling has no frigging idea how teenage boys think or act. It was so far off base it wasn't even funny. Harry's relationship with Cho Chang and especially Ginny reflected total ignorance of teenage male psychology.

And it is widely known that all boys hate reading the Harry Potter books, just as all girls hate reading Charlotte's Web.

Wait, what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:32 and 14:29, thanks for the additional book recommendations.

Thanks everyone for the advice. For now, I won’t ban the Wimpy Kids books, but will try very hard to get him on to some other series.

Thanks also to the parents who shared that they are going through similar attitudes with their eight-year-olds. Perhaps it is the age and the phase. DS is generally a great kid and has, hitherto, been pretty empathic and kind to friends, so the phrases I’ve started to hear post Wimpy Kid series have been really startling.

My son is now 11 and has been reading Wimpy Kid since he was 7 and never went through a "talk and act like Greg Heffley" phase.

When I read the books to him, I used it as an opportunity to point out Greg's character flaws, e.g., "do you think he's being a good friend to Rowley right here?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think that we're all clear on the idea that boys and girls are different. But people don't read books with their genitals.

Male and female brains are different, too, genius. That's why they're interested in different things, and want to read different books and see different movies.

Which kind of a brain did E.B. White, the author of Charlotte's Web, have? How about J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series?

Haw. Brilliant examples. I will tell you that, as a former teenage boy, JK Rowling has no frigging idea how teenage boys think or act. It was so far off base it wasn't even funny. Harry's relationship with Cho Chang and especially Ginny reflected total ignorance of teenage male psychology.

And it is widely known that all boys hate reading the Harry Potter books, just as all girls hate reading Charlotte's Web.

Wait, what?

Boys don't have the experience or judgment to realize how badly written the male characters are, dumbass.

[Anonymous]

My oldest is 8. He likes the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and will read them when a new one comes out but by now he's read them all, probably more than once, so they're not really in the rotation anymore.

Some other books he likes: Wings of Fire, Rick Riordan, Harry Potter, and previously - the I Survived series, Magic Treehouse, Geronimo Stilton.
I should see if he would be interested in Holes or Gregor the Overlander when he's done with the Rick Riordan books out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think that we're all clear on the idea that boys and girls are different. But people don't read books with their genitals.

Male and female brains are different, too, genius. That's why they're interested in different things, and want to read different books and see different movies.

Which kind of a brain did E.B. White, the author of Charlotte's Web, have? How about J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series?

Haw. Brilliant examples. I will tell you that, as a former teenage boy, JK Rowling has no frigging idea how teenage boys think or act. It was so far off base it wasn't even funny. Harry's relationship with Cho Chang and especially Ginny reflected total ignorance of teenage male psychology.

Really? What did JK Rowling get wrong?

[Anonymous]

For parents who say it's okay to expose your kids to these types of books at an early age, I don't know how much you have to deal with counselor issues at school. We're friends with a guidance counselor and she tells me it's amazing how kids pick up behavior at school and can be really mean to each other. Your angels might not be showing it at home, but their interactions and language with others might not be ideal in a school environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For parents who say it's okay to expose your kids to these types of books at an early age, I don't know how much you have to deal with counselor issues at school. We're friends with a guidance counselor and she tells me it's amazing how kids pick up behavior at school and can be really mean to each other. Your angels might not be showing it at home, but their interactions and language with others might not be ideal in a school environment.

Oh, FFS. Kids are not being mean to each other because of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

[Anonymous]

We had the same issue. We banned them from the house. It has not stopped my boys from reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For parents who say it's okay to expose your kids to these types of books at an early age, I don't know how much you have to deal with counselor issues at school. We're friends with a guidance counselor and she tells me it's amazing how kids pick up behavior at school and can be really mean to each other. Your angels might not be showing it at home, but their interactions and language with others might not be ideal in a school environment.

Oh, FFS. Kids are not being mean to each other because of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

I don't know. Advertising companies spend millions on ads because looking at them for just a few seconds influences the purchases that adults make. It seems reasonable to think that a child's behavior might be influenced after reading something for hours.