What Age Should You Be?

[Zardnaar]

To read or see adult material?

No I'm not talking about porn.

I don't remember my mother or stepfather teaching me to read. I was allowed to read whatever I liked at a young age. 8 years old and one of my favorite shows was the news.

I read my mother's reader's digest, history books etc. Old books on whale hunting, wildlife, ancient places,.

5 years old I was reading about dinosaurs and archeology. 10 years old Incas, Maya, Aztecs etc.

Age 8-10 hunt, fish, camp.

Parents divorced age 9/10.

At intermediate School aged 10-12 they had books on WW2. I remember graphic pictures of Hiroshima with radiation burns. I vaguely remember Challenger and Chernobyl 1986 I was 7 or 8.

In 1992 we were shown holocaust videos of the camps in history class. It was optional to watch and only two people watched all of it. I had already read about the Holocaust and seen the pictures the previous year as the high school library had more adult books than intermediate.

Saw things working on a farm aged 13-16. Aged 17 I had to ring the emergency services for ambulance and police due to a man collapsing on the porch gushing blood. Found his girlfriend nearby in a similar state screaming as both had been severely beaten with a rake handle.

So yeah my life before I was legally an adult.

Small town NZ in the 80s and 90s.

These days people seem to like safe spaces, if from the school of hard knocks line of thought. Didn't really fit in anywhere lol.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

"Adult material" is loosely defined a term to really say much, really. I remember in grade school going on a field trip to the library and one kid checking out a book from the regular stacks instead of the "children's section" and a grand drama ensuing, and I remember the first time I read a novel with a steamy sex scene I was probably...ten? But I have no opinion based on those experiences as to when would be the "right" time.

 

[Kyriakos]

Well,I didn't read many books not for school, when in elementary. Mostly was looking at articles from the two encyclopedias we had, stuff about animals or foreign cities interested me. I also recall a third encyclopedia, which was meant for elementary school children.
Likely only read the Little Prince at that age. Once I got really horrified by an unexpected image of the Cyclops Polyphemus, in a book I got as a gift for my 7th -or 6th- birthday. Though I recall that in a school project (book presentation; I was 8 at the time) I of course had to go with a massive volume presenting the history of WW1. Which I didn't read - but I liked the german artillery-at-Belgium chapter in the start. The book ominously ended with a photograph of Adolph Hitler, mentioning that he served as a corporal in WW1.

While I didn't read books, I had a hyper-active imagination, and basically was creating my own theory about the world. Sadly it wasn't quite based on reality (caste systems and some other stuff which were far more bizarre, including a cosmic monster/observer). Still, as Poe says in his William Wilson story, for some people the elementary school years happen to be the most creative thinking-wise. Somewhat true for myself too (only can be compared to the first year of University and - maybe - the three first years of highschool).

 

[Synobun]

When they're able to handle it. Up to parents and the child to determine when that is.

 

[Zardnaar]

When they're able to handle it. Up to parents and the child to determine when that is.

I remember being laughed at for a school question about favorite TV shows and I said the news.

Our World was another one I remember. Had measles watching it. Maybe chicken pox one of those two

 

[Timsup2nothin]

When they're able to handle it. Up to parents and the child to determine when that is.

In retrospect, my parents shouldn't have had any say in determining anything for me. I'd guess that's why I'm a whole lot less horrified about "state interventions in parenting" than the average person.

 

[Imaus]

In retrospect, my parents shouldn't have had any say in determining anything for me. I'd guess that's why I'm a whole lot less horrified about "state interventions in parenting" than the average person.

Helicopter and authoritarian parents make me pale. I'm glad my parents were more on the self-sufficient crazy Militia side. It came with some freedom that I don't think kids today have. I hear the parents at work...they can lock phones remotely, track their kids outright every minute...if they kid doesn't like that, they can chose to not have a phone at all (well, maybe a flip one) but is still expected to come home right after school.... Makes you wonder what they'll do if their kids start doing what I did: just stay out more and more with the clique.... And I'm not ancient, either. I'm that Zoomer/Milennial cusp that got into Computers before I was a teen (though the years before that were hell).

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Helicopter and authoritarian parents make me pale. I'm glad my parents were more on the self-sufficient crazy Militia side. It came with some freedom that I don't think kids today have. I hear the parents at work...they can lock phones remotely, track their kids outright every minute...if they kid doesn't like that, they can chose to not have a phone at all (well, maybe a flip one) but is still expected to come home right after school.... Makes you wonder what they'll do if their kids start doing what I did: just stay out more and more with the clique.... And I'm not ancient, either. I'm that Zoomer/Milennial cusp that got into Computers before I was a teen (though the years before that were hell).

I didn't have those. I think the clearest statement on my parents was how amazed they always were at how much I grew. When your kid is the mysterious room mate from the far end of the house that you might see coming or going once every couple weeks you get that perspective. Growth isn't so obvious when you see your kid every day.

 

[Ferocitus]

My son and I went to a cinema to see Starship Troopers when he was 14. All Ok.
Not so the 5 year old who went with his dad and came out looking very green around the gills.

 

[Synobun]

In retrospect, my parents shouldn't have had any say in determining anything for me. I'd guess that's why I'm a whole lot less horrified about "state interventions in parenting" than the average person.

I'm sympathetic to that view since my parents themselves were not of the ideal variety, but I generally hold the view that parents are best equipped to intervene if a child is getting into something they're not ready for. If the parents aren't capable or can't be trusted... well, that's a bigger problem than what kind of material the child is reading or watching (and possibly connected, in the bigger picture).

That said, I'm also a bit opposed to state intervention, as I've seen what that's like with my sister, and it wasn't anything great. Just sorta made the issues worse. So on this I try to give the benefit of the doubt, to operate as though parents will do as needed and can be trusted to do as needed, but I recognize that this is often not the case and there are a bunch of kids who get screwed out of a chance. Not sure what a better option would be. It's difficult to police material that isn't niche, and even when it is (like porn) it's impossible to prevent consumption.

 

[Zardnaar]

My son and I went to a cinema to see Starship Troopers when he was 14. All Ok.
Not so the 5 year old who went with his dad and came out looking very green around the gills.

Yeah I wouldn't take a 5 year old to see that.

I was maybe 7 or 8 when I saw Aliens on VHS. Mistake lol. Went to bed early that night scared.

Ony movie thatse really scared me.

 

[Patine]

To read or see adult material?

No I'm not talking about porn.

I don't remember my mother or stepfather teaching me to read. I was allowed to read whatever I liked at a young age. 8 years old and one of my favorite shows was the news.

I read my mother's reader's digest, history books etc. Old books on whale hunting, wildlife, ancient places,.

5 years old I was reading about dinosaurs and archeology. 10 years old Incas, Maya, Aztecs etc.

Age 8-10 hunt, fish, camp.

Parents divorced age 9/10.

At intermediate School aged 10-12 they had books on WW2. I remember graphic pictures of Hiroshima with radiation burns. I vaguely remember Challenger and Chernobyl 1986 I was 7 or 8.

In 1992 we were shown holocaust videos of the camps in history class. It was optional to watch and only two people watched all of it. I had already read about the Holocaust and seen the pictures the previous year as the high school library had more adult books than intermediate.

Saw things working on a farm aged 13-16. Aged 17 I had to ring the emergency services for ambulance and police due to a man collapsing on the porch gushing blood. Found his girlfriend nearby in a similar state screaming as both had been severely beaten with a rake handle.

So yeah my life before I was legally an adult.

Small town NZ in the 80s and 90s.

These days people seem to like safe spaces, if from the school of hard knocks line of thought. Didn't really fit in anywhere lol.

The concept of "adolescence" as separate from "early physical adulthood" is a relatively modern construct that largely exists because of greater comprehensive educational programs and the fact we now realize that the developing and changing brain during puberty is prone to some very impulsive and foolish ideas. The concept did not exist in older days, when marrying, starting a household and family, and beginning productive work in the community often began at around 12-14 years of age.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Fast reverse to when Valka was about 3 and got her hands on a Little Golden Book version of Bambi. Valka had nightmares, and to this day she does not like Bambi.

But inbetween then and now... I've come to the conclusion that whoever decides what constitutes "children's literature" is sadistic. Grimm's fairy tales are aptly named: They are GRIM. They are also nightmare fodder.

I remember some occasions when my grandfather decided to police my reading. He was quite happy to see me reading a book on paleontology when I was about 12. He was not happy when I brought home a Philip K. Dick novel from the high school library. He read it (my grandfather and I both shared the trait of being omniverous readers), declared it "the filthiest book I ever read" and said he was going to throw it in the garbage. I told him that if he did that, he would have to pay the school for a new one, since it belonged to the high school library. The compromise I worked out was that I returned the book without reading it, passed my grandfather's opinion on to the librarian, and that was that.

There was another occasion when he actually did throw out a book of mine that he didn't approve of. The neighbors had gone away for a holiday and asked me to look after their dog. So I did, and they bought me a book (a western) as payment. But my grandfather got hold of it, declared it "filthy" and I had no chance to even see if it was something I wanted to read.

At that point I put my foot down. I told him that I was in high school, had to read a lot of things with adult themes, and from now on I would choose my own reading material. If he didn't like it, he didn't have to read it.

My grandmother pitched a fit over some of what I read. She was horrified when I took a novel she disapproved of outside on the front porch to sit and read it. "What will the neighbors think?!" she kept saying. I told her the neighbors wouldn't care unless they could see the title of the book, and if they were close enough to see that, they would be standing on the porch without permission and I could tell them to go away. By this time I was 16 and almost out of high school.

 

[Zardnaar]

Some of those 60s and 70s novels were quite explicit.

Louis Lamour comes to mind he wrote westerns.

 

[bernie14]

Yeah I wouldn't take a 5 year old to see that.

I was maybe 7 or 8 when I saw Aliens on VHS. Mistake lol. Went to bed early that night scared.

Ony movie thatse really scared me.

My sisters took me to see the exorcist at the theaters when i was 11.... i think my parents thought it was a good idea for me to "chaparon" them

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Some of those 60s and 70s novels were quite explicit.

Louis Lamour comes to mind he wrote westerns.

My dad used to have almost the whole collection of Louis L'Amour books. After he went into a nursing home, I ended up giving away most of his westerns. I kept one that I'd given him, since I was genuinely curious about that. But when it comes to westerns, I prefer Bonanza. I love the TV show, there's some excellent fanfic online, and about half a dozen excellent tie-in paperbacks.

I remember when I first heard of Logan's Run. I was 13 when I bought the novel, and was Very Upset that the movie was only being shown at the drive-in and I was too young to see it anyway (not that I could ever have convinced my family to let me go).

 

[Patine]

I remember when I first heard of Logan's Run. I was 13 when I bought the novel, and was Very Upset that the movie was only being shown at the drive-in and I was too young to see it anyway (not that I could ever have convinced my family to let me go).

That robot with a similar chassis shape to a Doctor Who Dalek that chased them around those halls with the frozen naked human bodies they were rendering into the city's food supply chanting the essential list of extracted elements from them in a litany, over and over, ending in "and protein from the sea," each time, in that harsh, mechanical voice, gave me nightmares for quite a while. I was quite young when I saw that, too.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

That robot with a similar chassis shape to a Doctor Who Dalek that chased them around those halls with the frozen naked human bodies they were rendering into the city's food supply chanting the essential list of extracted elements from them in a litany, over and over, ending in "and protein from the sea," each time, in that harsh, mechanical voice, gave me nightmares for quite a while. I was quite young when I saw that, too.

Oh, you mean Box. The movie version of that part of the story was quite different from how it was in the novel. Actually, quite a bit was different in the novel.

 

[Zardnaar]

I saw Logan's Run as a kid. Got to see a lot of VHS for free so stepfather brought home games and VHS to use at home.

Free Atari and VHS.

Logan's Run didn't scare me. I remember nudity. I don't think I've seen it since 1988 or earlier.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I saw Logan's Run as a kid. Got to see a lot of VHS for free so stepfather brought home games and VHS to use at home.

Free Atari and VHS.

Logan's Run didn't scare me. I remember nudity. I don't think I've seen it since 1988 or earlier.

The movie version is pretty tame. The novels (there are three) are more explicit and contain more violence.