Dec 08 2008
Should Kids be Encouraged to Write About Dating?
If you keep yourself up-to-date on new book releases, then you would know that a 9-year-old boy has written a book called How to Talk to Girls. You can get the book from Amazon and at the time of writing, this book has a rank of 106 out of thousands of books being sold there.
Seriously, I’m amazed that a young boy can write about how to get a girl when even grown men may be clueless on how to go about talking to the opposite sex. I’m not here to offer a review of the book as I have yet to read it. But going through the various comments on this issue, I’m just attracted to the controversy that this 9-year-old had raised.
On one end, you have people praising him for his talent and skills. On the other, you have another group bashing the thought that a kid should be encouraged to involve himself in adult affairs.
No doubt this book certainly isn’t a thick dating guide that spells out things in great detail. It is probably very simple-minded that touches the obvious and geared more towards teenagers rather than adults in trying to get a girl.
Personally, I have no problem with it if he can transcribe what he observes among his school mates into words and turn it into a book. But what troubles me is that it seems kids are getting more and more aware of boy-girl relationship at a much younger age as time goes by. If 9-year-old kids are already troubling themselves over how to attract the opposite sex, then what happens when they are 12 or 13? Will they be truly dating by then? As a parent, what would you do if your kid starts going out with a school mate at 13?
To be critical of the boy for writing such a book is a little too harsh, I think. After all, he is just putting forward the things that he sees around him. Dating may not be appropriate for a 9 or even 13-year old but I guess the lesson here is as parents, we should always be aware of what our kids may be up to as they go through the stages of growing up.
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wow, that’s great! a 9 year old boy knew how to write a book about dating… must have a look at that book
thanks for your info and have a great weekend!
Martini’s last blog post..Six-Monthly Dental Check-Up (4th December 2008)