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Forum -> Parenting our children -> School age children
Diary of a wimpy kid



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UQT




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 30 2014, 8:08 pm
I have 2 daughters ages 9 and 11 who love to read. They finished almost every book that I know in the public library. They asked me if they can take out Diary of a Wimpy Kid. This series came out after I stopped reading kids books so I have no idea what it's about. Did anyone here read it. Is it ok for the kids to read? Also wondering about Dear Dumb Diary Series.

My kids read a lot books - I just try to steer clear of obsession with boys and bad language.

TIA
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 30 2014, 9:51 pm
If you steer away from boys and bad language, you probably want to skip Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I have read it with *certain* students when I am positive it fits their background but only if it's the only way to get them to read, because there's nothing really terrible or explicit but it is VERY crude, IMO. Not for Bais Yaakov girls for sure. If you're more modern, you might want to read some yourself to get an idea whether you're ok with it. But IMO it will certainly not make your kids more sophisticated readers or enrich their lives in any way.

Don't know about the other series.
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librarygirl




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 30 2014, 10:03 pm
I am open minded yeshivish. I don't censor my kids. I'm ok with hunger games, captain underpants, but I will not get them diary of a wimpy kid. Crude is a great word to describe it. Think the Simpsons for kids.
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Ima2NYM_LTR




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Dec 01 2014, 8:15 am
I agree. I am modern orthodox, and my son has read many different books. I took Wimpy Kid away from him. I found the morals lacking.

Bottom line for me is if I wouldn't want my kid to be friends with the main character, I don't want him reading the book- and I certainly don't want him to be friends with the main character of this book.
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Dec 01 2014, 8:27 am
I didn't buy this book for my kids -- even though I have one ds who is an avid reader and I am *constantly* scrambling to keep him well-stocked with English reading material. *Davka* these Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are the one age-appropriate series of books which are *always* contained among the meager English selection at the local Steimatsky (a ubiquitous Israeli bookstore) and the local public library.

I don't go bananas censoring reading material, but there are plenty of good quality books out there which are not crude.

My mother bought "Captain Underpants" as a present for my younger son. I was not pleased. I replaced it with something still silly, but slightly more wholesome.
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zigi




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Dec 01 2014, 9:04 am
I don't like the books, I hate the main character, but he got my son reading so I am greatful, I don''t mind the crudeness, but uch he is so annoying and also the girlfriends etc. but now bh my son is fluent in reading and reads my heroes my chaim walder b/4 he goes to sleep
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farm




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Dec 02 2014, 12:21 am
Also found them crude and distasteful but my kid got some and read them so we ended up analyzing each one together and pointing out the terrible attitudes, behaviors, middos, etc so I think it worked out in the end.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Dec 02 2014, 3:41 am
farm wrote:
Also found them crude and distasteful but my kid got some and read them so we ended up analyzing each one together and pointing out the terrible attitudes, behaviors, middos, etc so I think it worked out in the end.


11yo DD loves these books. Like you, I read them with her, and it's led to lots of great conversations together. We talk about the good and bad things the characters do, the lessons learned, what traits we recognize in ourselves and others, and how we would handle those situations if we were in the book.

I find that the preteen years are the MOST important times for parents to read their kids' books, preferably reading them first. I've read a few where my first impression was "Oh, heck no!", and DD will be happy to put them back on the shelf. If I tell her something is inappropriate, she never complains.

I do the same things with movies on Netflix. I'll watch them before she gets to watch, and then we'll watch them together, and pause the movie when it feels like a good time to discuss what's going on.

When your kids get to that age, it's SO important to be able to have a good dialog with them, and it's usually around the time that they quit really talking to you. Movies and books can be great conversation starters that bring you into each other's worlds.

If you ask your child how their day was, and all you get is "Fine" before they go to their room and shut the door, then having a book or movie night is exactly what you need.
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etky




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Dec 02 2014, 4:26 am
I think that boys especially go through a stage when they really like this type of crude humor. It's sort of a release for them. My DS read the entire series and enjoyed it hugely a few years ago when he was in his early teens. He was fully aware of how obviously inappropriate the portrayed behaviors are. B"h his own behavior bears no resemblance to any of it.
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ora_43




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Dec 02 2014, 4:50 am
I had no problem with my dd (age 7-8) reading the books.

It's true that Greg has terrible middot, but OTOH, it's not like they're being portrayed as good middot. He's clearly bratty, and it often comes back to bite him.

I thought the boy-girl stuff was better than in most books. There's a lot of thinking about girls in a general way, but very little actually happens, and there's none of that "one true love" stuff you get in so many teen books.
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