to think Tracy Beaker is not suibale reading for DD in y2

[thebird]

DD has just started watching CBBC and loves Tracy Beaker. My gut respose when i overheard the language 'shut your gob' was no way turn it off but DD keeps sneaking to watch it when i am not looking! Then this week she choose a Tracy Beaker book from the school library. I have tried to be fair and we have read some of the book together in the name of reading what she is interested in but i go back to my gut reaction and say it is not appropriate. DD to quote Tracy Beaker thinks im so unfair!

Have you read much of it yourself thebird?
I personally think it is a great book and really admire JW but I also think there is a problem with kids kind of missing the point of the character and holding her up as someone to be admired. What they miss is that she is a child who behaves badly (and can be quite nasty if you read between the lines) because she has been constantly rejected; she's not someone to aspire to being. When Tracy says things are unfair frequently they're not - she's the one that's being unreasonable!
Could you talk to your dd about how Tracy behaves and why, and how it may be reasonable to expect such behaviour from a child who has had a very hard time but you are not going to accept it from her?

as for appropriateness, I think that is entirely up to you; you know your dd. If you say it's not appropriate that's your choice, you are in charge and even if she says all her friends are allowed to watch it you are still entitled to say 'but I say no.'

Jacquline Wilson writes non stop about life traumas and I can't see the point of exposing my children to her writing really. There are so many fun/fab things to read out there and they will bump into enough of lives problems in due course.

That depends entirely on your dd.

When my dd was in Yr 2 she was mature enough to understand and discuss with me why Tracy behaves in the way she does and to understand how she gets into trouble because of the skewed way in which she sees things. So the books probably were right for her. Doesn't mean they wouldn't have been wrong for another child who just thought Tracy was funny.

YANBU to be worried..
I think there is the same problem as with Horrid Henry which my son likes. From watching Tracy Beaker it seems aimed at older children but is difficult as you don't want to regulate what she wants to read I suppose..

Fiction for this age group is awful on the whole - I don't think it is easy to find good books for new readers even though the market seems so saturated

I have read the book with DD. The trouble is at 6.5 DD is at the age where she does look up to older girls who seem cool. Although I can explain that this is not acceptable behaviour i am sure she will still be infulenced by it. I just think there are better books that could be stocked in the school library without having to explain away bad behaviour or slang terms. DD is a good reader but at this age she is still learning new words and this type of book will not help with vocab, writing stories etc.

I think it is aimed at a much older age group -pre-teen

My children used to love JW novels - I think, though, they have to read them at a point in their lives when they're ready to realise that the behaviour is a result of experience, and that certain behaviour causes bad things to happen. If they're at the stage where they think bad behaviour is funny and should be emulated, I'd keep them away from the books!

Again, that depends on the pre-teen. By pre-teen do you mean 10/11yo? Ime a fair few 11yos would find Tracy Beaker a bit babyish and something they felt they had rather outgrown. By that age, dd was reading Jane Austen, not because she had lost her childhood or something (she was still playing with her dolls house), but simply because JWs books are a bit basic for a good reader. I think a problem for good readers these days is that books aimed at their level of maturity (=nothing scary or graphic) are very basic linguistically speaking (=short).

Yes we have also had the Horrid Henry books, which although annoying I feel they are not boarderline teenagerish like Tracy Beaker. Also they relate to a cartoon tv show which is less removed from real life. I am gently trying to encourage her back to R.Dahl books which are equally naughty and funny and a much beeter read in my opinion. Fingers crossed

I was a prolific reader as a child and got my hands on these as they came out... didn't make me idolise badly behaved children or say bad things.

The books are well written and thought provoking, and clearly strike a chord with young girls.

Encourage your child to think freely and any book will be invaluable. Don't deny them it just because you don't like the subject matter.

My 4yo and 7yo both seem to get that Tracy Beaker is angry because she has been rejected by her mum - I've asked. They both like watching it. I think it is fine for them to be exposed to things in fiction and actually a lot of children's fiction is dark. I like Roald Dahl too, but his fiction is still very dark. DD asked far more questions about Danny's dad poaching pheasants than she ever has about how Tracy Beaker behaves!

Same with Horrid Henry, which they both like. Horrid Henry is centred on sibling rivalry, and to be honest that does speak to them about how they view their own siblings, I think. Definitely love-hate.

I think Yabu. My dd is also in yr 2 and has watched Tracy Beaker for a couple of years now. She never repeats the silly words- kids get that she is the naughty, disruptive angry one, they see her punishments too. As for the subject matter, it's nice for kids to appreciate that not all children have a "regular" homelife.

I bet your dd hears far worse than " shut your gob" from other children at school! We can't stop children hearing bad language, it's just about making them realize that some people do swear, they will hear it at school, home and when out- but that it is not acceptable to repeat.

I don't like the Beaker one little bit. My DD idolises her and told me she wanted to live in a childrens home. I can stop her watching the programme, but her school library is full of JW books, which isn't a bad thing because there is a note of her ticket that she can't bring any home . Her class is another issue. Once they have finished their work the pupils are encouraged to read quietly to let the others finish. DD has managed to read three or four JW since she started in August.
I do like Danni Harmer as an actress [embarrassed]

My daughter is 7 1/2 and loves to watch Tracy Beaker and I thinks it's worse than rubbish - it portrays life in a children's home as being some kind of ideal or aspiration. The same and worse can be said for TB Returns. I am not sure if this reflects some anti-family agenda by the BBC/Author or whether they just want to make cheap TV programs? Why not have positive family/child role model based programs. The BBC thinks it has a duty to educate/brainwash our children on the social issues of the day, such as in adult soaps; Eastenders, Emmerdale etc. Apologies, for the generalisation, but childrens TV is very poor, along with most of children's literature (exceptions being Charlie and Lola and others). Finally, I think there is a small element of class war as well perhaps from the BBC - where our children are being told that TB is the best they can aspire too.

I still think Enid Blyton is brilliant for kids. Good old fashioned fun, no swearing, and brilliant for stimulating a childs imagination too.

Hi
My daughter who 7 has been having a few problems, she was copying the behaviour of Tracy Beaker as a young girl, long discussion ensued about it being a programme with actors, I banned her from watching it because she is a very impressionable girl, She has calmed down a lot, we reduced her programmes down to 2 we watch with her. I was horrified that the BBC allow this rude ignorant girl to be hero worshipped, (5 minutes after stealing from her adopter she gets awarded a job in a kids home????), just one of the messages that says do what you like you will be it does not matter, sorry call me grumpy but my daughter could not discern that it was fiction. Shame on you BBC for putting on dangerous programmes to impressionable youngsters, if its meant for older children then they should say so.