To let my 6yo read zombie books?

[BitterAndTwistedChoreDodger]

DS is 6. He has just become a 'free reader' at school so I told him I would get him some books as a 'well done'.

He adores plants vs zombies and DH is a bit of a zombie obsessive so I ordered him these to read.

He has torn through the first one in 3 days, I read them first and although they are a little more gruesome than I would like, there is nothing that would disturb DS. I read it more as 'disgusting stuff is funny' schoolboy humour. I would rather compromise and know he is really enjoying the book, than give him something more sanitized that he would maybe flick through.

I mentioned it to my sister and she was

AIBU?

If he is reading - Great

I had read most of stephen kings offerings by 8 ;)

Well a review on there seems to think it was a bit much for a 7 yr old - but you know your son. If he doesn't have nightmares or feel sick I guess he's okay reading them!!

Thank you

Really? 'Zombie' in the title and the talk of reading levels and no takers?

Tsk.

YANBU. Well done on your son's reading achievement!

Now if you were saying to me, like more than one parent I work with, that their primary school DC is having trouble sleeping and also getting nightmares, and it then later on emerges that they regularly play the 18 rated game Call of Duty in zombie mode before bed, then I would say YABU.

However, those do not look like they are adult books, and actually not that scary, so as long as it doesn't lead onto more extreme zombie stuff, YANBU

Some things you'll only find out they freaked them out aterwards.

Children can find the most mundane and ordinary things scary because it depends on what their imagination and experiences does to the thing that twists it.

Maybe he can compartmentalise zombies as removed from reality and therefore not scary?

I let my 11 YO DD read Twilight books, a lot of people might think I'm being a crap parent doing that, but she just laps them up

YANBU.

My 7 year old keeps asking me if she can watch The Walking Dead.

I was reading The Reluctant Vampire at about that age and loved it very much. I recommend it too, it was fantastic, two headed dog and all.

If your sister hasn't seem them but just heard the word 'zombie' that might be why she looked because when you see them they look quite tame and funny really.

I'm going to keep those in mind for when DS is older (he's only just three).

He sleeps like a log, Rhino

ZigZag I have let him watch films before where I have reacted ('Up', anyone?)
and he has told me I am silly because 'it's only a story, Mummy'.

He is a sensitive lad but has a good distinction between reality and films/stories. That doesn't mean I will let him watch the walking dead, but I honestly think he will be ok with this level of yuck.

Does your son have any imagination whatsoever?

Here is a passage from the book, quoted by one of the reviewers on Amazon:

"The fingers on my left hand flexed again, but this time they dug into the cracks with such frantic force that a soft and disgustingly sloppy ripping sound echoed around the sewer. To my horror, flesh and bone tore from my shoulder and my arm slapped noisily onto the wet stone. I gasped, partly because I was shocked that I was able to breathe at all, but mostly because a disgusting green ooze had begun to pump steadily from my now-empty shoulder socket".

How the Hell does a 6 year old child process that?

agent that's so true about the even the mundane being scary due to little imaginations.
At least an age appropriate book with vampires or zombies in is a known quantity because it's all there in the description !
I used to be terrified of Rupert Bear stories oddly. They just seemed so sinister sometimes, will people falling off cliffs, being kidnapped etc etc .
So no I don't think yabu.

ami to be fair that sounds like the description of a scene from Horrible Histories which is fabulous.
My 6 and 3 year old love History because of that programme.
It is difficult to get boys to read .
Anything age appropriate that can encourage a love of reading in a boy is brilliant IMO .

I agree that Rupert is a bit sinister.

amistillsexy I don't find that particularly nasty, It is gruesome, I agree but no more than Snow White's Stepmother dancing herself to death in a pair of red hot iron shoes?

bitter I think you should be really proud of your and your DS's reading achievements and love of books.

Oh I am, NannyPlum, especially as he has been a difficult child who only has really settled in the last few months.

I am just asking really, where do you compromise between safe books that are a bit dull, or gruesome books which are a bit nasty but very much enjoyed?

Bitter yes ! Snow White is truly awful in some places, depending on the version!
I used to have to ad lib bits of it when DD was small , some versions of Rapunzul are violent too, we have a version with a graphic description of the Princes eyes being gouged out .

I actually don't think there's anything too wrong with letting a kid freak himself out and even scare himself a little with made up stuff. If he really gets scared, he'll stop reading them of his own accord, and from what you say he enjoys them. If he has nightmares later, it's an opportunity to help him handle his fear, on a subject matter that at least isn't based in reality. My worst fear as a child was being hit by a car and the fact that it was a very real possibility was what scared me most (a boy in my class was run over and killed when I was 6). At least zombies are clearly make-believe!

Also, you never can really prevent a kid having nightmares. I used to have nightmares about the Muppets!

I think the passage quoted sounds great tbh.

I used to read ghost stories as a youngish child - I devoured them!

To answer your question - let him read the gruesome books if he wants to! I distinctly remember reading Roald Dahl allowing people to be eaten by giants and killed by rampaging rhinoceruses, and it never did me any 'arm.

It's difficult. I think you can't go wrong though with trusting your gut instinct and not worrying too much about what others think ...
If it's age appropriate I would be tempted to let him run with it .
It's quite normal for them to want to read 'scary' things as it makes them acutely aware of their own sense of safety and security in their own world.

And plenty of family films contain 'scenes of mild peril'.

I wish we'd had kids zombie books when I was a gal....

Yes. It's all quite healthy really. Helps them to explore and deal with their own fears and anxieties in the context of their own safe environment.

I recently let my dd (6)get out 'The guide to zombies' or some such.
Having read it myself, I decided that it was probably a bit too much for her at the moment.
But we have read her Revolting Rhymes and the real version of Cinderella, complete with eye pecking crows and toes being hacked off. She seems ok, mostly.

The story of the little red shoes ends with the girl having to have her feet cut off to stop them dancing, I read that when I was little and was gruesomely fascinated by it, but was much more scared of my bedroom being set on fire.

I agree with Spam, that it's letting them in on the scary bits of life in a safe place where they can learn to deal with it. (arf at nightmares about the muppets )