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The question I'm left with on any such attempt to "protect" the kids is exactly what those advocating censorship think will happen if little Johnny does see a bad word in a book (or a pornographic image on a website, for that matter.) The sky will fall? The world will come to an end? The kid will grow up to be a juvenile delinquent or sexual pervert?
When I was a young child, I had a very silly conversation with my mother. She heard me say what she thought was the "F" word (it wasn't), and proceeded through ten minutes of trying to explain why what I said was a bad word and that I shouldn't use it without ever actually saying the word herself. Of course, I had no idea what she was talking about. It wasn't until years later that I recalled the incident, realized what Mom thought I'd said, and started laughing.
I'm a contrarian on stuff like this. Unless you raise your kids in the proverbial barrel and feed them through the bunghole, attempts to control what they see and hear fail as soon as they are out with their friends, whose parents may not have the same standards as you. I have to bite my tongue when I hear a parent piously proclaim "My child never uses that kind of language!" Oh yes she does. She's just smart enough to do it where you can't hear her. I was at her age...
Were I to become a parent, what I would want most is my kids coming to me and asking about stuff like that. I'd be far less concerned with trying to protect them from encountering it, because I don't think that's really possible in practice. (See above about the barrel and the bunghole.)
Kids are like the young of any other species. they don't do what you say: they imitate what they see you do. If Junior has developed a habit Mom and Dad dislike, the first question is where he learned it, and maybe Mom and Dad need to carefully consider their own behavior and which of them he might be imitating.
My job as a parent would be to demonstrate by example the proper way to live their lives and deal with the world. If they see something beyond their age level in a book, on TV, in a film, or on the web, I want them to ask me about it, knowing that I'll give them a straight answer. I don't want them attempting to find out from their friends because they don't think they can come to me, and any real attempt to filter what they come into contact with is likely to give them the idea they can't.
Bottom line? I think the censorship mentioned is ultimately pointless. If the kid doesn't see the word in a book, she'll surely encounter it elsewhere. If she doesn't know what it means, I want her to go to Mom or Dad and ask, and I want Mom and Dad to give a meaningful answer and not get upset at the question. Too much of what I've seen put forth as "protecting the children" seems to be far more motivated by a desire of Mom and Dad to avoid having to deal with questions they aren't comfortable answering.
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Dennis
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