Schools are institutions that educate children. As the world grows and develops, our schools have adapted and utilized books to educate children about worldwide events, history, and real-world problems.

But what topics should be discussed? Is it right for a first-grader to read a book about mass genocide or sexual assault? Where do we draw the line between suitable and unsuitable for children?

Certain topics are unsuitable for school

As the world changes, so does literature. Authors write books containing sensitive topics like, violence, drug abuse, sexual assault, and discrimination.

While some of these topics add beneficial learning points, others should be reconsidered. One of the most challenged books during 2023, was “Sold” by Patricia McCormick. The book is about a 13-year-old girl who was supposed to work as a maid in the city, but later finds out she was sold into the sex slave trade in India.

While this topic is real and tragic for those involved, it is graphic and depicts unsuitable issues for younger children. These unsuitable topics may cause distress, anxiety, depression, and other psychological effects.

One study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that exposure to violence through many forms of media can contribute to “aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed”.

By exposing students to disturbing and violent content, the risk of harming children increases, creating distress and stunting their mental growth.

Schools are supposed to be a safe space for everyone

By giving children access to books with strong language and topics in school settings, children can be harmed.

Racial slurs or other discriminatory language creates an unsafe environment in the classroom. Many books including Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” include racial slurs.

Dementech Neurosciences Clinical Academic Centre found seven common types of triggers- people, places, particular feelings, objects, smells, sounds, and significant dates. If a child has had a traumatic event in their life and a book mentions a topic as detailed by some of the books above do, it can cause anxiety, panic attacks, and depressive episodes. Books like these should be read in a controlled environment where the child has help available, however, some schools may not provide this.

Children can’t comprehend/understand the topics in these books

Children learn from the world around them and as they grow, they begin to understand society and their lives.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), from the ages of three to five, children start to understand and interpret the emotions of others.

As they continue to grow, they learn to use these interpretive skills in communication problem-solving situations, and in their reading.

On top of this, experiments conducted by the National Library of Medicine showed that children as young as 18 months will mimic what they see and hear through different forms of media. During both experiments, there was a high rate of children who mimicked the actions and behaviors shown on the television program and in the books read to them. If the book provides harmful imagery and violence, children might mimic and imitate these actions, unaware that it’s harmful. 

How can we work around this problem?

This problem can be solved in a multitude of ways, with the easiest being to recommend ages on books. These age recommendations take into account appropriateness for age, setting, and educational value. Most schools have chosen books based on whether or not the books are appropriate for each grade or reading level through input from the school boards and teachers, reading difficulty levels, the reviews and awards, budget, and curriculum.

Schools should take a close look into the books to confirm that they are appropriate for each grade level. While accidents aren’t common, they do still happen. To keep everyone safe and prevent problems, books should be monitored. Many books are monitored already by different means. According to the National Association of State Boards of Education, the books are put into schools based on the decisions of the school board of said school.

Books are openings to a different world, but without protecting and helping promote a healthy reading environment, these worlds can be harmful. To protect all, students, teachers, and parents alike must work together to help stop this growing problem.

Just as Malala Yousafzia the author of “I am Malala”, a banned book in Pakistan, stated, “One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world,” and not always in a positive way.