Forever

Over spring break I took the kids to visit my mom in Florida. In one of the closets I discovered a book my niece had left there the week before. It was the Judy Blume teen classic, "Forever".

A few things about Judy Blume. As a young girl, I enjoyed her book, "Are You There God It's Me Margaret" which was a humorous look at puberty. However, as a mother I am still angry at her for ruining Christmas by causing my daughter to doubt the existence of Santa Claus in "Superfudge". So it's safe to say that Judy Blume's books can touch on subjects that are somewhat sensitive.

"Forever" is no different. For those of you not familiar with this book, it was big when I was in high school and is all about a high school girl who gets a boyfriend and loses her virginity. I was forbidden to read it by my mother. I don't know that she ever read it herself, but she heard about it from someone else and wouldn't let me read it. I'm not sure if my mom still forbids me to read it, but I did anyway. My first reaction was that my mom was right and that I would never let my daughter read it either. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that compared to what teenagers now are exposed to on television, music, school, movies, and other books they are reading, it's probably not that bad.

On the heels of my human growth and development breakthrough, I realize that once again, avoiding topics that are uncomfortable to talk about is not a good way to deal with your children. So, when the time comes, if my daughter wants to read the book and I think she is old enough, I will let her. It may actually provide an opportunity for us to have a good discussion.