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Sports world filled with 'Too much information'
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Published: August 1, 2009
My 8-year-old loves sports and he loves statistics. His two favorite things to read are Sports Illustrated and the Guinness Book of World Records.
Facing a long car trip to the beach, I thought I'd struck gold when I found The World Record Book of Sports. This could not lose.
Sure enough, he was totally enthralled from the moment we pulled out of the driveway. I was patting myself on the back for a "good-mom" gift — he was reading, after all, instead of watching a DVD or playing a video game.
Then the questions started.
"Mom, what is rape?"
A few minutes later — "Mom, what is HIV/ AIDS?"
And, last but not least — "Mom, what is 'smoking cannabis?' "
My first instinct was to take the book away. He's a little boy, and he doesn't need to know about any of this stuff.
But I didn't. I tried to answer each question briefly, offering as little information as I could. And I let him keep reading.
As much as I would like to shelter him from even knowing about the bad things in this world, it would be impossible. A casual glance at the newspaper or snippets overheard from CNN or the radio could spark similar questions.
So while I'm not giving him full access to the library stacks any time soon, I am committed to letting him follow his love of reading and endless quest for information — with me by his side as a tour guide to the adult world.
And I'm bracing myself for what questions he will come up with next.
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