What I researched and why: We've done work in this class to identify different types of "naughty behavior" and possible causes. We've discussed literature's reflection of, and impact on, societal views of children. However, although we've discussed ways parents have dealt with naughty children in the past, we haven't talked much about ideal ways for parents to deal with them now. It seems to me that in "17 Things" the reaction of the parents to the naughty child is a key component, so I wanted to see what readers and reviewers thought
What I found: Reading the Amazon.com reviews of "17 things" reveals that many readers consider it unfit for child consumption; I was surprised to see that much of this was blamed on the action of the child. "I would never read this to a child. The protagonist is rewarded for being manipulative, destructive, and dishonest. I am horrified that this is being lauded as a best book for kids. This is a book that makes a hero out of a spoiled brat, and instructs a child to lie to enjoy themselves," says one Amazon reviewer. This blog post by a teacher is very telling, as well; in reading it to a group of fourth-graders, she notes their lack of enjoyment, and shock at the lack of punishment. "I would be grounded," said one child. However, the teacher still thinks the book could be improved by presenting the child as a "more responsible little girl."
My interpretation/What this adds to discussion: It seems that both the Amazon reviewer and the teacher have missed the point which the book is trying to make. The jacket of "17 Things" reads "It's just too bad grown-ups don't seem to understand her genius..." It seems to me that this is the true problem in "17 Things:" a child's misdirected creativity being channeled through the wrong sort of actions. Whose responsibility is it to guide a child's creativity along the right paths? We would assume the parents', of course. By forbidding her activities, but never recommending anything to take their place, the parents throughout the book are curing the symptoms of the problem, but not striking it at its base. It's no surprise to me that, at the end of "17 Things," the girl doesn't show any remorse for her actions. It would be impossible to depict a girl in such a situation as "more responsible," as her parents have failed to teach her the responsible way to channel her creativity. "The fact that the little girl continued and continued to misbehave and not make any change even though consequence was offered was troubling to me as a teacher and a parent," concludes the teacher in her review. However, what consequences were offered? By forbidding the child to perform certain actions, without striking at the heart of her misbehavior, the parents have offered no consequences at all; in fact, it seems she enjoys coming up with new ways to act out. It troubles me that someone in charge of children, as both a parent and a teacher, fails to make the connection between the insufficient parenting and the child's bad behavior in "17 Things."
This opens up an entirely new realm of discussion in class: how should we deal with naughty children? The question of whether what we label "naughtiness" is just a manifestation of creativity which hasn't found an acceptable channel yet calls to mind our discussion of the transformation of mental crises into art. How does that translate into parenting? Also, both these reviews assign responsibility to children for their bad behavior. Is this a new trend, and is it truly appropriate?
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3 comments:
I agree that the reviewers and parents that have responded to this book have responded in quite extreme ways. I feel that they read into it a bit too much. I overall really liked the book and thought it was funny. It was something I would have read when I was little, I'm sure of it. I was a pretty mischievious child, always doing things I probably shouldn't have, but then again, I was an only child with an over-active imagination. I of course had the regular toys that all kids had, but there was just something about bringing life to an otherwise dull object that seemed to interest me so much. I feel that the main character in "17 Things" is sort of in the same boat. She has all sorts of ideas pop up within the day, showing her imagination on over-drive, but because she really didn't know what to do with that energy, she found things that are otherwise neutral, such as a stapler or mashed potatoes, and gave them a story. It is too bad that it might be seen that her actions are bad or worse than mischievious. But, I feel that if she had been given an idea about how to make something interesting with a stapler, other than boringly stapling papers together, that she might have had better ways to channel her creativity and energy.
I think the issue at hand is one of sublimation, as we discussed in a few different class sessions. The girl in this book needs to learn how to sublimate her impulses into something useful and acceptable to society, but as a child she can't be expected to figure it all out for herself. It is traditionally the role of parents and teachers to guide children through this and other essential life processes so that they can turn into "good" adults. The institutions that support this girl have failed to help her on this path, and so she continues to be "bad." Perhaps this is an element of what upsets parents and teachers so much about the book, even if only on a subconscious level-- it highlights their potential failures and paints a picture of a world in which institutions are not perfect and a child can fall through the cracks.
I think that this post was right on the target. I work with young children and constantly see how parents fail to realize that they are at the root of their children's behavior. Parent's constantly come into the school I work at to discuss their children's naughty behavior, such as hitting and biting. I am baffled when I overhear them tell their children that they are going to smack them later. Do they not understand that they are teaching their children that physical violence is the proper way to deal with their problems? Insufficient parenting causes the children I work with to be more naughty, as does it cause the little girl to be more naughty in 17 Things. If adults could realize that just by guiding children in the correct path by teaching them acceptable ways to deal with their problems or by showing them different ways to do things, instead of taking away their ability to do it at all, we might see a decrease in the amount of naughty behavior in children.
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