Essay On Book Banning

Imagine you have a child. This child loves to read books on their own. They read so much you finally tell them to get their books from the library. Then, one day, your child asks you what does this word mean, you are horrified to see that the child is pointing to a curse word. From that point on the child gets in trouble with teachers and other adults for saying that word. This is why book banning is necessary to keep children from finding themselves in that situation and others. Book banning is required because a child may be taught bad habits, lose the magical innocence of childhood, and because children may not be mature enough to decide what materials to read.

Bad habits are one reason to keep our children form reading certain books.

Some books include topics children are not ready for, such as drug abuse. The promotion of drug abuse is one reason book banning is necessary to keep children from imitating bad behavior or habits. Sexual content is another reason books need to be restricted. The article “Censorship: Banned Books”, shows that, “…6,634 were challenges reported …1,607 were challenges to ‘sexually explicit’ material.” Children might read these books and decide that if a character says it is good to do something, the children could do it too. When people argue, ”My child would never do that!” they are incorrect. Children are easily imprinted on because they have not seen many of the materials that are banned from school libraries, which makes them, want to try those materials.
Many adults think back to their childhood as a time of innocence and magical times, everything was simple and taken care of.

Some books may be too depressing for children. Violent material may make children sad and take away the innocence that many adults look back on and smile. The article “Censorship: Banned Books”, states that, “…6,634 were challenges reported …737 were considered to be ‘violent’.” These violent materials may dampen the innocence that adults would cherish. Childhood is a precious resource that should be cherished, not spent on worrying about violence or other disturbing materials.

Many may argue, “Children are mature enough to choose their own books!” However a medical discovery has shown that children and teenagers are not mature enough through physical evidence. “Understanding the Teen Brain,” an article on the Online Medical Encyclopedia, states that “The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until he or she is 25 years old or so.” This shows that children cannot decide for themselves what is good for them to read. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the adults to decide which books should or should not be banned.

In conclusion, book banning is necessary because children may be taught bad habits, lose the magical innocence of childhood, and not be mature enough to decide what materials to read. The banning of books, while unfortunate, is needed to help keep children safe and

carefree.