Does anyone think that story is true? Can you imagine the social workers? Your Dad did what? He tried to persuade you to eat canine faeces?

Why is it that there is a particular style to these moral tales that doesn't quite work?

When I was young my mother only banned one sort of book. every year, one of our distant aunts sent us a book for Christmas, and every year, my mother would tut at it, and hide it away. Eventually, I did what anyone would expect, and searched and found that year's offering. It was a book of Evangelical religious stories with morals. They were written in the precursor to the style above, and I knew just what credence to give them.

I do not know what the moral of that is with regard to censorship, unless it is that if you have brought up your children to be thoughtful about what they read and see, you don't need to worry if they break through and read something you find objectionable. If they know that your judgements in the past have been based on reason, then they will trust your judgements in the future. Unfortunately, my little tale doesn't include the effects of peer group pressure, because it didn't apply.

Penny