Is "Gossip Girl" Too Racy For Kids?

New TV Show Based On Series Of Books For Kids That Deal With Many Adult Issues

(CBS)  If you think the new CW show "Gossip Girl" is salacious, check out the books the series is based on. They are full of swear words and tales of sex, drugs and drinking -- content so racy it would make Harry Potter blush.

Both the books and the TV show chronicle the high society lifestyle of teens on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

"There is sex in school, there are drugs, there is drinking. Obviously there's a lot of swearing and there's a feeling that it's unrealistic for books not to reflect that," said Karen Holt, deputy editor of Publisher's Weekly.

But clinical psychologist Roni Cohen-Sandler says parents are right to be concerned about what their children are exposed to whether it is through books, television, radio or movies.

"You want to make sure what they're reading, the messages they're getting, are consistent with your values," she told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "In many of these books, you're seeing girls think of things and do things that are really not consistent with a parent's values."

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Photos: Book People

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While industry experts credit the popularity of "Gossip Girl" and other serial novels to their accurate portrayal of issues facing teenagers today. Some parents are weary of the message these stories convey.

"This kind of reading gives children ideas, I think, that they probably wouldn't necessarily be interested in unless they wanted to start mimicking certain activities," said Alanda Robinson, whose daughter Blake enjoys the books.

Some parents say they are simply happy that their children are reading at all. But if you are bothered by the books, Cohen-Sandler says don't overreact. That will only make your daughter more interested. Instead, she says, always read what they are reading.

"Pick up the books, read them, find out what's in them, and that becomes a great springboard for discussion for your daughter," she said. "Then you can say to her, 'What do you think of these books? Do you think it's realistic? Do you ever feel like these girls feel? Is that how your friends act?' You can counteract some of the negative messages they get from these book snoops the people publishing these books say that there's nothing wrong with them because the characters in these books are mirroring some of the issues that these girls are facing in real life."

The problem is that many of the girls who read the book are in elementary school and middle school and cannot differentiate reality from fiction, Cohen-Sandler said. When they are older, they can see how the books exaggerate things and also see the consequences of partaking in drugs, sex and gossip.

"You want her to see that there are consequences for things and that if you're behaving in a way that's not consistent with your values, that bad things happen," she said. "That's not the message they're getting."

But above all, Cohen-Sandler said, do not preach.

"You have to come across as being very nonjudgmental, of course," she said. "You have to listen, and that's very difficult to sort of sit back and listen and not be judgmental. But you do have an opportunity, then, to counteract the messages that you don't like."

[xoxogosspgrl]

When reading this article i first thought "wow, these people are way over protective. These books are for ''young adults'', and they people they are aimed for should be able to understand what is right and wrong in them. As for the "ideas, I think, that they probably wouldn''t necessarily be interested in unless they wanted to start mimicking certain activities", those ideas arent only in those books, and your child will eventually find them, with or without the books. Then the part about middle schoolers and elementary schoolers reading them. 8th and even 7th graders should be fine with them, but elementary school? If you are letting your child read these "young adult" books when they are in elementary school the books values aren''t the problem.

[mommac4]

There are more appropriate choices for preteen girls than "Young Adult" reading material -- usually intended for teens. Preteens (and their parents) would probably be happier in the Independent Reader section, or looking through the "Favorite Series" or chapter books. Just because a kid is capable of reading a book doesn''t mean she should. For a better choice, check out the Beacon Street Girls books, or stick with the classics, what you read when you were that age, and are familiar with!

[janso-2009]

Life with a teenage girl is not always peaceful. It seems that they suffer from PMS EVERYDAY. But I noticed that when my daughter was reading a book from the "Love Comes Softly" series, by Janette Okes, she mimicked some of the activities that the young girl in the series participated in. My daughter actually helped me more around the house with dishes, cooking, and gardening. She was kinder to her four brothers and a joy to be around. Even when she was not actively reading I could tell that her mind traveled into the story during everyday activities.
I cringe to think how my daughter would have acted and what she would have been thinking while reading "Gossip Girl", and other serial novels of this nature.
I would have certainly read those books along with her and asked her these questions:
Did she think these books reflected real life? Were her friends reading them and was peer pressure involved? (This is often the case with young women, and I can see that reading and discussing the books with each other, and anxiously waiting for the next one to come out, would be a popular pastime.) Did she think that reading this kind of book could influence her ideas and reactions to real life? I would ask her if this was the kind of young woman she would want to be, reminding her of the adage, %u201CGarbage In - Garbage Out%u201D. I would be respectful of her opinion, yet at the same time, I would voice my opinion about the books content, and its potential consequences.

[meghan1984]

Hi Early Show! I just watched your discussion on the books Gossip Girl and was surprised by what I heard. I am 23 years old and I have been reading these books for 5 years. I wouldn''t say that these books are inappropriate for teenage girls at all. The part that you don%u2019t see in the TV show is that ''Blair'' discusses waiting to have *** until it%u2019s the right time and until it means something. The girls talk about how much they hate that ''Nate'' smokes marijuana. And they discuss how important it is to get into a good college. Yes, these books are an accurate portrayal of high school; however most girls are not going to be convinced to do the wrong thing by reading them. It really comes down to whether the parents of the girls reading them are taking responsibility for what the girls take form the books. They should have already talked with them about drugs and alcohol and be aware of what their children are doing when they go out with friends, rather than stopping them from reading. Had I not had these books in high school I would not be the avid reader that I am today.
Meghan J. - Minnesota