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fingershaking.jpgI’m going to qualify this post first by asking you to keep in mind I’m not a virgin, nor am I a prude. But, since I’m not running for office, I think I can tell you a few not-so-politically-correct things about myself:

  • Much to my mother’s disappointment, I only go to church on high-holy days.
  • I inhaled in high school college and I imbibe in hard liquor.
  • I watch, and enjoy, the occasional porn and read erotica.
  • Though I love men with an unabated passion, I had my daughter on my own, without a husband, by choice.
  • I believe consenting adults are free to do anything that doesn’t hurt themselves (unless they want it to) or others.
  • And last, and most important, I am quite content with my decisions in life.

Of course, all of this is scandalous to my sixth generation Texan mother, who was raised in a proper Southern Baptist house with proper expectations, etc. That’s why we pretend she doesn’t know any of this.  She still loves me despite all my “faults.”  And, all that said, I am still VERY conservative about what I want to expose my 8-year old daughter to.

a-reason-to-sin-forrester-brothers-trilogy-book-3-by-maureen-mckade I recently reviewed a book, A Reason to Sin by Maureen McKade, which was mislabeled as “Reading level: Young Adult” on Amazon.com. That really bothered me as a parent.  I’m not saying ARtS is rife with sin, as ironic as that would be – it’s a very respectable Western Historical Romance with some Suspense elements. However, it was clearly written for an adult audience (trust me).  I’m sure this is a SNAFU of Amazon’s and not the author or the publisher – they both clearly do not call this a YA book.  Why Amazon does, I couldn’t begin to guess.

two-hands.JPGDoes wanting to control the information my daughter has make me a prude? I don’t think so. It’s a choice all parents have to make: at what age do you feel comfortable exposing (figuratively speaking) your YA to adult themes?

It’s why we have movie ratings and electronic game ratings. So that PARENTS can make the choice for their kids and not the other way around. Mislabeling something in an era where labels are relied upon is taking the control away from the parent.  THAT is something I frown upon most severely. I rely upon retailers to label their merchandise accurately and this book, most decidedly, is NOT accurately labeled by Amazon.

What about you folks? Anyone else out there peeved about mislabeling in today’s world? I’m not talking about selling a size 4 as a size 12 (although I’m sure that’s what they did to a skirt I bought – I am NOT gaining weight, dammit).

I’m talking about standards and who should be accountable for them.  How much reliance do you put in an advisory label and how much of your own research do you do to make sure it’s the correct label for your family?