Should there be an age limit to reading explict books?

[Jacquelyn]

I'm pretty sure you have to be 18 to buy erotic materials, but borrowing from a library, I wasn't stopped at 17. I personally think that erotica should be allowed for 17 year olds. A good percent of 17 year olds today are already exploring their sexuality, so if they are having sex, they may as well be allowed to read about it without such a social stigma about it. For the ones that aren't interested, they obviously don't have to.

[Missy]

I think it should be the parents/guardians decision. I can understand how some parents would not want their child to read a book about sex. Me personally, I let my child watch the movie. She is 14 years old and she did not read the book. After she saw the movie she chose not to read the book. The reason I let her watch the movie is she is very mature for her age, we have a close mother-daughter bond to where she feels she can come and talk to me about anything. The main reason was I want to be the one to teach and have the conversation about sex, relationships, etc., with my daughter. Children today know so much and a lot of parents think their child is so innocent or does not know anything. I have witnessed young girls and boys like this whose parents have no clue until the child ends up pregnant/with a std. Teenage girls where reading Fifty Shades of Grey at school and was talking about it with my daughter. This was not my daughter's first encounter with the sex topic. I would never forget the first time she asked me about sex when she was only in the second grade because of a few kids in her class were talking about it!! This was my first g-rated simple and short explanation and it was very hard. Of course the topic came up again before the age of 14 thanks to children who had no clue and parents who had no clue that their child was talking about sex at school. I don't believe children should be sheltered, they should be taught and taught the right and wrong of different topics like sex or violence.

[Dedra]

yes I think if you're 17 and older it is okay. under that age it is really up to parents on what kids read.