Censorship is a topic that is commonly argued about between parents, and there is no "correct" way to censor a child's world. The censorship of each child should be specific to their parents, and circumstances. One thing I do know is that censorship is the biggest disservice you could ever do to your child.
I am so thankful to my parents for the way they raised me, because I was able to acquire knowledge about whatever my heart desired. My world was not limited by TV blocks, books i couldn't read, crimes I wasn't allowed to understand, or a filter to blur out the ugly parts of the world. The world is beautiful, nasty, cruel, unforgiving, inspiring, and dangerous. The true nature of the world was not blocked from my little eyes, and I am a better person because of this.
When the world is blocked out by blinders for a child, the child is shocked when they make it out to the real, uncensored, raw world. While trying to prosper in college, or high school, the child is also trying to grasp the new, overwhelming world. I knew kids growing up who weren't allowed to watch Spongebob, couldn't watch MTV, could only watch PG movies, and were blocked from Youtube. This kind of censorship is just unnecessary, and only makes the poor kid oblivious to real events. When you only know about the daisy chains, and smiles in the world, it is literally paralyzing to hear about someone being murdered in your hometown. Some things that happen in the world are not pretty, but they definitely aren't going away.
From a young age I understood about crimes, bad people with bad intentions, consequences, betrayal, manipulation, bad influences, drugs, alcohol, and a ton of other things that were deemed "unsafe to teach a child about" by my parent's friends. This knowledge made me understand how to behave, understand how to protect myself in the world, and most of all: how to make good choices. More times than not, if a child is exposed to an uncensored version of the world, they will gravitate towards the good things anyway. Nobody had to teach me how to pick the good thing because I knew how to differentiate between the bad and good. I grew up knowing how to think for myself, and still use this good judgement and moral. Growing up with little to no censorship is one of the best things my parent's ever did for me.
My biggest issue with censorship is that it creates a disadvantage for the child as they grow older, and learn they are oblivious to the true nature of the world. The problem with censorship is that it's like only teaching a child to type on a computer to avoid arthritis, but then they are expected to know how to handwrite in school. You think you are helping them in the long run, but you are only creating confusion and frustration down the road. The real world is not going to stop moving, and people aren't going to stop doing terrible things, so wouldn't you rather arm your child with the knowledge they need to survive than handicapping them to safeguard them?
Besides being a disadvantage to child, the parents are also setting themselves up for disappointment. If a child is deprived their whole childhood of the dangers of the world, then as a teen they begin actively seeking them out. Danger seems exciting because they never got a glimpse at it in their childhood. Censorship creates rebellion, which creates headache for parents. If you give your child the trust they need to thrive, they will most likely behave well and stick to their morals. This phenomena is often seen in children who attend private schools their whole life, then switch to public school for middle or high school. It is a complete culture shock to them, and they begin running wild with this new exposure to danger.
Censorship is the worst thing you could do to your child, don't make them oblivious to the world. The world isn't going to stop, neither are criminals. Prepare your child for harsh reality, don't hide it. Censorship shows a lack of confidence and trust from parents to children. Stop censoring.
