So my first grade daughter's big thing is history. She usually gets hooked on one subject and wants to study it in detail for a long period of time. First it was mill girls, then the Titanic, then Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea, then British queens, now the Gold Rush.

At first I was very careful. I'd read books with her, discuss things, make sure to skip some sensitive topics. But over time I have become lax? lazy? less sensitive?. She's always seemed okay with everything, and she's read about a lot of mistreatment. Now we generally just go over the library catalog and I check out what she wants and help her research questions.

Tonight she had a bit of a head cold and asked me to find something less intense than the book she was reading that she's been happily talking about lately (it's called Seeds of Hope, if anyone knows it) and read to her myself. I told her I would and that it was always okay not to read anything she didn't want to and asked if I should take her Seeds of Hope book back to the library. She said no, she wanted to read it-- just not every day because it was too intense. Then she told me about a part where non Americans got their belongings thrown over the side of the ship because they needed more space to bring in more Americans. That really bothered her.

So I read her another book, and that was nice and she cuddled with me.

Then right before bed she looked very weary and she said she thought the books she was reading right now were too old for her and maybe we could take them back and she could check them out again when she was more emotionally mature.

I said sure.

Then I went and started leafing through this book she's been reading. With fresh eyes, I see much more exploitation and cruelty that I thought it had in it--way too much for a first grader. But the Sacagewea stuff was exploitative and cruel too. I just fear she's getting too much negativity. She asks for it, and I want to feed her. But I'm the adult. I just don't think it is good.

So here's the question: How do you handle kids who are interested in history without actually exposing them to too much history? It's her number one interest, but I'm starting to get worried and wonder if I should stop encouraging the interest.

Thanks.