I was free to read whatever I wanted and turned out fine
The issue of reading ????? ?????? is not only about the negative influence it has on the person; they are ???? to read even if they don’t influence you. “Turning out fine” doesn’t mean that you did nothing wrong.
Seriously, I wouldn’t let my (smaller) child take books out without supervision of some kind.
Why would you let your older kids (what age do you classify as older?) without supervision?