harry potter is not real life therefore it is not scary… that’s what my 9 year old son would say…

sylwia

sylwia

sylwia

Now, if I could get her to quit reading the series. She’s eight now and has probably read it seven times through. Enough, there are other books (and yes, she reads other books too, but …).

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My husband and I enjoy the books and movies. We have personally decided that they’re just not the best reading material for preteens – our reasoning being: Language of the characters (increasingly worse as the series progresses – why does getting older = more language?!?) Behavior of the characters (in the earlier books the students aren’t punished for their attitudes towards adults – instead they end up being praised for breaking rules – indirectly of course…) and overall age appropriate themes (the “romance” does get rather thick and wordy in the later books).

I do, however, think that reading them allowed to a younger child (or even a preteen – I loved to be read to – still do…) would be okay for us because we would be able to leave out or edit some of the things we found inappropriate for our family.

I know that kids hear/see a lot on tv, in school,etc… So do I. But, I also tend to remember it a lot more if I’ve read it on a page – just my learning style maybe – it sticks with me a bit more. I don’t need that sticking in my young ones’ heads.

That said, I think that each family needs to make their own decision – that’s my two cents

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One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is that if the kids are “too young” to understand “what is really going on” or the darkness involved, then why have them read it anyway? I mean is the point just to let them find out what happens? Because I can tell you what happens.

I’ve been having this discussion with a co-worker who let’s his kid watch horribly violent movies. The dad says “well he doesn’t really understand anything going on” and so I think “well then what is the point besides just seeing dark, scary stuff”

I don’t think HP is exactly the same, but I think that there is something to be said about actually understanding what is happening and why. The sixth and seventh books are definitely older and a lot can be read into them. Like others said, you know your baby the best and if you think she could understand and enjoy those books, then let her read. But yeah, you don’t want to hear it, but you might want to check them out first. Wow… long comment! sorry!

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Yes, there’s a tiny bit of kissing (“snogging”, as it’s termed in the books). It occurs either as an obviously immature boy (Ron) tries to make someone else (Hermione) jealous, or as two characters recognize their sincere affection for each other. I.e., there’s no gratuitous kissing and no gratuitous adolescent groping. When Rowling has characters kiss, it’s almost always to mark the fact they’ve recognized they love each other. My guess is that a 7-year-old would expect two people who are in love with each other to engage in a little snoggery. Rowling treats these matters with dignity and respect.

People die in these books, including some very good people. Voldemort is portrayed as thoroughly evil, but capable of making mistakes. Perhaps more difficult for a youngster to come to terms with is why so many otherwise ordinary people chose to abandon their goodness and side with Voldemort.

At their heart, the Potter series is about making choices. This comes to the forefront in these two books ,as we see the consequences of the choices made by all of the major characters, for themselves and for others. None of what happens was foreordained. Something different would have happened in Harry, or Dumbledore, or Voldemort had made different choices. Ron, Hermione, and other Hogwarts students also make fundamental choices that impact their lives.

So, I think you ought to read the entire series. I think you ought read the last two along with your child, staying a chapter or two ahead. And I’d talk with her about the choices the characters make. Lord knows, your daughter will be making choices herself.

I agree with Cassie: make sure she knows it’s a story and not real.