Was your DC bothered by Harry Potter books 6 and 7?

[Anonymous]

My DD read them at age 7-8, and she was fine with them. She was also fine with the movies (we alternated: she'd read one of the books, then we'd watch the movie version of that book, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JK specifically said she wrote/published the books in the time she wanted younger kids to read and grow up with them.

Here is a great timeline. Don't rush thru them. Let your kids mature with the kids in the books.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/harry-potter-age-by-age-guide#

My kids rushed through the books at first the same way I know I rushed to read all of a favorite series. Most of my kids have reread the entire series multiple times by now, and I think they enjoy it differently as they grow up and understand more of what they were reading.

At first it was a fun adventure story, then it inspired some questions and further thought, and in high school one of my DDs cited the book in an academic research paper that was well-received by the teacher for a respectable grade.

I never bothered limiting my children's reading material, under the assumption that they'd read what they liked, absorb what they were ready for and gloss over the rest like I did, and put down any book that was unenjoyable for any reason including being too boring, confusing, tedious to read, or distressing.

I agree that younger readers don't understand all the themes or catch the true complexity of the series, I just disagree that this suggests they shouldn't read all the books if they are interested enough to want to do so.

Exactly. And it's not as if you can slow down a voracious reader! Try it and see what happens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JK specifically said she wrote/published the books in the time she wanted younger kids to read and grow up with them.

Here is a great timeline. Don't rush thru them. Let your kids mature with the kids in the books.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/harry-potter-age-by-age-guide#

My kids rushed through the books at first the same way I know I rushed to read all of a favorite series. Most of my kids have reread the entire series multiple times by now, and I think they enjoy it differently as they grow up and understand more of what they were reading.

At first it was a fun adventure story, then it inspired some questions and further thought, and in high school one of my DDs cited the book in an academic research paper that was well-received by the teacher for a respectable grade.

I never bothered limiting my children's reading material, under the assumption that they'd read what they liked, absorb what they were ready for and gloss over the rest like I did, and put down any book that was unenjoyable for any reason including being too boring, confusing, tedious to read, or distressing.

I agree that younger readers don't understand all the themes or catch the true complexity of the series, I just disagree that this suggests they shouldn't read all the books if they are interested enough to want to do so.

Exactly. And it's not as if you can slow down a voracious reader! Try it and see what happens

Wait, if you tell them let's hold off on the HP books for a little while, they will just stop reading all together??

[Anonymous]

My precocious kid read them soon after he turned six. He recognized that they are fiction and wasn't scared at all. At least didn't appear to be and claimed he wasn't. Despite that I remember a Harry Potter themed nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JK specifically said she wrote/published the books in the time she wanted younger kids to read and grow up with them.

Here is a great timeline. Don't rush thru them. Let your kids mature with the kids in the books.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/harry-potter-age-by-age-guide#

Exactly! That is why she is publishing her illustrated books once a year right now. My 7yr old and I read the first one together and she had a ton of questions as we went thru it. There is no way a 5-8yr old could even understand the depth of these books, especially as they move forward and the writing gets darker and more advanced. I think most kids read them young to say they have actually read them. It is a cool thing to read. Just like when 2-3rd graders are reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid. They have absolutely no idea what it is like to be in middle school and the issues with girls, puberty, etc... most of it goes completely over their head. But it is a cool thing to read so they skim it and said they read it.

[Anonymous]

My almost 9 year old DS read books 1 and 2 years ago and book 3 last year. We're holding off on the rest at this point because he's fairly sensitive and has frequent nightmares. I'm guessing that he could probably handle book 4, but I don't want to suggest it until I'm certain. I'm too tired from having him wake me up every few nights as it is...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My precocious kid read them soon after he turned six. He recognized that they are fiction and wasn't scared at all. At least didn't appear to be and claimed he wasn't. Despite that I remember a Harry Potter themed nightmare.

He wasn't scared because he couldn't process what he was reading.

[Anonymous]

It depends on your parenting style. If you are someone who follows recommended ages then you will wait. If you are someone who doesn't care and lets your child watch PG-13 and R movies you will let them read them.

[Anonymous]

My 6.5-year-old read all of them, and insisted nothing bothered him. He then read them through twice more, without any break between books, for hours on end. It got to be like trying to extract a teen from a video game.

I decided the books were actually upsetting him; he enjoyed them, but he also needed to keep reading them compulsively. I took them away a couple of months ago, and his behavior and sleep have improved.

So my answer is, I don't know!

[Anonymous]

Our 7/8 year old stopped at Goblet of Fire because he said it was too scary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My precocious kid read them soon after he turned six. He recognized that they are fiction and wasn't scared at all. At least didn't appear to be and claimed he wasn't. Despite that I remember a Harry Potter themed nightmare.

He wasn't scared because he couldn't process what he was reading.

Oh, do you know my child? Obviously you don't. Because one conversation with him and you'd take that back.

He LOVED those books and wasn't reading them "because it was cool" as PP said - he knew absolutely nothing about them until he started on the first one and then got hooked and was utterly obsessed as he sped through each book in the series in short order.. And he still hasn't seen any of the movies (he's now eight). A couple of times much older kids quizzed him about them in great detail because they didn't believe he'd read them and soon changed their minds.

But this is a very secure kid who has understood the difference between fiction and reality since he was very young and never been upset by stories. He's a lot more upset about Trump. (Yes, now he reads the newspaper and yes, he does understand that too). Other kids who take fiction more literally may be scared at his age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on your parenting style. If you are someone who follows recommended ages then you will wait. If you are someone who doesn't care and lets your child watch PG-13 and R movies you will let them read them.

Untrue. I follow age recommendations for movies. In fact I rarely let my kids watch movies, but they can read anything they are interested in and capable of reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My seven year old read the entire series a few months ago, and is rereading them now. He didn't seem particularly perturbed by the dark elements in the book (he's seen the films too and seemed to be fine).

You let your 7yr old watch PG-13 movies? Will he be watching R movies at 10?

OMG my 6 year old has seen pg13 movies. Bigger things in life to care about.