Is my child slow? Just getting into Harry Potter (film only) at age 12
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Where we live, and in DS's nwdc school, all the other kids had BTDT with Harry Potter 3+ years ago. It was A Thing, they all devoured the series, dressed up like their favorite Potter characters for Halloween and presumably have moved on.
Back then, I'd ask DS if he'd like me to get him any of the books and he declined. I thought at the time he just didn't grasp the concepts (his reading ability/comphrehension is well beyond, that wasn't the problem). We went to Universal Studios and he was indifferent to the whole HP Wizarding World of whatever. To be very clear, I don't care so much what he reads so long as he's reading something. I just find it strange that it has "taken him so long" to appreciate what his school peers were into, and over, years ago. |
Anonymous
| Eh, no big deal. Frankly my 20-something peers read HP when it came out and I just bothered to read it recently. |
Anonymous
| I'm 38 and have not yet read Harry Potter. Because ... I don't want to. I'm not slow; I'm just not interested! |
Anonymous
Me too. Its not a gauge of your child's abilities, just their interests. |
Anonymous
| Yeah that was a thing when my kid was 7/8 and she wasn't in to it. Really kids of the kids back them barely understood the books and plot. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn't worry about it. HP has staying power, sorta like star wars. The kids will wax and wane on what they are interested in. |
Anonymous
| Remember OP that Harry himself is only 11 in the first book. This was a series meant for the preteen-teen ages - not early elementary school. That some kids enjoy it at 7 or 8 doesn't make it a second-grade book. The books also grow more sophisticated and complex as they go -- I don't think the 7 year old who enjoys the Sorcerer's Stone is going to get the Deathly Hallows. |
Anonymous
| I think it says more (good things) about your son that he didn't feel the need to bow to the pressure of "liking" something he wasn't honestly interested in. |
Anonymous
| He's not slow. He's a non-conformist. He didn't commit himself to hours upon hours of reading books he wasn't interested in at age 9 just because his friends were into them. This is a really good sign. |
Anonymous
| I agree with those that say it's probably just not a match for his interests. Our DD has never liked Harry Potter or any of the fantasy type stuff. Over the years she has seen some of the movies with friends but more to be social than because that's the movie she wanted to see. She tried the books a few times but finally made peace with the fact that they're just not her cup of tea. |
Anonymous
| I agree with all of this. Esp the parts about the series actually being geared toward kids your son's current age - the fact that so many 3rd graders whip through the series just means to me that most are not really appreciating it, or may re-read it later. My DS is the same, he has never "taken" to HP, Percy Jackson, etc - in my DS's case I do think some of it is anxiety related, as he doesn't want to be scared reading a book and he knows there is "scary" stuff in the books. |
Anonymous
| Not everyone really gets into fantasy. Does your son like nonfiction or more "realistic" stories? |
Anonymous
| He is just reaching the age of many of the characters in the books; it's a great time to read it. Maybe he will start a new trend of re-reading for his peers. |
Anonymous
|
Agree with the PP that this is a great age to read the books!
And agree that it's a good thing that he didn't just read it because that's what his friends were doing. FTR, my youngest is going into 3rd grade, and hasn't read them. Most of his friends haven't read the series yet either. |
Anonymous
| We watched them all again as a family when kid was in high school and it was a blast. |