Harry Potter movie--how old? do they want to see it? did you let them?

[Gendenwitha]

I debated about it, but decided, with reservations, to take my 7 & 8yo who are pretty aware now what's fiction and non-fiction.

I try really hard not to be one of "those" moms who 'tsk tsk's' other people's parenting all the time. (There's way to many of them already.) Okay there were some people there with babies you always find that, but I was shocked at how many kids who were 2, 3, 4, 5.... I know to some extent it depnends on the individual child, but is there a three year old who's developmentally ready to deal with violent PG-13 movies?

[Gracefulmom]

My 8 yo dd was invited by a friend. I didn't let her go, because she's very affected by what she sees. I'm sure her friend handled it just fine, but my dd is super sensitive. I know from reading the books that she's not ready for the movie, and probably not even the books yet.

And, no, I don't think a three year old could possible be emotionally ready for such a movie. I probably wouldn't "tsk-tsk" about parents who allow it, though... no good can come of reacting that way.

[tnrsmom]

Moving this to the media forum

[Stayseeliz]

After having seen it, I'd probably let me 4yo watch it..I didn't think it was scary at all and can't understand why it got a PG-13 rating..But I wouldn't have taken him without seeing it first..

[Flagger]

I will let my 2.5 year old probably three year old when it is released on DVD watch it in the comfort of my home so I can start and stop it to talk about "scary" things. Honestly the loud music effect were more scary than the images.

[Viola]

I took my six year old because she doesn't seem to be very affected by these things. At least to me, since she will clearly tell me when things are pretend or not when I get emotionally affected by something.

That said, she did seem a little scared of the dragons at first.

But mostly she was truly bored. She didn't really watch the movie and kept wanting to go home because she was sleepy. At one point she was playing next to me in an open part of the theater, doing a little pretend game and not even watching the movie. So I wish I hadn't taken her.

I remember going to see Blade (Wesley Snipes vampire flick) and I sat next to two little children in the 2-4 year old range. I was pretty disturbed by that.

[UnschoolnMa]

Mine have seen all of the movies. (Well as of tomorrow they will have anyway ) They were ages 8 and 10 when the first one came out I believe. Our children choose their own movies and shows. We warn them about what might be involved before hand though.

[primjillie]

I was amazed at all the young children when I went and saw HP. Most of them were terrified and a few had to leave the theater. Two little girls behind us (3ish and 4ish) were hiding their faces and cowering. It was very loud and scary for little ones, in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend it for less than a 10 year old.

[Plady]

Originally Posted by Stayseeliz

After having seen it, I'd probably let me 4yo watch it..I didn't think it was scary at all and can't understand why it got a PG-13 rating..But I wouldn't have taken him without seeing it first..

That's exactly what i think.
Dd has seen the other three movies (all on video so we can ff through anything scary) and typical her, her favorite parts are the Basilisk and the werewolf scenes. I think both of those are actually scarier than the death eater scene in GoF. I wonder if the screen I saw it on was especially dark though because I could not make out what the death eater masks even looked like! If they hadn't cut out all the creatures in the maze that might have been scarier but moving hedge just doesn't seem to be the stuff of nightmares.
I don't think I'll take dd to see this in the theatre (basically I'm a cheapskate and I just didn't think it was that good that I'd want to pay movie theatre prices again) but I will let her watch it with me when it comes out on video. The only thing I'm really worried about is the backlash about there being NO DOBBY! I had told her that Dobby would be in this one and I know she was looking forward to it

[LiamnEmma]

I had no intention of letting my six year old see it before the rating was even announced. Then when they announced the rating I felt validated in my thinking. Then he saw the trailer and announced he was not ready to see it yet (he has seen the first three at home on DVD). Then our six year old neighbor saw it and wasn't frightened at all and he announced that he'd changed his mind. So we spent a lot of time looking at the trailers again and I gave him the basic plot of the story and during the movie gave him warnings--Cedric and Harry are going to touch the cup, go to a graveyard, and then Cedric is going to die immediately...this is the merpeople part...those were the only things that gave him any fright that I saw. I'd guess most people would see him and guess that he's four years old, he's very short, when in reality he's six and a half. Honestly, I think POA was far more visually frightening than GOF. Both are quite violent in my opinion, but it's easier for kids to not allow the processing of the GOF information. POA was so in-your-face with the werewolf and dementors...I saw a girl who looked to be about three and she didn't seem frightened at all ever, but I was surprised to see her there and chalked it up to her parents not really knowing the storyline. One of our neighbors (a different one) has been seeing PG-13 movies since about the age of 4, which I've always found a little shocking and not quite the decisions I want to make.

[Cloverlove]

I wasn't going to take ds to see it, but after reading this thread and reviews, I might. He is 8 and not overly sensitive. He has read all the books and will be extremely happy to hear I have changed my mind!

There is no way I would take dd to see it. She has seen most of SS on DVD, but we have always skipped the part with Snape/Quirrell.

I wouldn't 'tsk-tsk' for HP, but I was very disturbed by the 4 and 5 year-olds at LOTR.

[UnschoolnMa]

We just saw it. It was excellent! There are some scary scenes that might overwhelm a sensitive little one, but I would just point that out to an 8 yr old and let them decide.

[Verity]

I took my 11-year-old ds, but I wasn't going to let my 8-year-old dd see it until I saw it. After the death eater scene (which was much scarier than in the book, IMO), I decided I don't want her to see the movie yet. She isn't easily scared, but I did find it more intense than the other HP movies, and I just don't see the point of her seeing the movie when she hasn't been motivated enough to read the book.

I think the PG-13 rating is appropriate.

[Cloverlove]

We saw it last night and I changed my mind about changing my mind! I decided I really don't feel comfortable letting my 8 y.o. see it, even though he has read the books. Maybe he can watch it after it comes out on DVD.

[Millie Ivy]

I would totally let my kids see it (3 and 4.5) but they don't get bothered at all by scary stuff, and do really well with closing their eyes if I tell them to. But I wouldn't have taken them to see it without seeing it first, and I dodn't take them at all because they are too young to be expected to sit still through a movie that would bore them at times. So (as always) we will buy it when it comes out

Or maybe the dollar theatre, I love the dollar theatre!!!

[journeymom]

I took the 10 y.o. and left the 6 y.o. at home.

[KaraBoo]

I could care less about the ratings but I admit that I was hoping my daughter would decide against seeing it in the cinema. She's nearly 7 and has seen the other films at home on DVD, where she can pause, fast forward, etc. I showed her the trailers of GOF online and she chose to wait for it to come out on DVD.

Note: she decides against MANY movies in the cinema because 1. they are too loud for her and 2. it's so "in your face" and 3. she can't pause them LOL

[3boysmom]

We went last night...loved it! My youngest is 8 and has read all the books and seen all of the previous movies - he absolutely loved this movie! I can't understand the pg13 rating for this one.

[Ruthla]

I took my 9.5yo and my almost 11yos to the movie with me, but waited until I had somebody to watch my 4yo before we went. I might consider playing that movie on video (when it comes out) with him around, since he could leave the room when the scary parts came, but I'd never take him to see it in the theater.

I also want to clarify that both of my girls have read the entire Harry Potter series and knew what was going to happen in Goblet of Fire (ie, they knew when to look away!) I don't think I would have let my very sensitive 9yo see this movie with anybody but me. There's no way I would have let her see this with a friend, and I wouldn't have let either one of them see this without having read the book first. Books are less scary than movies because the visuals are limited to the child's imagination.

[pfamilygal]

I thought it was kind of scary and I'm 29! There was a kid behind us who was about 4 or 5 and he kept crying. I was so mad that his mother brought him.

But I did love the movie.