At what age were your kids ready for Harry Potter?

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I do love how the female characters turned out. After the first, I thought, "Oh geez. Another fairy tale/Disney theme where mom is only a good mom because she died for her child/fawn/baby elephant." Hermione's character has become so wonderful. I hate that she gets such short shrift in the movies--the 4th never mentions SPEW!

I am with you on the books vs. movies. When reading, your mind will take you as gory as you want to go. My personal take on movies and books is the opposite. I get much more intense and elaborate in my head than in the movies.

well mine are 4 and 7 and they've been into HP for a good long while, as have i : BUT. I think that yes, the movies are more intense than the books, and that book 1 is no less than a world away from book 6, kwim?? I read to my kids from all the books, but I find that everyone is more comfy if I paraphrase/skip parts starting around book 4. We saw GoF in the theatre when it came out, with both kids donning "invisibility cloaks" and plastic magic wands from the Leaky Cauldron shop but in hindsight I think that movie was too creepy at the end for them. They know movie 5 is coming out this July, and they both have mixed feelings about wanting to see it in the theatres. I think I'll make it a date with DP so I can preview it and warn them. I'm not much into censorship of media (within reason of course), but I definitely make a point to know my kids well enough to know what would bug them and what wouldn't. good luck!!

...we need a wizard icon, yathink?? :nana:

The first movie came out in 2001 I believe so that would have made my kids like 8 and 10 or so. They'd have been just fine seeing it younger though I think. Ds oerhaps more so than Dd. They saw them all in theatre and loved it. My Ds had read the book prior to seeing the movie, but Dd has not read them.

My son just finished reading the series (well, the first 6 books and really liked them. We have seen some, but not all, of the movies, following the book that he had just finished at the time.

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I agree!

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Can you expand on this? I am not trying to start a debate, but I have heard others say that they won't let their kids do HP, and I don't understand why not. I started this poll because I realize that some elements are not appropriate for every age, but I don't understand the underlying reasons for never doing it.

Well, I guess I'm a bad mom... DS, his dad, and I went to the theatre to see GOF when DS was like 7 months old. : Of course he didn't really pay much attention, but Robert and I just really wanted to see it.

As for the books, I'll probably start reading them to him as soon as he'll sit still long enough for me to read him something like that. I tried reading The Hobbit to him, but he just tries to take the book.

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Well, I can't answer for those particular posters, but a lot of Christians are against HP... something about witchcraft being of the devil or whatever. :

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Thanks for the suggestions. I always am on the lookout for new series for DS.

For now, I think we will stick with the first one. Maybe I can make it a big deal for birthdays--each year a new HP.

Less than one! DS sat straight up at the midnight premiere of Goblet of Fire and stared at the movie screen, watching the movie intently, for at least an hour when he was six months old...then he went to sleep.

Ds is nine and is only now ready to start reading he books on his own. He has listened to the COS on cd and loved it. I have let them all watch the movies though(my son is the only one we have ever taken to see them at the movies though) and my girls are 4 and 5. They all love HP.

Edited to add I think it depends on your children and if they are able to handle certain fantasy violence. My girls were actually rooting for the dragon