What Age Is Harry Potter Appropriate???

As for the age, my kids are 4 and 7. I was hesitant to show the younger one the movies for the same reasons as you are, but we've now seen the first 4 and he hasn't had a single problem. I was a bit surprised, because he's always tended to be the more scared of my two boys - afraid of the dark at night and such. But he's been more scared of the non-Harry Potter ghost stories that his brother tells him!

As for the religion question, my mom is a born-again Christian. I have explained to her that HP is fantasy, and it's classic good vs. evil with good winning every time, but she has it in her head that witches and wizards are somehow demonic. I also have a friend who is a minister, and her family adores HP. I believe that Christians who tend to be more open-minded on social issues are more accepting of HP as what it is, whereas those Christians who have a heightenend sense of black vs. white (as opposed to gray areas) tend to see HP as evil. Hope this response helps.

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My 4 & 6 year old love the first two movies. We feel there is too much violence in the 3rd (or 4th?? where he battles & kills Voldermort)

So beyond the first two, if your 6 yo is mature, then i'd say watch the movie with just hubby & discuss. Then decide. If your 8 yo likes scary things, then why not. also, use the ratings as a guide.

There are sights that help with this kind of stuff.... try these:

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/

http://www.screenit.com/

http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/

I am sure each one is a little different, so look at them all & find one that shares your philosophy.

Hope this helps!

P. : )

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The Harry Potter books came out when my eldest wss in 4th grade, He devoured every book and even waited in line for the last couple. My daughter started reading them at about 6th grade and my younger two children havent' read them yet. THey are in 6th and 3rd. Yes, they can be scary.
I am a big fan of allowing kids to have these kinds of things, Lord of the Rings included, pierced ears, telephones, etc., when they reach an age they can really appreciate them.
If children are given everything just because it's there what does that teach them. If you hand over Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings at 6 where does that put Little House on the Prairie and Nancy Drew?
I held Harry Potter back from my oldest daughter for a few years. When I did say These are good books, she fell in love with them and she was 11.
About the Christianity thing. I consider myself a Christian. I also consider HP a piece of fiction. They are well written and buying these books has helped a woman pick herself up out of the gutter so to speak. But they are just that, fiction. I don't think Mrs Rowling had any subversive agenda.
There is another series Philip PUllman's The Subtle Knife, He is very antiChristian. I do not ban his books either. My two oldest have read them and put them back on the shelves. Just because kids read a fictional book doesn't mean they will go out and try magic or devilworship.
In our house we had issues with nightmares and Disney movies for a long time. Ny girls couldn't watch Sleeping Beauty or The Little Mermaid until recently. My youngest son puts in Star Wars and watches it over and over. He is 8 and loves them.
I would say read the books yourself and go to the movies with your husband. Let the girls have them when they are in middle school or upper elementary. That is what they are geared for anyway.

My 9 yr old grandson is reading all of his books himself. He is very mature. My son who is an educator and his mother, a doctor, think they are well written books. As far as little girls, I think they are pretty scary.

I think you really need to read the books yourself to make a decision. I've read them all and watched the movies when they come out on tv. I don't see anything demonic or antichristian in them. There is a definite sense of good versus evil but you can find that in any story. At least it has a plot, some morals and a main character that is always trying to do the right thing. Much better than some of the mindless violence you see in Saturday morning cartoons. As far as the witchcraft part of it, Christ himself performed witchcraft but we call them miracles. My great uncle was a deacon in the church but he was also a dowser and herbalist. He could find water and tell you where and how far to dig for it. He could cure skin ailments with teas that he made form various plants. Stuff like that used to be called magic but now it's science.

I myself love the Harry Potter series. My husband reads them to my 4 year old (well just the first one) He picks and chooses what is appropriate to read and what isn't.
He also loves the 1st movie. We laugh at the part at the end that is a little dark and so he has always thought that is just "funny". I think it is up to you. If you let them know, as we have, that this is just make believe and fun fantasy I see nothing wrong with it. In my opinion it isn't any different that letting them watch superheros that turn from human to spiderman, superman, etc. It is all fiction, you just have to make sure they understand that.
Good Luck in your decision.

I am an adult fan of HP and got my husband hooked on them when we listened to them together on tape while traveling. I am also a Christian...I have read articles about JK Rowling (author) talk about her faith. Many people I think assume she is not a person of faith, but she says that she is and when I read her books, I can see positive themes I want my children to understand. The rest is as fictional as Jiminy Cricket and Snow White. :-)

The first movie, I think, would be fine from a scare stand point, I just don't know that they would enjoy it. My son accidentally walked in on the spider scene in the 2nd HP movie and got scared, but he was 4 at the time (and he still remembers it!!!) The rest are a little dark for the little ones.

Sounds like your husband is excited, so it is more about HIM wanting to share than it is about the kids. Tell him it will be all the more enjoyable to share this with his kids when they are old enough to appreciate them! :-)

I am in the same situation with my 6 yr old daughter. She use to love dragons, so my hubby let he watch Eragon (minus the part where the worms come out of the bad guys head). No nightmare and she loved it. I think she would really love Harry Potter - I do. But, I am afraid it will scare her. She is not afraid of ghosts - she has watched scooby since 18 months. I have been thinking about this for a while. I think I may let her watch it when she is on school vacation - jic she has nighttime issues from it. I personally think that Harry Potter is better than the Hanna Montana show.

i totally agree. I am a Christian but am a huge potter fan. However, i don't think there is an "age" that is appropriate. I think it's ok if your children have shown signs of understanding between reallity and fantasy and of good and evil. As long as they understand that the books portray witchcraft as fun and used for good as well as evil - in real life, witchcraft is not good and should not be tampered with. If they have showed some maturity in understanding that, i think it's ok to start with. The first book isn't too bad. They do get progressively darker and i think the movies might be a little scary for the 6 year old.

i would go ahead and if the CHILDREN want to read/watch these books, fine. if it's just that the HUSBAND wants to, not fine. If they do, i would just pay attention for signs of fright or misunderstanding. and of course, pray your way through it. if God is telling you "no, this isn't good for your children" you need to make your case known to your husband. If he doesn't listen, God will deal with him. You just have to do what you can to combat the images and continue to teach your children what is right and wrong.

Harry Potter books and movies are certainly not bad. Reading them to your children is a wonderful past time and certainly better than the mindless TV programming out there. Your husband is a wonderful guy to read them. The whole Lord of the Ring thing is another matter. I love them and regularly reread them every other year or so, but the movies are WAY too violent for small kids.
The Christians I’ve talked to that are against HP haven’t read the books. They always seem to have a friend out there that warns them about the evils of HP. They don’t seem to find reading an enjoyable past time either. I think any time you can get kids away from the TV or computer screen and read is wonderful.

I believe Harry Potter is pretty harmless. The books start out with a boy turning ten. They are super funny and I think your daughters would enjoy having them read out loud. My step-son (now 17) and my husband started them on book on tape when he was around the ages of your girls.

The books don't play recognition to witchcraft and wizardry as one might think. It is purely portrayed in a funny environment. The whole storyline is portrayed in a fantasy setting which makes it easy to distinguish that it is not recognizing a culture found in today's society. The books are also more into a dynamic storyline that has a magical setting then about casting and making spells.

That being said, if you do decide to let your girls partake in the magical journey of Harry Potter, you may find putting some limits on the sequence is necessary. The movies all have a climatic ending, more so on the last 3 that came out. Maybe say that until they have read through the first three books they can't see the first 3 movies?

We just had a weekend Harry Potter marathon at our house and now my 2 year old is wanting to be Harry Potter for Halloween. He didn't actually sit and "watch" the movies, but he is aware of some characters. I don't want to sound like a Harry Potter fan club member, but I do believe your family may enjoy them. I believe you can read/watch something your religion/culture doesn't support if you approach it knowing its no more than just a story.

I recently started reading through the Charlie Bone series. I've read almost all the books and I think it might be a better option to start with. It is similar to HP, but geared to a much longer reader and the books are not very climatic or scary. They are more of a mysterious nature with the ending of each book solving the current mysteries and leading into the next book. The children in the book have several unfortunate happenings going on which are humerous and reads well. Maybe try those. Happy reading!

I started reading the first book to my daughter when she was 6. She saw the first movie about that time, too. Some themes can be scary and kids will react differently. My daughter and her friends like to role play scenes from the movies.

As a Christian myself, I would encourage you to read the books (so much better than the movies, of course) for yourself and not rely on the opinions of others who probably have not read them. I read the first four books out loud to my daughter. We got bogged down in the 5th (long and a little tedious), so I stopped reading it to her and devoured the rest of it myself, then went on to read the rest of the series. My husband and I have found that there are spiritual themes in H.P., and we can use those as a start to a conversation about true friendships, love and sacrifice. We found the magical part of it to be fun.

I personally love harry potter and I'm a Christian. There's my bible and Heavenly Father--which is reality and then there's fantasy books and tv. I like to keep them separate with God coming first to me always. But I honestly don't see the point of avoiding fictional books because that is simply what they are. Fictional. The books that I tend to be very upset over are books that are disrespectful of God in any way, Or point to some other being as being better than God. He's my best friend and I'm very protective of Him. There are some fantasy books and movies that bring fantasy, God and theology together and I DO NOT like those at all. Angels and demons and God mixed with spells and the occult for example. This is trouble in my opinion and needs to be avoided at all costs. .
To me Harry Potter is simply fiction and to be candid I think the battle between good and evil in those books with good triumphing is a great thing. I enjoy books where the good guys are always trying to do what's right and fight for justice etc. because all us good guys deal with this on a daily basis in real life. always struggling to do and say the right thing.
Anyway--this is a personal decision between you and your husband and God so you should listen to your inner voice. Maybe read the books first on your own before making that decision.
As for me--I plan to wait til my kids are at least age 10 tho I would prefer 11-12. By this time they have a very good grip on the different between reality and fantasy.
The most important thing you can do for your kids is to be an example for them. Let them see your love for God in everything you do. Pray with kids over even the littlest thing so that they learn to be dependant on Him. Put God first and everything else will fall into place :)

I just watched the first Harry Potter movie with my daughter and she is 5. It was fine, not scared at all and it kept her interest. We are christian as well and I thought it was fine. I don't believe witchcraft or wizardry is in anyway possible so it didn't really bother me. In fact I enjoyed it. I also like to watch that Disney show Wizards of Waverly Place (don't tell anyone.)The Chronicles of Narnia have also been demonized because of there content but the are actually fables based on biblical stories. It is a personal choice my parents didn't let me watch MTV growing up.

As far as the wizardry and all that, as a devout Christian, I don't have any problem with HP. Unicorns, Santa, Tooth Fairies, Winnie the Pooh, Easter Bunnies, etc. are all made up and silly as well. Santa, if anything, is practically made to be like Christ. The Narnia books are fantasty as well, and very much appropriate. We just have to differentiate fantasy from reality to our children.

As far as their ages, reading at a higher level than they are at may or may not work. It may broaden their comprehension and vocabulary, or it might just be over their heads. If he sticks with the first book, or reads it slowly, it would probably be just fine. Then as they are older he could read the others, or by then they could read them themselves. Instead of showing them the movies, just let them use their imaginations with the books. My husband had nightmares and was terrified in his room at night and had trouble sleeping(he didn't share a room) throughout his childhood because his parents let him watch anything and everything, including R-rated movies that came on tv.

The first Harry Potter book is harmless. I read it to my two oldest when they were 4 and 6. We have started book 2, but they are kind of bored by it right now. However, the movies, because of the images that go with the story, are still somewhat iffy. They have seen movies 1 and 2, but we always fast forward the scariest parts. I would not show (and haven't for ours) anything after the second one until they are much older. The story really becomes geared toward an older, more mature audience from book 3 on. I have friends who have not let their children read past two until they were teenagers for that reason. If you haven't read or watched them, I recommend that you do just so you can make a better judgment call on whether your girls would handle it well or not. (They are good stories!) Hope this helps!

My opinion is that the only people who believe that Harry Potter is bad or evil in some way are people who have not read the books. I can see why you may worry because a lot of people misunderstand the books. They are wonderful for children! No cussing, no sexual content, nothing bad at all. Yes there is some vilence but it is backed on the principle of good morals always win. In fact Harry Potters power is from the love his mother gave him. I encourage you to let your children enjoy these books and you as well. They have very good morals and are very kid friendly. If you let your kids watch sleeping beauty, cinderella, snow white and almost any Disney movie then there should be no difference in Harry Potter. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the books

I would say the 8 year old is fine... the 6, not so much. That 2 years is a big difference in maturity and understanding. Main thing is make sure they realize it is all make believe. Someone that wrote them has a great imagination and created some powerful characters. Being a Christian is awesome.. the Bible and the stories there are true, and some of them are a bit scary, but they are still true. ALL of HP is fake and made up from someone imagination. As long as they realize that, and know that beyond all doubt, I would read on and encourage the 8 year old, but wait for the 6. That will also make the 8 year old feel a little more special and mature. Good luck and God Bless!

I've read most of the responses and I'm apparently the only one with reservations about the Harry Potter series. I haven't read them, but I don't need to. The premise is clear to me, that the young Harry Potter is indeed a sorcerer and these are the tales of his training and the adventures that ensue following.

I understand that Harry is supposed to represent "good", and is supposed to be fighting "evil", but as a Christian, I have to use Biblical wisdom. My understanding of the Bible is that the only power that is good and worth having comes from God through the Holy Spirit. And we know that witchcraft and sorcery are specifically mentioned as wrong in the Bible. I know this is a fairy tale, it's not true, it's just for fun, but why do I want my children to see that wizardry could ever be good? In real life, it can't be. Since kids are so moldable and exposed to so very much in today's society, I prefer to keep my home as free of glorifying things that are not of God. We also don't watch wizards of waverly place, etc, for the same reason.

Sidenote- we do still let the kids watch Disney tales, at least the ones where the magic is coming from the "bad" person, and the hero is free of magic. (Snow White, Enchanted, etc) And I'm not condemning any Christian who does allow their kids to watch/read anything that I don't, we are all subject to conviction based on what God is doing in us, or through us.

It's just a fiction book series and fictional movies. It's not real. It's just for something fun and interesting to read and watch. LOL It's not real. Just lighten up a little and let daddy have fun with his girls. If they love the book, then let them watch the movie that goes along with it. If they decide they don't like the book...stop reading it. It's just for fun! =0)

Hi C.,

My sons and my husband and I have read all the Harry Potter books. My boys have read them multiple times. The stories are certainly action-packed and at times, riveting. Your husband most probably very much wants to share this with his girls, kind of like he would if he had boys. (It's a guy thing!) That being said, boys and girls are different, and that, to me, is the sticking point here.

I think that you have things well-pegged in your mind that the girls are just too young. You've seen first hand that the older daughter has had nightmares from these kind of stories. (I think that Lords of the Rings is a lot more scary than the Potter series.) As to your question of how old she should be, to be honest, your daughter ought to be old enough to be actually able to read and understand the books herself. That's when she would be old enough for the story. If she likes the series, then let her see a movie after each book. That will take time and let her grow into the reading. The younger girl very well may hear her talking about the story - let her listen to her sister, but don't let her watch the movies.

About the Christianity part: well, people get up in arms about all kinds of things. The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe was tauted initially as an allegory to Christ giving his life for mankind. If Rowling had told everyone when the first book came out that her book is a Christian allegory with Potter as a Christ figure and Voldemort as a Satan figure, Christians would have liked the Potter books as much as they like CS Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia. It took Rowling years to shape the story to its conclusion, and many literature critics talk about Potter/Voldemort and the Christ/Satan comparison - indeed, near the end, Harry offers himself up to die to save everyone. Having read all of the books myself, I am of the belief that the Christians who haven't read the books are the ones who fuss the most about them. There's little difference in wizards and magic from the fun and silly stories (Disney) and the more serious magic - it's all magic. And it's all made up, just like every fiction story out there.

When I watch movies or read books that deal with fictional outlandish scenarios, the thing I look for most is, "Is there a moral here?" Watching the struggle of good versus evil is always thought-provoking - we deal with that everyday, usually in much more nebulous terms than Harry did with those around him. One of the things we should always do when reading fiction or non-fiction, watching the news, or watching television with our kids, is using these mediums as vehicles for "teachable moments". What better way for our children to understand our own feelings about the world, our religion, and our moral code than to talk about what we're reading and watching and discuss the good points and bad points? We cannot shield them forever from the world. Real life stuff happens that is much worse than made-up stories. Our servicemen and women going off to war where real people die everyday - it's a fact of life. Perhaps people write fiction so that they can create a more positive outcome at the end. We can't say that life always has positive outcomes - not everything will have a fairytale ending.

I would advise you to read each book first, C.. Write down questions that you'd like to ask your daughter about how to think of the story that best fits your beliefs and feelings, like how she feels about the family dynamics of how the Dursleys treat Harry versus how the Weasleys treat their children? Point out the differences in friends - Hermione's brains that sometimes seem uppity, Malfoy's conceit but cowardice, etc. You can certainly discuss your views on magic, but your daughter already knows that magic isn't real, including a fairy-godmother turning a pumpkin and mice into a horse-drawn carriage until the stroke of midnight, though it's a more palatable story than the scary ones.

All my best,
D.

My youngest started reading the Harry Potter books in the 3rd grade. However my son is a higher reading level child. He is 13 now, but he has seen all of the Harry Potter movies and read the books prior to seeing the movies. All 3 of my children have seen the movies and all though they are older, at least 2 of them where in elementary when we started watching the movies. I too am a christian and don't feel these movies were wrong. They do not talk about a different God or against our God. They are what they are, entertainment. As far as too scary, I feel the last two may be too scary at their age only because of what you said about the nightmares.

From a Christian point of view I totally agree with you. I have let my children watch other tv programs that have "withcraft" but it seems that the Harry Potter stuff tries to teach you how to do it and that is the biggest thing I disagree with. Check out this little book that was written by a pastor, maybe it will help answer some questions. Get it here http://highestpraisetabernacle.org/PDF/harrypotter.pdf

My children were older when the series came out. My first instinct was to ban the books and movies because of the witch/wizard content. I worked at a convent (a main house where Catholic nuns live). Several of the Sisters and employees were reading the series. We started a discussion and the Sisters pointed out to me that it is a story about good and evil. All during life we have to make choices between good and evil. If we use it as a teaching moment then we can help our children to understand that you should strive to do things for the good.

If you feel that it will give your children nightmares then I would hold off until they are older.

Are your children wanting to read the series or see the movies? If they are and you are not allowing it they will find a way to see the movies or read the books. My friend totally forbid her daughter to see a certain movie. I don't recall what it was, only that it was on DVD. The daughter went to a friends house with my son and they watched the movie there. Even though her mother forbid it she wanted to see it so she did! My point is that if you forbid things from your children the rebellion kicks in and they will do whatever it is behind your back. If you give your children the reason why you don't approve of something and would rather they not see or read it, at least they are getting your view point. They might night be so quick to rebel. Pray on it and talk to your husband also. God Bless

I understand keeping the violence down for children,but I don't understand keeping them from books - any age appropriate books that is. I personally love the Harry Potter books, as well as the Lord of the Rings, Eragon series, etc. I do think Lord of the rings is too young for your girls, and I hate that she had nightmares.
Do you also keep the Wizard of Oz off the bookshelf and television? I don't think kids dwell on the fact that there are wizards and witches, etc. in these stories. I think it is just an interesting tale that they enjoy. I think the first HP book is fine for your girls age, second and third are a little 'harder' and they get harder as they go up, but remember that the characters are growing one year as the story progresses.
Why not read/see movie of the first one this year, second one next year, third the next, etc. That way they are growing older as the chareacters are and will be better able to handle the more intense stories as they age?
I have 16 mo. old twin girls and will not keep them from any reading material unless it is racy or has foul language. If the words are too hard, they won't understand the story anyway. (I tried to read Atlas Shrugged by Ann Rand at 11 years old. I could read the words, but the story line was totally lost on me)
My husband doesn't think that at the age our girls are anything on tv effects them. (we are LOTRings nerds anyway) I proved to him that even when they are asleep, if he has violence on television, the girls are restless and often wake during the night. No more TV in the bedroom unless there are earphones or maybe tetris or word games on game lounge.
Of course, this is all my opinion and how we raise ours. The beauty in this world is the combination of all of our differences, so do what you feel with your girls. I'm sure you will make great choices. And don't let others dictate your decisions. Just remember this, I teach over 750 kids a week, and not one of them thinks Harry Potter is real, that witchcraft is real or that Voldemort should have won! Your girls will be fine, just encourage them to read! It is the biggest problem in our schools today- read, read, read, read.....

You know your girls better than anyone. I can honestly say my mother would have read these books to us at age 8, and maybe even 6. At least the first couple. But we were advanced readers and also had a good grasp on reality vs fantasy. I think that is what you have to be the judge of for your own girls. And since they are lengthy books, it would be a while before you got to the much darker story lines of the later books. I would make sure to take my time though, because after the third one is when they get pretty dark.

As far as the Christian aspect, I agree with the others that say that most people who get upset over them probably haven't read them all. Some people just need to get upset about something, whatever the hot topic of the moment is. They definitely follow a "Good vs Evil" theme, with Good ultimately triumphing after much sacrifice. I dont see what's so wrong with that. Not everything in the books is happily-ever-after, that's why I would take my time getting to the later books. But life isn't like that either, and neither is the Bible. To me, the Bible is lot scarier than Harry Potter. But they use that as an opportunity to teach, you could do the same.

I can't wait to read my son these books, since I love them so much. You should read them and then try to judge how much your girls would be able to tell the difference between make-believe and real life.

I don't have a problem with fantastical characters in books and movies. If you were to remove any subject matter that included magic, you would be missing out on a large part of literature or cinema.

If you don't want to allow Harry Potter, is Cinderella okay considering there is a fairy godmother that uses magic? What about Sleeping Beauty and the three fairies? Or, the Chronicles of Narnia? The Lord of the Rings? Would anything fantastical be out of bounds, or just magic? Fantasy is in a sense a form of magic...

Of course, I enjoyed the Harry Potter series (the books MUCH more than the movies), so my thoughts are biased towards allowing the exposre. I plan to read them with my son when he is old enough. I will probably read the books that come later in the series at an older age though considering the more adult content, but nothing to do with the magic involved.

I'm a Christian and I have read the entire Harry Potter series and LOVED them. I believe Harry starts with him at age 10...maybe you could start the books then. I do think that 8 and 6 are a little young for Harry. I would also definately wait on the movies until they are older because like you said, some of the later movies get pretty dark.

It might be hard for your husband to wait atleast another two years to start reading them (if not longer than that) because I know it can be exciting to share something you enjoy with your children; but I think you should wait.

I think it's awesome that your husband wants to spend time reading to your girls. If you feel uncomfortable, just explain to your girls that it is fiction- a genre of literature that deals with things that aren't factual. I personally don't see a problem with it, myself. To me, it's no different than Santa Claus with his magical reindeer and elves, the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny. I can almost guarantee you that a majority of the Christians that are freaked out by Harry Potter books haven't ever read them entirely, or don't read- period. At least that has been my experience.
Whatever the book, I think it's extremely important to inspire a lifelong interest in books and reading. You can never start too soon! Good luck with your decision.