It is my philosophy that a child should be entered into the wizarding world when she is young enough that a Hogwarts letter is still a very real possibility, that is to say, before her eleventh birthday and in most cases much sooner than that. I have read all the books, and seen all the movies, and have even played most of the games. Flag as inappropriate  I never found it scary, and though I didn't understand everything happening in it the first time I read it, I have now read all the books over ten times each. I have read all the books, and seen all the movies, and have even played most of the games. if they don't understand or don't want to understand, they can gloss over it and pick up what they missed when they re-read it later in life), but I would and have limited what they can watch as a movie even if they were ok reading the books. I was 5 when I discovered the Harry Potter series by this time the first three has been released and my Dad (who had watched the films of the first two before reading the books) decided that he wanted to read them to so from that age me and my dad had a nightly schedule we would read together the book for a hour before I when to bed and this time became later as I got older and when the last book came out he agreed to take me to the launch party where J.K Rowling read an extract of the book. Kid, 11 years old June 15, 2017 (To say nothing of the longing for an intact family, for freedom from materialism and mass-media-saturated culture, for serious engagement with school and learning--learning how to do something real and powerful...at school!, for friendships based on shared ethical goals and mutual trust, for self-respect and caring self-control in erotic relationships, for an answer to the problem of evil...) Teenagers need stories like this to immerse themselves in, and I think that adults benefit from reading them, too, especially if they help us to understand teenagers better. Maria O Alvarez I picked up the first book, a copy belonging to a family member, at age six. But I think it's good for children to learn that in the real world, there really are some Bellatrix Lestranges and Tom Riddles. 0 counts of language-0% Which of course leads Jo, the author, (who's never been shy about using graphic violence or gritty human struggles, emotions, and drama to get themes and messages across,) to feel that she has to neuter her series to keep from isolating an audience that she never intended to write for, at least exclusively. } that is how i split my reading up (my parents arent big bookies so i started reading by myself) I am going to be 11 in a few days and I have watched and loved all of the HP movies. Adult written by DKC98 August 3, 2015 I will not let him read further though because he has been waking up several times a night with horrible nightmares. I love this amazing series, since i started reading it when i was six. There's violence (Harry ends up participating in a tournament where he has to evade a dragon, escape evil water demons and make his way through a monster-filled maze; a character is murdered by Wormtail), dark tones (the danger and threat of Voldemort) and horrifying scenes (Voldemort's return). 9-10+ She has made amazing parallels to so many aspects of real life and society during the time I read these to her. I have read HP series numerous times myself, so am quite familiar with the content of the books. Flag as inappropriate  Betsy Bozdech If you act like the bogeyman is in the closet, and evil strangers lurk around every corner, you will have fearful children who become fearful adults. We should all remember that what most adolescents want are true heroes, values to live by, a worthy challenge, a chance to give their all to something truly great, and ultimately a legitimately earned place in a world of adults they can respect. Prisoner of Azkaban, PG/PG-13, 10+ Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts So, in conclusion, it is my opinion that your child should run straight through platform 9 and 3/4 and hop on the Hogwarts Express as soon as he possibly can. Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts This series has a potential unsuitability rating of anywhere from 24/50 to 26/50, meaning suitable ratings of either YA or E-YA, and a suitable equivalent film rating of PG-13 These books and their movies-- all of them-- can, in my opinion, be handled by a mature ten-year-old. Flag as inappropriate  Flag as inappropriate  http://www.magicaemathematica.com Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts Goblet of Fire, PG-13, 12+ Adult written by RhetCultureMom October 27, 2013 What she doesn't quite understand the concept, sometimes she asks, and I explain. Flag as inappropriate  Kids develop at there own pace. Tweens (10-12) And so yes, I think that it is appropriate to allow young children to read them, because it will provide a basis for them to return to when they inevitably decide to reread them, whether constantly or after many years without picking them up. I believe that Harry Potter should not be read by children under 12-13. They're the equivalent of PG-13 rated material, and are aimed at an audience of adolescents/young adults. I believe that Harry Potter should not be read by children under 12-13. Overall: YA, PG-13, 12+ recommended age 12+ Teen, 14 years old written by JTDB May 25, 2013 Kid, 12 years old May 26, 2014 What you realize when comparing these two YA series, is that Harry Potter has the same amount of violence as The Hunger Games, more sexual material than The Hunger Games, and more profane material than The Hunger Games, but slightly less questionable material pertaining to substance abuse and thematic content compared to The Hunger Games. Technology Addiction Teen, 14 years old written by AngelsFlight June 25, 2014 Half-Blood Prince, PG-13, 12+ My daughter will be 8 next week, is very bright and a voracious reader. For some kids it may be earlier or later. rated PG/PG-13) Meet Our Team Prisoner of Azkaban: Rated PG/PG-13 Personally, I let my child read The Hunger Games at 5, before Harry Potter for the reasons you mentioned in your post, and because I found it less challenging in terms of writing, theme, and content. Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts Colder or more suppressed emotional response is not better. I totally agree with this! You, and only you, know if YOUR child can handle it. Flag as inappropriate  (function() { Adult written by dongrenwah January 6, 2015 Goblet of Fire, PG-13, 12+ Flag as inappropriate  The fact is, age-appropriateness is not about how sensitive your kid is, or how good a reader your kid is. Flag as inappropriate  A friend who teaches at an elementary school for gifted children agrees. There are other great books for young kids, and other ways to share important messages. Teen, 14 years old written by AldultishGambino February 25, 2018 Book 4: Age 12 (13 might be better). It's recommended for kids 12+, with a peripheral age range that extends down to 10. She wrote the series for CHILDREN. I was still seven at the time, but I could handle everything the books threw my way, whether it be vocabulary or violence. Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts It probably depends on your child's maturity, If they can handle it, they probably can handle Harry Potter. Kid, 12 years old July 29, 2018 Kids develop at there own pace. if they don't understand or don't want to understand, they can gloss over it and pick up what they missed when they re-read it later in life), but I would and have limited what they can watch as a movie even if they were ok reading the books. At the absolute youngest, Harry Potter is for the 9/10 crowd. I started and finished the Harry Potter series when I was 10. Flag as inappropriate  Because they are such great books. Common Sense News It's great to start the series at about age 12-13 (or perhaps age 11, Harry's age when the series begins?) recommended age 12+ written by Buddy923 August 26, 2014 Some can handle it earlier, others later. Teen, 13 years old written by Saera22 May 10, 2018 But she is reading at a much slower pace, and there are finer points she misses since some of the concept is quite advanced. Again; the Harry Potter series isn't for little children. Internet Basics After you finish the first one, pace out the others over the next 2-3 years, reading other (ideally, classic) books in between (David Copperfield? Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts Scariness is hardly the only reason to reserve a book (or series, or movie, or series of movies) for an older kid. Harry Potter is a Young Adult series, not a children's series. But who cares? Ursula Kroeber Le Guin, an American author of novels, children's books, and short stories, mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction stated that the HP series was, "ethically rather mean-spirited." Essentially Voldemort is winning and the few allies of harry are dead. For the movies, know what your child can and cannot handle. Though I know he can read them and understand them, he is not ready for them emotionally. Scariness...sure. I didn't really get all of it the first time i read them, but you don't need to to understand it. If you've seen the others, don't hesitate to watch this. Overall series classification: YA, 12+ Social Media Teen, 14 years old written by JTDB May 25, 2013 Maybe the 6 and 7 book may be qualified as a young adult book but I think it’s quite ridiculous that people ages 15/30 should read the books Flag as inappropriate  0 counts of sexuality-0% I think you can read the books whenever but, the movies might be later. I useally read for a LONG time at night so :/. I say that the first two Harry Potters are suitable for 7 and over, and if your child wants a bit darker, break the PG-13 rule for this franchise. Harry Potter is amazing. I'm 12 right now, and I started reading the series last year. © Common Sense Media. It's also, as I said in a different manner of words, insulting to the audience who currently consumes it most: people ages 15+. And the fantastic thing about Harry Potter is that it really isn't just a book. Senior Editor, Social Media and Learning Resources | Mom of one Flag as inappropriate  those who previously disliked reading. So, they aren't children's book in the strictest sense, even though no one wants to drop that term. Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Flag as inappropriate  Chamber of Secrets, PG, 9+ Harry Potter certainly hit big enough initially to keep its wide audience, but to keep infantilizing the series and keep pushing it on kids way too young to appreciate it is to damage its future potential of reaching a wide audience. Healthy Media Habits However, my freshman year of high school, my friend convinced me to read them. She wrote the series for CHILDREN. recommended age 12+ 0 counts of sexuality-0% Browse More Subscribe to our newsletters I read the whole Harry Potter series when I was 7-8. However, it's not all humor that children will miss. 12 YEARS OF IT. One book I have read that my daughter actually loved is called Libellus de Numeros which is part of the Magicae Mathematica series by author Jim West. Betsy Bozdech Digital Citizenship (function () { Kid, 11 years old May 18, 2014 Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts As a teen who just started reading the books, (and is only at the 4th) I have to say this is one of my favourite book series. She has made amazing parallels to so many aspects of real life and society during the time I read these to her. Once your child has a good couple of years of reading under his belt, I would give him Harry Potter. Colder or more suppressed emotional response is not better. Cyberbullying var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); So, the movies might be from 10+ They're for teenagers. for sitautions she glosses over, I assume it's too advanced for her to understand nor care to understand, which is ok. Adult written by RhetCultureMom October 27, 2013 Adult written by excellentparent September 25, 2015 He received the series for Christmas and has already read books 1-4. I've honestly seen all of them as young as 10 or so, I can't remember. If you act like the bogeyman is in the closet, and evil strangers lurk around every corner, you will have fearful children who become fearful adults. Adult written by DKC98 November 22, 2015 Tweens (10-12) Kid, 10 years old February 23, 2014 Although parents giving it to their little kids may be pleased to see how interested their children are in reading, or how enthusiastic their children are about the very important (and ultimately positive) social and spiritual messages in the HP series, their kids are not in a great position. =P However, I read the first and second books when I was 10 years old, and I felt that it was a very good age to start. Although parents giving it to their little kids may be pleased to see how interested their children are in reading, or how enthusiastic their children are about the very important (and ultimately positive) social and spiritual messages in the HP series, their kids are not in a great position. When I read this my mom and I took turns reading it and by the end of the book I could read without help. Companion books: The ministry of magic could be a thinly-veiled attack at the corruption in modern government; the list of this sort of thing goes in and on. It's completely fine for 8+. Kid, 9 years old October 29, 2019 Kid, 9 years old July 10, 2014 The older even have nightmare about it. I read Harry Potter at 7 and i saw each movie as they came out. I DO NOT agree about starting HP a 6-7. I am in my mid-twenties now, so I had no choice but to space out the reading when it came to the later books. My younger sister started reading them in 5th grade, but she read all of them in 5th grade, and in my opinion, she was not mature enough to handle books 5-7 at that age. This is harder to do than you might think, since most children's media is full of it. I have reread all the books several times and each time I understood them a little more. Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts Recommended merchandise guidance: "while the Harry Potter franchise has been marketed to all demographics, from little kids to adults, the average accepted age for most of the supplemental works and merchandise is Young Adult (Tweens/Teens+). Celebrity Influence on Kids Teen, 15 years old written by obviouslytomboy6 February 7, 2015 I really agree with what RhetCultureMom said about teens being pushed out of the novels (the Harry Potter novels speak grittily about the coming of age and the loss of innocence that all teens endure) due the increasing stigma that these are "children's books" when they just don't resemble them at all. They are ready to laugh at themselves (and everybody else), but they need something pure, and they deserve it. Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts Consider enjoying Jim Dale's audiobooks as a family: a great way to keep the magic alive. I do agree that the books get darker as the series goes on, but, in my opinion, the age range for each book really just depends on how well the kid can handle scariness and darkness. It is my philosophy that a child should be entered into the wizarding world when she is young enough that a Hogwarts letter is still a very real possibility, that is to say, before her eleventh birthday and in most cases much sooner than that. Marketing to Kids Kid, 12 years old March 9, 2019 You're pushing it on him way too young, therefore robbing the series of any thematic significance, because a kid that young will not understand the story at all, and the material is far too harsh. I read the entire series, by my own choice, at age 6 and a half in 6 months. Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts I read the whole series this summer and I didn't get scared at all . My daughter started reading HP at age 8. she is also a very advanced reader (running out of books that is "age appropriate") and seems to enjoy HP. Kid, 10 years old June 6, 2018 Video Game ratings and age recommendations: Everyone 10+/Teen/Mature. But I already finished it in a month She reads on a kindle so is able to use the dictionary to look up words. Kid, 12 years old July 29, 2018 those who previously disliked reading. I don't want to tell people how to raise their kids but it's sort of the parent's fault for not sitting down with their children and explaining what is happening in the story and how they need to act. There are some really disturbing parts towards the end including a betrayal a scene involving reanimated corpses and the death of a beloved character really resonates with a reader. Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts Teen, 14 years old written by AldultishGambino February 25, 2018 It really depends on the child. Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts Sign in or sign up to share your thoughts Explaining the News to Our Kids I love the series and I recommend kids read it from 8+. Each time I've read the series, I find a sentence to re-interpret or a theme I may have missed.