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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Is it wrong to let my kids 7 and 4 watch Harry Potter?

135 replies

Cuppacoffeeinthebigtime · 18/06/2015 23:03

Watched the first film tonight. 7 year old insisted he was fine with it. 4 year old looked a bit horrified at some parts and had to sit on my lap but begged me not to turn it off. They are now asking to watch the other Potter films but I am thinking after the first 3 films, they would be unsuitable no?

I remember watching a superman film as a 7 year old child where I seem to remember people being turned into robots and it absolutely terrified me and played on my mind for years and that was probably much milder than the Harry Potter films.

OP posts:

Camper12234 · 19/06/2015 10:35

completely depends on the child. I tend to use www.commonsensemedia.org to give me an idea of content so I can then make a decision based on my children.

WaferInMyCoffee · 19/06/2015 10:38

My 4yr old has seen all the Harry Potters and loved them all. But she doesn't get scared, she has been a Dr Who fan since age 2 and loved all the Jurassic Park films etc.

My 7 year old is terrified of Voldemort! He won't watch the later Harry Potters at all and he has to leave the room at the end of the first one when Voldemort is on the back of Quirrels head...

FanjoBean · 19/06/2015 10:44

I grew up with Harry Potter so I'm trying to think how old I was! My mum bought me Prisoner of Azkaban first just because she thought I'd like it, so I actually read book 3 first, when I was in Year 4 at school (age 7/8?). Then I whizzed through the first two, and Goblet of Fire when that came out the following year. I was 9 when the first film came out and watched that at the cinema. I don't remember ever finding them scary or disturbing, although the bit in the film where he opens the book in the Restricted Section and it screams shook me up a bit momentarily . I was quite a mature and well-read child but I expect most kids of a similar age would cope.

FernGullysWoollyPully · 19/06/2015 10:45

I agree, it's different for different children.

My dc have watched all the HP films and have never been bothered by them.

My 4 year old was about 2 when she started watching themand knows that it's just a story. The 2 year old does watch but I think it goes over her head tbh.

They love them now and ask if they can watch them, especially the 8 & 7 yr olds who have just started to read the books as well and have really fallen in love with the magic.

fine by me because I'm still in love with the magic!

BertrandRussell · 19/06/2015 10:47

There are no circumstances in which Harry Potter is OK for 4 year olds.

LashesandLipstick · 19/06/2015 10:55

Bertrand so you use others judgement instead of your own for your own kids?

FernGullysWoollyPully · 19/06/2015 10:56

In your opinion Bert...

SunnyBaudelaire · 19/06/2015 10:58

no they are far too young! Four? do you really need to ask?

SunnyBaudelaire · 19/06/2015 10:59

Ferngully are you serious? Two?
Jeez.

BrianButterfield · 19/06/2015 11:03

DS is 3, very articulate, understands about how some things are stories. DH read him the first Harry Potter book and he got really into the different characters and the whole Hogwarts idea, so he was a,lowed to watch the first film. I don't suppose he followed the whole thing ut definitely enjoyed parts like the flying car and the trains! He talks about the characters and will refer to platform 9 3/4 and so on so I know he "gets" it.

TheVeryThing · 19/06/2015 11:12

When you have quite a mature child who is not easily scared it is tempting to be more relaxed about age classifications.

I'm not sure how old ds1 was when he watched the first couple of HP films but he is 7 now and has seen them all, and was not at all scared at the time.

However, he is much more likely to be afraid now, sleeps with the light on for the last 6 months or so, and we are having to be more vigilant about his TV viewing.

With hindsight, i think we should have waited until he was older and could understand the story better. They were almost wasted on him when he was younger.

DS2 is almost 4 and there is no way he could watch HP, he wouldn't even have the concentration to sit through the whole film, and would definitely find it too scary.

imip · 19/06/2015 11:17

Dd8 has watched the first 2 hp. She was desperate to watch them, all her peers have watched most of them. The rule was she had to read the books first. She devoured the first three and read them twice. To be sure, I then read the first two books to her and an easily scared dd2 who is 7 next week. Dd1 is not at all scared, dd2 watched the first and second Harry Potter, but I wouldn't be happy with her reading the next.

Dd1 has now read prisoner of azkabhan twice, and is eager to watch the movie. She's 9 in a couple of months, as long as I sit with her, I have no problems. She suffers from a chronic condition, I'm tying a lot of this into her therapy, so it will serve a lot of purposes. Moreover, she is a huge bookworm and she is just absolutely delighted.

Dd2 will not yet progress any further. She's too immature and just not ready.

Dd5 and dd3 would probably love to watch hp, but they are not at all ready. As with the others, they would need to read, or be read the books prior to watching.

I can't see them watching Jurassic park ever, I can't even manage that programme

BertrandRussell · 19/06/2015 11:20

"Bertrand so you use others judgement instead of your own for your own kids?"

Don't understand.

FernGullysWoollyPully · 19/06/2015 11:21

Sunny are you serious?! Judging?

goes away to polish my shittiest mother award

LashesandLipstick · 19/06/2015 11:26

Bertrand you're saying that it's ALWAYS unsuitable because of age, so I was saying don't you think that's a bit rigid rather than judging it on a child by child basis? Different things scare different kids

BertrandRussell · 19/06/2015 11:27

Yep, happy to judge anyone who lets a two year old watch Harry Potter. Or a 4 year old.

BertrandRussell · 19/06/2015 11:30

"Bertrand you're saying that it's ALWAYS unsuitable because of age, so I was saying don't you think that's a bit rigid rather than judging it on a child by child basis? Different things scare different kids"

Happy to say Harry Potter is always unsuitable for 4 year olds. Always.

FernGullysWoollyPully · 19/06/2015 11:30

Then you are ridiculous Bert! And frankly should get a biscuit for your trouble You don't know what other peoples children are like.

SunnyBaudelaire · 19/06/2015 11:31

yeh I would be pretty happy to judge that too.
wtf, a two year old? a four year old?

LashesandLipstick · 19/06/2015 11:31

Why Bertrand? Surely you accept all kids are different? I'm confused why you'd use age rather than look at the individual

SunnyBaudelaire · 19/06/2015 11:32

luckily my own children saw through it for the shite that it is....

SunnyBaudelaire · 19/06/2015 11:33

but then I did not inflict it on them when they were toddlers.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 19/06/2015 11:42

DS1 has seen the first 5 Harry Potters. I actually wouldn't have let him watch the 5th one (Order of the Phoenix) but DH put it on while I was out and he started watching it. He hasn't asked to see it again though! He's 7.6 now and started watching them when he was 3. He's yet to see the last 3 - I'll give him a while and let him ask before we go there, he's pretty good at not wanting to watch things that might cause him problems.

DS2 is 2,7 and hasn't seen any of them yet but I'm going to let him see the first one before next Easter, because next time we're back in the UK I want to take them to the Warner Bros studio again (DS1 wanted to go this year but Ds2 was too young to deal with it properly, IMO) so it would help if he knew something about the stories.

None of them have given him nightmares. DS1 was quite into watching films that I didn't think he would like/would be appropriate when he was quite young, but around 5 he said he didn't want to watch them again (Dark Crystal, Coraline for e.g.) - I think as his understanding grew, he saw more to be scared of, so he didn't watch them.

BertrandRussell · 19/06/2015 11:43

When it's not as extreme as this I would of course look at the individual child as well as the age category. But when it comes to absurdities like thinking a 2 year old is ready to watch Harry Potter then there is no need to.

LashesandLipstick · 19/06/2015 11:45

Bertrand I don't see that, if the child isn't scared by it then what's the issue. You could argue they might not understand what's going on but again that depends on the child

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