To be worried about the number of 6 year olds reading Harry Potter?

[mydogeatsnutstoo]

My dd is 6, nearly 7. I think she is quite a bright child, she is creative and outgoing and quite athletic. Her school reports always suggest she is doing well.

However, I have been worried that she has not taken to reading as I thought she would - I was one of these precocious and avid readers as a child and she is just not! ( and not for want of opportunity, loads of books in house, taken to library a lit etc). She is on level 2b reading book which I think is about right for year 2 but definitely not Harry Potter level! Getting her to read in itself can be a trial, although she has spurts of interest and improvement though would not sit down and read a book herself very often.

I am trying not to push her but will be v disappointed if she doesn't like reading! Please tell me that there are other bright 6 year olds at this stage not reading The Hobbit (as my friend's daughter apparently has!) and that they can suddenly just 'get it' a bit later!

[ProfessorMoody]

MadMum, my DS is a huge Potter fan, he read them all by 7.

Once he'd finished, he enjoyed The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia, the His Dark Materials trilogy, Percy Jackson and Warrior Cats.

[MadMum101]

DS3 (8 in August) started reading the HP books just after Christmas after watching the films. He's just finished the final one, the Deathly Hallows, which I was concerned may disturb him but he loved them all.

He is a font of HP knowledge and the spells are part of his vocab now. We read some together and he read them in bed on his own. He spent quite some time yawnexplaining what had happened in the parts I'd missed that he'd read alone so fully understood it. Struggling to find more books for him like that now though. He got through the Wizard of Once in 3 days!

Never been informed that he's brighter than average.

[Santaclarita]

To be honest, if I had known about Harry Potter when it was published, I think in 1997, I would have been reading it then and I would have been 7. Think I started the year after, but I have no idea. If it had been out when I was 5 I probably would have tried reading it then too. I know I struggled with the pronunciation of some words, but I loved reading back then. If I wasn't trying to find a pony to ride, I was looking for a book to read.

[Allthewaves]

Zomibie thread gahhhh

[Allthewaves]

Ds1 is 10 and a decent reader. He's gotten really into harry potter movies so we started on the books. Tbh he's found the first one tough going so if told him to pop it to.oneside and try it again next year

[FrenchJunebug]

my son is 7 and he is still reading picture books!

[ProfessorMoody]

No idea, I don't even know how they find the threads, especially in AIBU!

[Deadringer]

Blast! Why do people do that?

[ProfessorMoody]

This is a really old zombie thread. Why has it been dragged up again?

[Deadringer]

My DS didn't pick up a book until he was over 9, he got into Harry Potter at that age and has been a book worm ever since. (25 now). One of my dds also loves reading but didn't get into it until she was about 8. Don't push it, if she has access to great books she will get there in her own time.

[rhillips]

My stepson is currently reading the fourth Harry Potter, we were skeptical about letting him go beyond number three but decided to give it a try. He watched the first three films and began calling out the chapters each part of the films related to, as well as telling us what happens next in the book. It is just something he gets because he enjoys it, but he will also read my 3-year-old son's Peppa Pig book.

I think the main thing is to let them find what they like, at the level they can comprehend. I tried him on The Hobbit but he didn't understand it, so he stopped and moved on.

My point being, I wouldn't worry about what they can and cannot read, so long as they are enjoying what they read - whether that is Harry Potter or The Gruffalo. And at the end of the day, both will encourage them to use their imagination, which is the important thing.

[mydogeatsnutstoo]

I would not object to her reading stuff I thought was poor quality if she was actually reading and enjoying it - but we have tried a few of the secret kingdom type sparkly cover books and she has not seemed particularly gripped - I can only surmise because they are badly written with characters distinguishable only by name and hair colour! On the other hand, she did love the worst witch, where there is a bit more depth and she also liked the faraway tree.

This thread has been really helpful in helping me to separate the process of reading from the enjoyment of literature so I think I will just try to focus on the latter - as long as her imagination and vocabulary are being stimulated it doesn't matter for now if it is me reading it or her. Also got some good ideas, think she may like clarice bean and David Walliams so thanks for all the suggestions!

[WhattodoSue]

Hi Elf , glad I struck a cord. I was feeling frustrated at the idea I was either lying or living with an undiscovered genius, instead of my story loving little pea.

[ElfontheShelfIsWATCHINGYOUTOO]

WhattodoSue Thu 03-Dec-15 12:23:00 what a joy to read your post.

I agree with every single word and also concur because this is my own experience with DD.

Few children will enjoy reading a book that they cannot understand or make sense of. I have met children who treat reading as a mechanical skill, and they plough through books regardless of their understanding


I just cant fathom why anyone, let alone a child would mechanically read words with no understanding of them. Its like me reading a scientific journal what on earth would they get out it?


But, the point is that just because they don't have a maximum understanding of the underlying themes, it doesn't mean they can't get pleasure from the books

here here adn this can apply to all of us.

[goose1964]

DD read her brother's copy when it first came up and is still besotted with the series, I read the hobbit at the same age soI assume that reading early runs in the family, my 3 year old grandson is starting to recognise words. However if you give us paper and crayons we look blank.

[ExConstance]

My DS1 read Harry Potter at 6, but it was the first book which was recently published. WE then avidly awaited each new book as it was published which was very good as he was considerably older and had better understanding when the series came closer to the end and the topics became darker.

[BathshebaDarkstone]

She sounds quite normal for her age, don't worry!

[multivac]

Also, we don't, traditionally, have a problem introducing notions of 'violence, death and loss' to the very youngest children through stories, rhymes and songs. It's part of how we learn what it means to be human, and mortal.

[multivac]

"Few children will enjoy reading a book that they cannot understand or make sense of"

Exactly. And fewer still will continue to turn the pages of such a book once they realise that's what they are holding.

[WhattodoSue]

Fresta it isn't that understanding is unimportant, it is simply that not everybody has to have the same level of understanding of a particular book to enjoy it.

Everyone brings their own experience to a book. The experience of a 6 year old is going to be considerably less than that of a 16 year old or a 36 year old. As has been said above, they might not understand the dynamics of the relationship between Snape, Lily, and HP's Dad, but that doesn't mean they can't understand and enjoy the basic story. Also, they may not understand the level of despair and sadness that the Dementors are supposed to create. But actually, in the books themselves the point is made that they have such a negative impact on Harry compared to the other children because he has experienced more loss. But, the point is that just because they don't have a maximum understanding of the underlying themes, it doesn't mean they can't get pleasure from the books.

And, the films are 12 rated, but the books are not. Personally, I wouldn't let my children see beyond the first film at the moment. I think that the films take it beyond a childs experience and add in details of an adults, and for my children, I would rather wait until they are a little older.

[MERLYPUSSEDOFF]

My (nearly 8's) just 'got' it. One loves fact books, the yukkier the better (think bogies and dead things), and the other one loves Horrid Henry, Secret 7, and has just started HP and Artemis Fowl.

[fresta]

I disagree with the opinion that understanding is unimportant. Few children will enjoy reading a book that they cannot understand or make sense of. I have met children who treat reading as a mechanical skill, and they plough through books regardless of their understanding. When questioned though it is obvious that they are just decoding, and not engaging with the story. The joy of reading for most adults and children is the ability of a book to transport and immerse you in story, this cannot be achieved if you are reading a book where much of it is beyond your comprehension. The experience which a child brings to a book is as important as being able to read the words in terms of comprehension. This is why generally 6 year olds wouldn't be able to enjoy the later Harry Potter stories. In fact I'm not sure why anyone thinks that the final books in the series are even suitable for any 6 year old, the films are classified as being suitable for age 12, and the levels of violence, death, and loss are such that any 6 year old who is comprehending the story would most likely be unable to rationalize this. After all, it doesn't matter how bright your 6 year old is, they still have only had 6 years experience of life, the same as a less able child, and are no more likely to be emotionally experienced enough to understand the feelings expressed in a book.

[SongOfTheLark]

Ive just bought DD (8) an avid reader, the boxset of HP for christmas. She's seen all the movies and is fine with them and asked to read the books. TBH I dont see her reading past the first 3 books in the series for another couple of years and that's fine, there's no hurry. wouldnt have occurred to me to let her or encourage her to read the books when she was 6 too young to really "get" them I'd have thought and a bit of a waste. Nothing worse than getting books far too old for children because by the time its appropriate for them to read they've been hanging round the house so long they're no longer interesting.

[WhattodoSue]

UsedtobeFeckless I'm not saying there can't be totally insane parents who pathologically lie about everything, just that it is as unusual as the ridiculously high ability ones.

[WhattodoSue]

Oh, and just to make totally clear, I don't think she is average in her reading habits, but I don't think her reading habits make her a genius. And, given that she isn't average in her reading habits, and she isn't a genius, I don't think people should worry about their own children reading HP or not, simply because it isn't really an indicator of much (except in my daughters case, fondness of a challenge, love of a good story, an obsessive bias for all books related to boarding schools and yes, a good reading ability).