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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU Harry Potter not for 6 year olds

20 replies

Dorothyparker010 · 10/10/2021 23:15

Lots of kids in my kids class year 1/2 are reading (having read to them) the Harry Potter books. I think this is way too young and they will be bored of it all by the time they are the right age to actually enjoy it fully. (Although I was about 18 when I first read them so that might be why I think this 😂)

OP posts:
WeRTheOnesWeHaveBeenWaitingFor · 10/10/2021 23:17

If they want to read it why not? My youngest read it young and then read it again a few years later, when she understood it more. I think she’ll probably read it again soon.

hm167 · 10/10/2021 23:19

I read it for the first time around that age, so no not too young.

Sweetmotherofallthatisholyabov · 10/10/2021 23:21

😂😂😂 I'm the exact same. As a die hard I feel that you clearly need to be about 10 to understand the many many complex layers, and ideally ready one a year, or every two years to get the full proper effect- basically exactly how I read them 20 years ago. In reality I accept that I'm going to need to start reading them to my 6/7 year old because he'll want to see the movies at that age, and I might not be able to police that and it's obviously vital that he reads the books first.

SuperSleepyBaby · 10/10/2021 23:21

My son is 9 now and has read them a few times and hasn’t got bored so far.

WatchOutLurkerAbout · 10/10/2021 23:22

I read them as they came out along side my younger brothers, with the first one I was 8, middle brother was 6 and youngest was 5.

Drywhitefruitycidergin · 10/10/2021 23:23

In principle I agree, there are plenty of more age appropriate books to be read and no need to read HP so young BUT
my 6 (nearly 7) year old could definitely read the first one by herself & understand it probably Chamber of Secrets as well.
As long as kids are reading/being read to does it matter? The parents can judge if it's getting too dark/scary (PoA for dd1 in yr3) and stop.

CiaoForDiNiaoSaur · 10/10/2021 23:23

Ds2 read them at that age. He's re-read them since and gets something new from it every time.

Drywhitefruitycidergin · 10/10/2021 23:25

@Sweetmotherofallthatisholyabov definitely books before films in my house - but that only worked for dd1 coz I couldn't banish dd2 or leave dd1 alone to watch them.

2319inprogress · 10/10/2021 23:25

The rule in this house is they get the first read to them at 5yrs old & then get a new one each year - despite books being on the shelf & them being bookworms they have all patiently waited for Daddy to read the next to them Grin

SarahAndQuack · 10/10/2021 23:28

When I was quite a bit younger than 6, my mum read me the Narnia books - not deliberately, but because she was reading them to my big brother. I was absolutely hooked.

I think if a child is likely to be frightened by the Harry Potter books (which they might well be), then no, don't read them.

But pretending they're so complex a young child can't enjoy them is just a bit pretentious.

WhiskyXray · 10/10/2021 23:28

I think 11 or 12 would be an ideal age for a first read. I think I was mid-teens when I got round to them, and they were a pleasant, easy read.

SarahAndQuack · 10/10/2021 23:31

@WhiskyXray

I think 11 or 12 would be an ideal age for a first read. I think I was mid-teens when I got round to them, and they were a pleasant, easy read.
How do you know it would be 'ideal'?

Most mid-teenage children would not want to be reading children's books. When they were trendy, of course teenagers read them. But that doesn't mean today's children will feel the same excitement about reading books written for younger children, so if you leave it to teens, they might have lost interest.

Rogue1001 · 10/10/2021 23:34

I think books1 and 2 fine for 6 Yr olds.

Later books definitely aren't

Skysblue · 10/10/2021 23:40

Yanbu. It’s such a shame these wonderful books are read to children when they’re too young to appreciate and understand them properly, and then by the time they’re 11-12 they know all the plot twists etc.

Plus bit uncomfortable with books with so much murder and torture etc being given to 6 yr olds :(

AtomHeartMotherOfGod · 10/10/2021 23:41

I agree - I started reading it with my DS about then, due to my own love of it, and although he enjoyed it at the time and loves it now, I think he was too young to appreciate the 'backstory'.

Having said that, I wouldn't stop a child reading them if they asked.

SarahAndQuack · 10/10/2021 23:51

@Skysblue

Yanbu. It’s such a shame these wonderful books are read to children when they’re too young to appreciate and understand them properly, and then by the time they’re 11-12 they know all the plot twists etc.

Plus bit uncomfortable with books with so much murder and torture etc being given to 6 yr olds :(

I do see that there are aspects that could be too scary for a young child.

But what exactly is it you think a child under 12 couldn't understand or appreciate? I really rate these books and I think the work so well because there is nothing too complex or adult. It is all accessible.

WhiskyXray · 11/10/2021 00:00

11 or 12 would be ideal IMO because kids of that age have seen enough pretentious twats to enjoy the Dursleys, have enough imagination and experience to feel more keenly Harry's sorrow for his lost parents, understand sport and can follow the rules of quidditch, etc etc.

I think the first three books are fabulous (whereas books 5 onwards were barely readable IMO) and best enjoyed when the kids can appreciate them more, but of course it doesn't harm kids to hear them or read them earlier. They might be spellbound or bored shitless or anywhere in between if reading them at any age.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 11/10/2021 00:02

They're children's books, of course it's fine.

Goneback2school · 11/10/2021 00:11

I don't know if my 6 year old has the patience or much interest in them yet ( though she loved the ickabog). However my 8 year old has read them all including The Cursed Child and absolutely loved them

MelKarnofskyCrane · 11/10/2021 00:13

In reality I accept that I'm going to need to start reading them to my 6/7 year old because he'll want to see the movies at that age, and I might not be able to police that and it's obviously vital that he reads the books first

Omg this is where I am with my bookworm 7 year old. I don’t want to read them to her yet because while the first two are fine, after that it becomes more dark and complex. However, her pals have all seen the films and she wants to see them too. I am ADAMANT she must read the books first.

It’s a minefield.

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