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Original poster

What age for reading Harry Potter to children?

29 replies

BreadmanAndCake · 01/12/2021 10:00

Morning!
As the title suggests really - what age would you begin reading Harry Potter to your children?
I've seen the lovely hardback illustrated books in the shops and am tempted for my sons birthday for us to read together.
I know the latter books have quite dark themes but Philosophers Stone is relatively gentle.

OP posts:
languagelover96 · 01/12/2021 10:01

Age 2 upwards.

MissCrowley · 01/12/2021 10:03

I started reading mine to my 7 year old at night. We're already on the third book and she's loving it!

Whinge · 01/12/2021 10:06

@languagelover96

Age 2 upwards.
2? It seems an odd choice for a 2 year old. Confused

I think age 7. Even the first book has some tricky themes, such as bullying and death which could be upsetting for younger children.

50ShadesOfCatholic · 01/12/2021 10:07

Started at 5 but it took ages because there was a new baby in the house and I had to keep dashing off to feed/soothe etc. She got so fed up with waiting that she read it herself. First chapter book. I'm still in shock. Next child did nothing of the sort.

LegoPandemic · 01/12/2021 10:08

I started at 6 and had a rule that he couldn’t watch the film until we’d finished the book.

Jijithecat · 01/12/2021 10:08

I think it's entirely child dependent. They're quite long books so if they are capable of sitting there and processing what's being read to them and engaging with it.
My youngest DC (infant school) finds the films too long (has seen the first two) and is only just managing short chapter books with very few pictures such as the Hilda series.
Eldest DC (junior school) has read the first four independently and would happily keep going, but as you say the later ones do get a bit dark and I like to spread them out a bit anyway.

CallMeRisley · 01/12/2021 10:11

@languagelover96

Age 2 upwards.
Do you mean Year 2 (ages 6 and 7)?

I started reading them to my DD when she turned 7, we’ve now read the first two (when we finish a book, we then watch the film). We are going to start the third one after Christmas, we’re reading something else first. She’s keen to continue but I’m drawing it out as the later ones get darker. She’s got into in a big way so it’s made Christmas present easy with all the themed toys and merch you can buy!

CountessOlenka · 01/12/2021 10:14

6? They're pretty long.

ThePontiacBandit · 01/12/2021 10:15

I started with DD this year (she is 8). We are on to Order of the Phoenix (book 5) now. She’s really enjoying them. She reads some I then I take over - the language is actually quite mature in places so she’s learning new words and turns of phrase. I won’t let her watch the last two movies until we’ve read the books. 8 was idea for my DD but of course it depends on the individual child.

CastMeAdrift · 01/12/2021 10:17

My DD is 6 and I read her the first one at bed times a couple of months ago. She loved it and I said we can watch the film at Christmas. I’ll read her book two next year but she’s a sensitive soul so I won’t be rushing to read book three as it starts to get a bit darker.

KrispyKale · 01/12/2021 10:32

I'd hold off if the child isn't too desperate.
I thought the first one worked well at a time when their own reading needed encouragement and my DC would read a little themselves then I'd take over. It did provide a real incentive to get reading quantity!
I also know someone who didn't read them until high school and seemed to get far more out of them than mine who started at 6 with me, wanted to read the subsequent books straightaway and missed out on the teen friendship layers imo.
So many other lovely books for younger readers imo.

InsertCoolHalloweenNameHere · 01/12/2021 10:33

It entirely depends on your child, I started reading these books when I was about 5/6 but my two boys, 9 & 7 have only just shown interest in wanting to watch/read.
Saying that though their bedtime story when they were a lot younger used to be the Hobbit and lord of the rings, they thoroughly enjoyed listening to them.

TeenMinusTests · 01/12/2021 10:35

No age at all.
Wait until they are old enough to read and understand them themselves.
(and don't watch the films until thy have read the books)

miserable old git

CaveMum · 01/12/2021 10:36

We started at 6 with breaks in between. Our rule was also no film till the book was finished.

DD is 7.5 now and we finished Order of the Phoenix about 2 months ago. I was worried how she’d handle the death at the end but she was fine with it.

However we’ve said she can’t move on to Half Blood Prince for a while yet, the books and films get much darker from this point on and I don’t think she’s quite ready for it yet. I will have a think around her 8th birthday and perhaps we’ll do it then.

KrispyKale · 01/12/2021 10:40

(.. thinking this through a bit more It wasn't 6 I read bits of Philosophers Stone to mine it was more like 8 as they definitely finished it themselves.) I still think they were too young to appreciate the series.

foxgoosefinch · 01/12/2021 10:41

I might suggest leaving them until the DC are old enough to read themselves - part of their appeal is the page-turner quality they have, and that can be really useful in bridging that gap about 8-9 when they move up from reasonably easy chapter books to independent reading of “proper” children’s books.

DD is an excellent reader but was getting unenthusiastic during lockdown. She started reading the HP series this summer after turning 8, and got hooked. She read them independently, and now she’s finished them all, I really notice the jump up in her reading interests and stamina. She’s now interested in independently reading long books that she would have abandoned half way through a year or so ago.

At nearly 9, she could also manage the darker bits of the later HP books, which I think she would have really disliked a couple of years ago.

8-9-ish+ seems also the age when lots of them get really into the films, characters etc., so DD is enjoying having a shared interest in HP with lots of schoolfriends.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 01/12/2021 10:44

7 or 8ish. They take a few weeks to read, and there's a lot of other shorter books to enjoy first.

Untrained · 01/12/2021 10:53

My littlest sister was about 7 when the first Harry Potter book came out - and reading the books got her into reading when everything else had failed and she was really struggling at school. All these years later I have a very fond memory of reading the books to her on holiday sat on a sunbed wrapped up in a towel and lying in the sun! Happy Days. Even if your son is a little younger - read them to him - its something you will both enjoy!

HarrisMcCoo · 01/12/2021 10:55

7yo approximately

2022HereWeCome · 17/12/2021 10:34

We started at 7 during lockdown last Jan. DS is now 8 and we are on the last one. We have read lots of things in between 6 and 7 because we don't want it to end.

I would hesitate to starting much earlier because DS didn't want to wait between books - too excited!

Wallabyone · 17/12/2021 10:41

I held off until my son was in year 3, so he got the illustrated versions when he was 7. I started reading The Philosopher's Stone and he got fed up of hearing bits at a time that he just got on with it, and then read them all. I think it's only the first four which are illustrated so he just read my copies of the others. He's 9 now and has just finished rereading the entire collection, alongside his other books. He's a big fan!

My daughter, who is 7 and in year 2, is nowhere near ready enough to tackle them yet.

SushiGo · 17/12/2021 10:45

At least 8.

Everyone dives on these threads to prove how advanced their kids are, but most 6 year olds will not have the attention span to truly follow the plot in the level of detail required to get the pay off of all the different threads coming together in the later books.

They were originally launched as middle grade books (8-12yos) and that age range is still about right.

guardiansofthegalaxychocs · 17/12/2021 10:49

I think 4-5 for the first two books, 5/6 for the third. But have left a gap until 7-9 (depending on the child) for starting the later ones.

guardiansofthegalaxychocs · 17/12/2021 10:50

(obviously I’m meaning reading TO the child not expecting a 4year old to read it!)

MrsTophamHat · 17/12/2021 10:50

No way would I attempt this before 8 or 9. What's the hurry?

I'm really looking forward to reading them with my children (i'll be gutted if they don't want to) but I want them to understand and empathise with the characters properly.

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