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Original poster

Harry Potter

19 replies

redpyjamas · 26/02/2009 18:53

My dd8 loves HP. She has read the first three, and will soon watch the third film.
The fourth film is a 12 rating. Does this mean, in your opinions that the book might be too scary also for an 8 year old? I hvae never read it, and it is a bit long to read just to decide. If the response here is mixed, I might have to.

thanks

OP posts:
pinkteddy · 26/02/2009 18:56

Yes it is scary. It made me cry and I am a lot older than 8! I think I would wait tbh. I can tell you the details if you want but don't want to spoil it if you haven't read it yet.

Original poster
redpyjamas · 26/02/2009 18:57

oh right. so it changes a lot from the first three then?

you mean the book, not the film right? Obviously she is not watching a 12.

OP posts:
UndertheBoredwalk · 26/02/2009 18:58

Conmpletely depends on the child I think, my DD is 8 in a few weeks and has read the first 5 Harry Potters with no problems at all. She is soooo excited about the next film

pinkteddy · 26/02/2009 19:15

I guess they start to get darker from the 3rd book really, Prisoner of Azkaban. But as undertheboredwalk says only you know your child and how she might react.

CanterburySnails · 26/02/2009 19:34

I agree - it depends on the child. My DS has read the first 5 (he is 8) - he started on them at 6, and certainly read nos 4 and 5 when he was 7 and wasn't fazed at all. He has also seen the first 4 films, and while he does leave the room when he knows a scary bit is coming, he hasn't had any nightmares or odd behaviour as a result.
He loves the Sarah Jane Adventures, and does the same leaving the room thing too.
Other friend's children (age 8+) are scared by SJA, so it isn't necessarily the material, but more the child's disposition.
DD8 btw? All credit to you

christywhisty · 26/02/2009 19:36

The 4th film was a 12a (for some reasons the dvds get the rating of 12) ,both mine saw it at the cinema and were under 12 at the time.
The first books were aimed at 10+ and they grew with the characters.
I agree POA one of the more scary ones where the books get a lot darker.

GrimmaTheNome · 26/02/2009 19:49

I think the scariest bits of the goblet of fire are the start and finish, so maybe you don't have to plough through the whole book if you don't want to.

My DD is generally a bit of a scaredy-pants (just turned 10, wouldn't finish watching Beethoven as she said it was scary) but has seen all the HP DVDs (after we'd seen them so we knew what they were like). I think that while they might deserve their certificates if seen on a large screen in a dark cinema, they aren't so bad when viewed on the TV from a sofa with mum (and the option of ducking out). She read Goblet last year quite happily

Original poster
redpyjamas · 26/02/2009 23:49

thanks everyone. I might tell her she can read it, but she knows that I'll now allow the film until she is 12.

Canterbury Snails- what do you mean 'all credit to you'?

OP posts:
christywhisty · 27/02/2009 00:00

dd8 reads as your 8th daughter, not 8 yr old daughter

CanterburySnails · 27/02/2009 12:57

Cue redpyjamasa and I to both go 'd'oh!'

Original poster
redpyjamas · 27/02/2009 15:30

d'oh! (just slapped forehead)

Sorry, how do you write 8 yr old dd in mn shorthand?

OP posts:
Original poster
redpyjamas · 27/02/2009 15:31

and Ilied anyway. when I wrote the op she was 7. but now she is 8!

OP posts:
LadyGlencoraPalliser · 27/02/2009 19:27

DD1 read it at 8, but 8 going on 9 rather than just 8 I think. It is so hard to tell what is going to frighten them; she did not find it particularly frightening at all. I would let her read it if she really wants to.

Original poster
redpyjamas · 27/02/2009 21:25

On the topic of Harry Potter, does anyone know if there exists such a thing as a HP duvet and pillow cover? dd's birthday present from a friend is going to be bedclothes for her new room. but she can choose what she wants.

OP posts:
christywhisty · 27/02/2009 22:25

My DS has a HP duvet set, but it is a few years old , not sure where it came from.

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 27/02/2009 23:35

I know I went all over the place looking for one a few years ago when DD1 wanted one and found nothing. M&S seem to have most of the HP merchandising, but it tends to be related to the latest film, so you may have to wait until the next one comes out in July.

Crunchie · 28/02/2009 10:08

My DD is nearly 8, she started reading HP just before she was 7, and is on book 7 now. I have allowed her to watch the films as she has read the books, so knows what to expect IYKWIM. I wouldn't allow her to watch the film until she had finished the books. In fact she had only watched film 1 until this Christmas (although she was reading book 5) she got films 2, 3, and 4 for christmas, and then film 5 was on sky.

I try to read the books to keep ahead of her just in case, but she is essentially fine. A little obsessed, but that's different

christywhisty · 28/02/2009 10:39

LOL at the obsessed, my dd is 11 and has read the whole set 3 times since september!

nooka · 05/03/2009 04:32

I don't think the HP books are very scary unless you are inclined that way. Likewise the films, we saw the last one at the cinema and dd (then 7) was fine - covered her eyes a few times, but nothing more, and she is relatively sensitive. They weren't that interested in getting it on DVD though, and it's been less watched than the rest of them.

I think the bigger issues with the books past number three is that they are far too long, and in parts fairly boring. The third one is definitely the best, so if that's as far as she gets it's no big deal. My ds decided after the second one not to bother, but that might be because he knows what is going to happen, and he isn't the speediest of readers.

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