Question for parents

[Ruth]

I am a parent and an Aunt to two young boys (my son 3yrs old and
nephew 5yrs old) who love the story line.  I am also a big fan on the
movies and books (so is my husband). 
 
I agree that the books have become more adult as they go along but
then the characters have gotten older as well. I don't feel these
later books are meant for younger children.  If I had a child who
could read at this level I would read the book first (naturally mama
gets the book first).  Then I might let them read these books but
would talk to them about it on a daily basis to keep in touch with how
they where feeling about what they read.

For my part, I only allow our son to view the first movie but he is
usually distracted by the time Harry get the stone.  We won't read the
books to him until much later.  I believe children should be allowed
to have a childhood that keeps violence to a minimum.  Therefore, we
monitor what he is exposed to very closely. 

My sister allows my nephew to view just about anything that is PG-13
or lower.  This started at age 2.  He had a hard time with this and
would act out physically like the things he viewed on t.v. (As he's
gotten older he has begun to understand that it isn't something he
should be doing in real life.)

This was her choice and one I do not interfere with as he is not my
child. When my son is with him they only watch things appropriate for
the youngest person present and he's fine with this rule. He even
makes sure my son doesn't accidentally watch a show "auntie wouldn't
like for cousin".

As I said before, I love the series and I look forward to my son
discovering them when he's old enough to discuss and understand what
is written.










--- In HPFGU-Movie at yahoogroups.com, Karen <kchuplis at ...> wrote:
>
> I personally don't think it is more than what they see in a lot of  
> TV, cartoons and games. But I am not a parent.
> 
> On Nov 3, 2007, at 2:28 PM, Carol wrote:
> 
> > I'm wondering how parents of younger children (say, eight and under)
> > feel about the increasing level of violence in the books as it will
> > probably translate to the films. In HBP, for example (and please stop
> > reading now if you haven't read the books!), we have Draco (who's
> > always been depicted in the films as rather wimpy despite being a snob
> > and a bully attempting to murder Dumbledore (with two students nearly
> > killed when his efforts go astray) and Snape killing Dumbledore (who,
> > I assume, is a beloved character for most children). We also have that
> > terrifying cave scene, which will definitely be in the film.
> >
> > Then, in DH, we have not only the Battle of Hogwarts, but Hermione
> > being systematically tortured and two terrifying scenes involving
> > Nagini (the first one revolting as well as scary), and at least four
> > onscreen violent deaths (Wormtail, Dobby, Snape). Charity Burbage's
> > death, which needs to be shown to set the tone and establish the Snape
> > red herrings, may not be violent n itself (an AK), but she's hung
> > upside down first (disturbing in itself) and than fed (offpage and, I
> > hope, offscreen) to Nagini.
> >
> > I can see a PG-13 rating for HBP, but the violence in DH is almost R
> > level. At any rate, I don't see how it can be faithfully translated to
> > a screenplay (minus the slow parts) and still be suitable for younger
> > children, especially that first Nagini scene when she emerges from the
> > corpse of Bathilda.
> >
> > There's a difference, too, between reading about these incidents,
> > imagining them for ourselves, and seeing them vividly depicted on the
> > screen. Some of these scenes seem to me to be too intense for younger
> > children. But, then, some parents show Freddy Krueger movies to
> > five-year-olds, so maybe I'm just being squeamish and old-fashioned.
> > I'd be interested in reactions from parents on the list. And I'm not
> > asking for arguments here, "right" or "wrong" views on the question.
> > I'm just curious about what others think. My own view is that the
> > movies should not be edited to make them suitable for younger children
> > (we need most if not all of those scenes), but they should definitely
> > come with a warning label since HP still has a reputation as a series
> > for children. There's a huge difference between the first two films
> > and the last two, especially DH.
> >
> > I forgot to mention "Spinner's End" in HBP, which, while not violent,
> > may be too sophisticated for younger kids to grasp and too talky for
> > them to sit through (though the UV will make a great scene from a
> > cinematic standpoint). It's absolutely crucial to the plot and yet
> > it's not kid-oriented.
> >
> > So, what do others think that the writers and directors should do
> > (edit out the violence and sophisticated plot elements for the sake of
> > younger viewers or keep them for the sake of coherence and
> > authenticity) and what do parents intend to do about younger children
> > who want to see these films? Or you can examine the question
> > theoretically based on the ages of your children right now as opposed
> > to the ages they'll be when these films come out.
> >
> > Carol, who really wants to know what others, primarily parents and
> > grandparents, think about this question
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Remember to snip unnecessary material from posts to which you're  
> > replying!
> >
> > Any questions or problems - contact the List Elves at HPforGrownups- 
> > owner at yahoogroups.com
>