How do the books affect children? (was: Why down on all the characters?)

[Lenore]

No: HPFGUIDX 179410


>Stephanie:
>One thing I always kept in my mind as I was reading is that JKR's
>primary audience was not adults, but children.  Kids don't analyze
>books as adults do, and look at things from a different perspective
>than adults.

Lenore:
What really gave me a chill about the books was knowing that
they were being read by massive numbers of children-- children
who do not have the capability to read the books critically, and
therefore do not make a choice about what kind of message
gets under their unconscious radar.  The books make a strong
impact on adults, too, as have most of us experienced, so we
can just imagine how strongly a child's mind is influenced.

Because of this, children need books of a higher tenor, imo;
books that might inspire them to see what is possible for humanity,
books that give them some kind of model (at least some of the time)
for integrity and character development.  In that sense, for me, the
books are impoverished.

Kids don't need to know everything about "what's it's really like"
in our dysfunctional world or in a fictional world that is similar in
many ways, a world where nothing seems to work and where the
"good" guys seem to have little awareness about how they treat
one another.  The books can be great for somewhat older kids
who *also* have an understanding parent to accompany them
through the books and encourage them to ask questions.
I can't see any benefit for younger children age 6-9.

There's a part of me that holds out a slender hope that there is
something more in the books that I may have missed, something
that might be useful and enduring.  What blights that hope are all
those comments made by the author about using the books to
get petty revenge on whoever, and the stark separating of people
into groups of "us" and "them", and "in-group" vs "outies".  There's
such a mixture of great entertainment along with, apparently, a lot
of petty authorial self-indulgence at the reader's expense.  Most
adults can tell the difference; most children cannot.

Stephanie:
>Some of the things that might bother adults might make
>perfect sense to kids.

Lenore:
Yes, they accept the hidden messages much less critically
than adults.  They accept the inconsistency in values which
has been pointed out by many of our posters here.  Just
like the ugliness in TV and movies, their minds take it all in,
indiscriminately, hook, line and sinker, and many aspects
of their lives are ultimately shaped by what they think and
perceive and ACCEPT, as children.

I agree with Magpie that it's "got a lot of disturbing stuff in it".

Stephanie:
>It doesn't mean that the standards should be
>lowered just because the books are written for kids, it's just that we
>have to keep in mind that they were written for kids.

Lenore:
And yet, that's what happens.  I suppose standards are low for
children for the same reason that standards are low for adults
(in TV, movies, books). I've run across a few books "written for
kids" that truly make my mind reel with horror.  I have worked
closely with children with emotional disturbances and/or
learning disabilities and other kinds of fear reactions, so I've
had some experience. I also have a kind of empathic sensitivity
and attunement to what children are feeling and experiencing,
and there's too much in the books that I don't want them to
feel and experience at such young ages.

Lenore