Why Harry Potter Should be read to young children

1/2/05 | anhonestchild

[anhonestchild]

First of all I would like to add that I am a 13 year old girl and am not a parent. I have read all of the Harry Potter Books. With two parents that are devoted Christians I understand partially your view on the Harry Potter books but I respectfully disagree. To a young child the Harry Potter books are comforting. These people although portrayed as witches and wizards are well rounded people and little kids respect that. For instance if any of you have read the Harry Potter Books Hermoine Granger is a girl very dedicated to her school work and loyal to her friends. Why wouldn’t you want your children to follow in her foot steps. And dreaming of flying or casting of a spell isn’t a crime. Dreams are part of life. Also these books have very little to do with worshiping Satan. Just as in the movies “The Lord of the Rings” or “The Matrix” Harry Potter is a fight between good and evil. To a readers point of view especially a young readers point of view they dream of fighting the enemy not being the enemy which is what Jesus is “the hero” “the leader” and “the savior”. In these books Harry is “the hero” of the wizarding world. I understand it is better for a child to read about Jesus but honestly have you ever seen a child read the bible. The Harry Potter books relate to us and can portray good and evil at a young age. These characters can help guide your children’s point of view on how to act Harry Potter- a boy struggling to do the right thing and safe anybody he can. He is very dedicated to his friends and he is determinded to help any and all who need him. That isn’t a problem if I were a parent I would want my children to act like that Hermonie Granger- a girl dedicated to her school work and her friends. She is very level headed and always tries to help push both of her friends in the right direction. Hermonie is much like me and as I read these I wanted to be like her.

Ron Weasley- a boy who may stand in the shadow of his friends but is always loyal, helpful, and true to his friends and even his enemies. This is a good person you want you kids to read about good people and not people that are robbing stores and drinking like most books do. These are a few of the characters in Harry Potter and I believe that all of them are the same with the exception of Voldemort. I understand that you are protective of your children as my mom didn’t let me read these books until last year but don’t debate a great series. These are good and wholesome books and I have taken a lot of time to defend them. I hope that as I have seen your point of view you will see mine and consider it. Thanks for your time

[50sDad]

Harry uses the "ends justifies the means" method of living. Harry thinks rules are for everyone else, except himself. Harry rarely gets in trouble for disobeying rules and direct orders because of his level of heroism. This is a bad precedent for teenagers in today's world.

James Bond blows things up and endangers people. Every "Heinlein man" from all his books was assumed to be superior to the man in the street, and broke rules when they had to be broken. The kid is a "hero"...if he followed the rules, he'd be dead.

Part of helping kids grow up is engraining in them a value system that will allow them to go ahead later in life and make their own good choices. In the real world, the UN wouldn't act on Saddam...their "rules" said he had unlimited chances to repent. If we obey'd their rules, he would still be in power. Is it wrong to disobey an unjust rule, or one that will result in your own harm? At one time, the law said blacks had to sit in the back of the bus. If we taught children that disobeying orders or laws was wrong all the time then blacks would still be in the back of the bus, or possibly still slaves.

The purpose of a hero is to be heroic, and sometimest that involves breaking the rules. Beowulf killed Grendel. Grendel was a living, thinking creature. Should Beowulf have gone home, sat by the fireside, and waited to have his family and lands destroyed?

In my gaming days, Harry would have been classified as "Neutral Good"...seeking the best outcome for the majority of the people, but willing to break a rule if it prevented the best outcome. If our rules for children included blindly following orders, we'd all be speaking British right now. (Or possibly German, or Russian.)

Lighten up.

[TaxRelief]

Harry does not just disobey rules for survival: He has a bad habit of disobeying rules all the time.

"Lighten up" by the way is an expression used to persuade people to back away from a moral framework. Teenagers frequently use the expression to convince their parents to let them off the hook for misbehavior.

[50sDad]

"Lighten up" by the way is an expression used to persuade people to back away from a moral framework.

That's you framing the argument. "Used to pursude people to back away from a moral framework" is an expression used to claim complete and total morality for one's arguement, implying that "everybody knows" you are right.

And you dodged the other arguements. Huck Finn helped his black friend escape slavery, which was the law. Surely that is teaching impressionable children that it is alright to break the rules and disobey the laws. For that matter, Huck escaped from his father who beat him. Surely that is teaching our kids that they shouldn't "honor their father and mother." You heard it here first...I want Huck Finn pulled from public libraries on the grounds it encourages kids to break the Fifth Commandment. I mean, hey, if the text clearly encourages the unGodly, it can't be good for them, right?

I'm a deacon in the Baptist church, for what that matters, and my eldest daughter, 12 going on 13, has enjoyed every one of the Potter Books, with the exception of "Goblet of Fire" which "drags and doesn't develop the overall plot." She knows that watching Fairytopia isn't the same as forming a coven. She is also devouring the Narnia series at the moment, fully aware of the symbolism. As is my responsibility, I keep enough of a watch on her comings and goings, her schoolwork and her friends to know that she's got good enough moral software that she turns off movies she thinks are bad for her.

They said comic books would make our kids hemp-smoking JD's. Not at my house, they won't. They said "Dungeons and Dragons" would make teans Satan-worshiping zombies. Not any of my college friends, most of whom are still involved with their churches. My kids are grounded, and know the difference between fiction and the reality of Grace.

[TaxRelief]

It's a huge leap to assume that a discussion of the negative aspects of Harry Potter with a 13 year old honest child is a call for a ban on the book. A 13 year old supposedly started this thread; She obviously wanted to discuss the book.

Harry Potter simply reflects the spoiled, self-centered teenager of today. (There are millions of Harry Potters roaming American High Schools, but that does not mean all teenagers are spoiled and self-centered or will become so by reading HP.) Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer represented the "hooligan boys" of the Steamboat era. Lucille Ball represented the movement towards women breaking away from strict control by husbands.

I do not recommend restricting any of your children's reading (except porn). However, parents should read everything their kids read and be prepared to discuss it in detail, if necessary. (IMHO)

[anhonestchild]

I posted this to an older lady that had posted a topic on why children shouldn't read harry potter. I understand completely that there are children out there that read the bible but not many. I felt very upset seeing somebody critise the harry potter books when they haven't read any. I wanted to show my poing of view and those of many children. I know that I am young and not understand a parents point of view but I still don't think that any of you understnad where I am coming from. My advise is to those who don't agree with me to talk to a child in person and see what they think.,

[null and void]

My kids have all the Harry Potter books. The books on tape are the #1 favorite for long trips. We have every movie that is available on DVD.

I really like Harry Potter, I think the life's lessons taught are good ones.

Glad you're not a troll, good to see you again.

[anhonestchild]

I am astounded. I took a lot of time and thought into this and all you guys want to talk about is my spelling and how i wrote the article wrong or that i am just a child or that i'm not here. I gave my age to show that I have a different view on this then you do. I am at a different age level and I wanted to show you want a kid thought not what an adult thought. I don't want to be thought as a child but as an equal. And some of you say that you don't care but have you turned on the news. There are book burnings of just harry potter books. I am glad that most of you agree with me and i wrote this not for you all to agree with me but you to see a child's point of view.
I have read all of the Narnia books and the bible twice but I still like the harry potter books is that a crime. I understand you wouldn't want a 7 year old reading these books but someone my age is understandable. And how dare you question my upbring. My parents want only the best for me. I love to write and I wanted to express my point and for you to all critise me and yell at me for not being here THAT'S JUST WRONG! and for all of you who are grammar police i wrote this out of anger so i didn't have enough time to run spell checker.

[anhonestchild]

Ok the reason that I said i wasn't a parent is becasue again I wanted to show you that I am a kid. You don't have to believe me I got my point across/

[null and void]

*ahem* My son started on HP when he was 7 or so...

[Please stay, some of us old pharts need a little leavening]

[MarkL]

Do the HP movies accurately follow the books? If so, I don't see what the hype is about. I've seen one of the movies (forgot which one) and was entertained but not overly impressed.

There are similarities, and the movies do follow the books, about as well as can be expected. But the books are FAR superior to the movies. One thing is that is lost is where Rowling sneaks in little humerous things that are somewhat similar to little things that Douglas Adams snuck into his books, that helped give his books some of their fun.

Mark

[SALChamps03]

That was a very rude post.

[anhonestchild]

it was and i am sorry i just got angry

[misty4jc]

anhonestchild, SALChamps03 was addressing me as being rude, not you.

I apologize for the tone of my original post. But again, you're addressing everyone on this site. Do you really believe that we all think books should be burned?? Come on. When I was 13, my nose was stuck in any book I could find. Especially Stephen King. LOL Your initial post accused everyone of being so closed-minded that we seek to make it so nobody can read HP books. I don't plan on telling my son what books he can and cannot read.

I gave my age to show that I have a different view on this then you do.

You don't know what I think about HP books. Comments like these would lead me to believe that you think ALL Conservatives or self professed Christians want to burn these books, and that's not fair. You can't go around judging everyone based on the actions and words of people you see on the news. Everyone on this site is trying to raise their children the best way they possibly can and some choose not to have those books around. That's their right. But don't think of them as a bunch of ugly, humpbacked villagers with pitchforks, circling eeeevil libraries to burn books. ;o)

[anhonestchild]

I wish that I could have a decent debate with all of you but really reading all of these posts i know i don't spell well, i have bad grammar, and i am young all of the things i already know. i hope that you agree with me but if you don't i understand to. and i can see i am not welcome her after reading all of the posts that i missed while i was away taking care of my sick grandma by the way so i do care about this post i know i shouldn't me here so thanks for you time.

[anhonestchild]

I was origionally posting it to a group of people who thought the harry potter books should be burned. (posted on this site) as i said before i innitially ment it for one person actually and reading her post and the people's replies lead me to believe that she was not the only one. I agree that there are many many people out there who enjoy the Harry Potter Series as much as i do but there is a large group of people who do not. I am sorry if you miss understood me and i probably should have made that clearer/

[anhonestchild]

Well thank you if you think that I am a college student that is a great compliment for me but let me ask you this. If i was a liberal college student wouldn't i have better grammar. I appericate that you think I am older since i still play in the mud so at least i know i am growing up

[null and void]

I understand. Next time, just post a reply to that person's post on the existing thread.

FWIW I'm an engineer, and spelling isn't my forte. Using the spell check function on FR has improved it tremendously...

[anhonestchild]

I tried to but it was blocked or pulled or something like that.

[null and void]

Odd.

Oh, one other thing that will make FReeping more pleasurable:

Nully's FR HTML Guide

[brwnsuga]

Well thank you if you think that I am a college student that is a great

Actually, some one else posted that Sweetie, not me. But you do sound very intelligent. I think it is great that you enjoy reading. Keep up the good work.