Harry Potter

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As long as the child understands it is just entertainment and not to be taken seriously.
 
Re Harry Potter
See this answer.

http://www.saint-mike.org/qa/FS/ViewAnswer.asp?QID=448

I can only say this. My son had a couple of Harry Potter books. He had not read them for awhile and completely ignored them. One day when my wife was cleaning his room she asked what to do with them. I took then out of his room without his knowledge and threw them away. Ever since, I have seen a big change in my son in that he does not answer back nor argue with us and is always in a very good mood. So I say, good riddance to those books.
 
I feel that it is rediculous to condemn something that actually entices children to read simply because it is fantasy (and contains something having to do with wizardry). The main characters use their powers for good. Now, if you want to get into it with your child, maybe show them how they can use their powers (not magic, of course) to do good just as the characters in the book do. I know that I felt connected to the characters when I first read the books because I could relate.

I can’t think of a single good book that doesn’t contain something that might be considered contrary to the Bible and God’s teachings. I think it might be better to educate the children about the good and bad found in books.

Barring this book seems to me to be just the beginning of banning all books: Sherlock Holmes is out (there’s death and crime), the Boxcar Children are out (they don’t display the tradition of a familial unit and could undermine a child reader’s opinion of how a family should be). Yep, sounds pretty ludicrous to me, too. Reminds me of Farenheit 451…oops, we wouldn’t want to read something that has violence, or shows someone standing up for what is right. Guess that one is out too. How ironic

So, I feel that Harry Potter is fine, granted that children are guided not to develope some intense fixation on trying to learn magic.

Eamon
 
Luke1:48:
Is Harry Potter alright for Children to watch?
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I really don’t like for my 7 yr. old daughter to watch anything she might find scary or violent, but she doesn’t live with me so her mother may have let her watch HP, but I’m not sure.

If I did watch it with her I’d explain that magic in the movies is not real & real witches & warlocks are not living as Jesus taught us.

The power of suggestion over young minds is the easiest way children are led on the wrong path. I watched violent movies as a child & had trouble getting into fights at school. I became interested in “white magic” through friends, it was my rebelious spirit that coaxed me into blck magic & satanism. I blame no one but myself, but the powers of suggestion played a part.

Harry Potter & Lord of the Rings can be harmful to children if they are not supervised by there parents or responsible adults.
 
I’ve enjoyed all the books so far and so have my children, they are good stories and we enjoyed the movies (though we didn’t take the littlest children aged 5 and 2)
The books seem to be becoming a bit darker as Harry gets older but only in the sense that they have some characters who are not completely good or evil and that sometimes bad things happen to good people.
 
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Starflower:
To cast a spell is to curse. To put a pig’s tail (note: a pig is a cloven animal) on a child is to demean the temple of the Holy Spirit.The broom riding in the courtyard was particularly violent. This movie is a sick intro into the occult.I watched part of it a long time ago and I would not show or give a copy to anyone.
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I’m not going to disagree with this because I hate witchcraft. I think it’s more important to talk to your kid’s.
 
I found Harry Potter to have much wonderful wisdom about how to treat people and how to deal with set backs in life, from which kids can benefit. The books of course, have mroe of this sort of philosophy and spenf more time on it than the moves, but there are some great ideas in there that kids aren’t likely to get from other normal readings sources outside of the Bible, which many are reluctanct to read.
 
Yes. It falls in the genre of fantasy. The kids know it is make believe because that is what fantasy books are about. All I have to say is that it has kids reading. 😃
 
I agree that Harry Potter isn’t the threat to Christanity that alot of people are making it out to be, accually it hurts us more that people are getting so worked up about that and not other things like lets say the Divinci Code.
 
I think the HP movies are absolutely delightful. I wish I could deal with unpleasant people as effectively as Potter does.

I see no harm in any of the movies as long as the viewer knows that it is a work of fantasy. Some very young kids may be frightened by some of the more sinister scenes.

It is no more harmful than watching Peter Pan and Captain Hook. The good guys triumph and the bad guys come off looking foolish.

Compared to some of the really offensive and violent movies out there, HP should be highly commended. We should never suppress imagination and creativity, especially, when they uphold positive values like friendship, loyalty, and good triumphing over evil… my opinion.

WC
 
Sometimes, we go off the deep end when reading evil into very innocent shows or movies.

I once had a parishioner parent complain to the KC when we used Pokemon toys as prizes to a raffle.

People need to get a grip on reality, with all the sex, violence and bigotry portrayed in the media, do we really need to attack fantasy shows for kids ???

We can have a society as restrictive as the Puritans, but is it that what we want as a society ?

WC
 
I personally don’t watch much of Harry Potter. However I have read that it isn’t horrible and has some good messages!

God Bless–JMJ

Charlie:clapping: 👍
 
Luke1:48:
Is Harry Potter alright for Children to watch?
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No, because the movies are not nearly as good as the books!
Seriously though, Harry Potter is no more harmful than any fairy tale or fictional story.
 
I think they’re great stories. I’m currently reading the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis to my 4 children and they’re brilliant, but have many of the components of the Harry Potter series.
 
Kids are not stupid. They do know the difference between what is real and what is just a story and pretend. So i would say that kids should be able to watch it yes… after all it is just a story. Next we will be saying that little red riding hood and the care bears cant be watch by young kids.
 
You can read all sorts of negative things into cartoons and fairy tales.

It is the responsibility of the parents to make sure the children understand what they are watching and what we (as Catholics) think about it.

Same thing goes for news events, social gatherings, their friends, etc.

Can’t keep them sheltered all the time.
 
i didn’t agree with any of the options.

harry DOES lie, cheat, and steal his way through every book. he breaks rules, and gets rewarded for it.

i think it’s a bad idea to ban the books or movies from your kids, cuz you’ll just make them want to read them, and they’re not inherently bad.

but reading them with them, or watching the movies with them, is probably a good idea.

rowling is a bit disturbing, i think, for kids to read without direction. her characters hate each other vehemently, and this is seen as normal and ok. there’s nothing of christian charity involved.

which, as many point out, is the way the world is. but if we want our children to learn values and morals, we might want to use the HP novels as a means of showing what we should NOT act like.
 
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