The World of Harry Potter

by Myra Turner | More from this Blogger

28 Jul 2007 08:16 PM

I've never been a Harry Potter fan. No disrespect to Ms. Rowling. When the HP craze hit the U.S. I figured I was simply too old to get hooked on childish fantasy. Plus, I didn't have kids so I figured why bother. Over the years as the craze heated up and once I became a mom I still didn't quite get it. Tyler never expressed any interest in HP so again I figured why bother. Until recently.

Perhaps it was the release of the final HP book and all of the media attention surrounding it but Tyler has expressed an interest in the Harry Potter series. So as any good mother would do I figured it was time we both entered the land of wizardry.

Since the books are as thick as telephone directories, I decided we would go the DVD route. To date we have watched the first two movies in the series and I have to admit- I like them! As a parent of a young child, I have seen my share of movies with talking animals, cars, robots and other assorted creatures. I figured it would be a nice change to watch a movie with humans (sort of) in it. I also figured this was yet another way to share an experience with my child. What I have found is that while watching each of these strange fantastical movies I was completely immersed in the storyline. Normally when I watch kid-friendly movies and sometimes when I watch adult fare, my mind has a tendency to wander. I start thinking about deadlines and queries and laundry and grocery shopping. However, in both cases I found that didn't happen. I was totally into the movie. You can't really space out anyway or you might end up confused. The thing is I didn't want to space out. And I found myself totally relaxed and "in the minute". And it felt great.

So often, we look for ways to wind down and recharge our parenting batteries when the answer to a little mental R and R might be right in front of our face. Wizards and magic and Muggles- oh my!

See also:

It's Not Whether You Win or Lose...

Playing With Your Children

Learn more about Myra Turner

I'm a proud mid-life single mom with an active seven-year-old son, Tyler.

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Valorie Delp (49340) 29 Jul 2007 05:54 AM

Thanks for sharing Myra! We won't consider allowing our chidlren to watch these movies until they are in high school bc of their content though. But, my dh really enjoys them.

Lauri Griffin (2703) 29 Jul 2007 01:36 PM

The books are thick, but are worth reading! The movies actually leave a lot out. I've really enjoyed reading the books with my children.

Teresa McEntire (2984) 30 Jul 2007 07:11 PM

I wouldn't recommend the third or fourth movie because your son is young. I won't let my children watch them because they are PG-13. You could probably start reading them to him when he is 7 or 8 though, because kids can listen to a book that is 2-3 years above their reading level and still really enjoy it.