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One of my mom's friends from church recommended Harry Potter to me a few years ago. Around the time the 4th book came out I think. I was offended! I'd never really gotten along with this lady and here she was recommending a KIDS book to me. Just because I was into sci-fi and fantasy. I tried (I hope I succeeded) to be polite about it but I was annoyed.

Then I was babysitting for someone. The kid was only 2 months old and spent most of the time asleep. I was bored stiff and deeply weirded out by babysitting in the house where I'd grown up. (My family had recently moved and my mom was kinda friends with the new family.) I saw they had HP in their bookcase. I'd heard some other things about it so I said what the hay and gave it a try.

I finished books one and two that day, book three the next and went out and bought my own copy of number four.

I totally sympathize with parents trying to raise Christian children in a world that glamorizes immorality and where many kids are tempted or otherwise drawn into "New Age," and other arcane semi-religious things. That said, I think they should read the HP books before they make their decisions.

They should have no more problem with HP than they do with "Beauty and the Beast," or "Independance Day." In the final analysis, HP is just a good adventure/coming-of-age series.

Okay, first I feel that I need to say that I am an avid Harry Potter fan. Not a fanatic, just a fan. And that you also don't have to be a little kid to be a fan as well. I own all the movies out so far, and have read the released books at least 8 or 9 times. When the sixth book came out, I read the first five in two days in order to remember past events. J.K. Rowling has a talent for creating problems (that don't directly affect the storyline) which are resolved in later books, and I like to know what's going on. I have no doubt that I'll do it again when the seventh one comes out. That said, I think my opinion of Harry Potter is a bit biased... but anyways. It's a good series, stimulates imagination, get kids to want to read, which is so rare in these days, and all of the parents out there who think that it will get kids to want to do magic or 'turn to the dark side' or whatever need a good kick in the rear.

we have a Potter Family that resides in our ward. Funnily enough thier youngest is named Harry.... yup. no joke. They love the books but are not to fond of the movies. I mean it. This is no joke lol.

well with the Harry Potter books personaly I havn't read them, I can't really get past the first 5 pages without letting my mind wonder. I think it was because my parents were forcing me to read them. and before that the longest book I'd ever read was only maybe 100 pages. but honestly. I have nothing against the books. They are fantasy books. it's not like it's trying to start a Harry Potter Cult or anything...Banning it from schools and lybraries *sp and parents telling their children not to read them is completely wrong. You can't tell someone what they can and can't read. Now if they couldn't read the HP books as punnishment for not reading their scriptures on a daily basis then that's a different story. It's not like these books will start kids doing satainac*sp rituals and sacrificing goats or somthing like that. the most it will do is let the kids have a bit of an imagination and run around casting spells with sticks they find on the ground trying to get their parents or friends to float in the air. and heck if I were little and read the books willingly I would have probibly had a bit more of an imagination than I actually did.

I love Harry Potter and so does my entire immediate family. My cousins, though...well, don't. Their parents are crazy strict.

There's a CleanFlicks version of "The Incredibles?" WHY?

In general I support the idea of CleanFlicks-- so much of the stuff that I don't want to see in these movies adds nothing to the story anyway. "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" for example -- a movie that my family went to because we thought it was a quirky summer movie. Somehow we didn't notice the rating-- really WAS just a quirky, silly summer movie. It just happened to have a lot of swearing that made no points and added nothing to characters or plot.

As for the argument that "Harry Potter" -- or any other fantasy -- is just fiction I think the people who argue that are understimating the power of stories. Humans tell each other stories because they're ways of working out or illustrating aspects of ourselves. If stories had no power over us, we wouldn't be encouraged to read the scriptures but they do and we are. People emulate the things they see. Parents ARE right to be concerned with the effects of movies, games and books on their children. Where they're wrong (but it's a hard instinct to ignore) is in trying to create an ivory tower where their children never see anything they object to. The key to this, as to so much in life, is communication. Read the books with your child or after your teen (the way my mom did) so you know what they're reading and can bring up issues that concern you naturally in conversation.

If you're a teen and your parents are getting on your case, why not offer to read the disputed book with them? Ask them their opinions and respectfully share yours. (Hopefully of course they give you their opinions respectfully as well. It's not a one-way street.) A lot of parents are left feeling scorned and abandoned by their kids in the teen years when their child's friends seem so much more important to them than their family. Offering to read a popular book or watch a popular movie with your parents can open up a pathway for communication again, not to mention trust. If the child who never obeys curfew, wears clothes that they know you disapprove of and never speaks civilly to you asks you for permission to use the car, are you going to be inclined to say yes? Then your other child-- who calls when they're going to be late, who wears capes and elfboots to church, who usually (no one's perfect) treats the family with respect and love, who reads fantasy books full of pagan magic (I can think of one case that's practically proselyting) but most importantly, shares their thoughts with you about the things going on in their life-- if THEY ask you for the car, what's your answer likely to be?