Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a popular series of books and movies that presents a boy going through a set of journey’s to save the world with his friends and his wand. I cannot say this from experience for I have never read these books nor have I watched the movies. This is not normal for most people, but in my immediate family, it is quite normal. I cannot say that I have never wanted to read them, but for most of my childhood I was not allowed; however, now that I am old enough to choose I cannot say that I am disappointed I never experienced these stories for myself. While growing up, I did not understand the Harry Potter jokes nor did I understand the Harry Potter references, but now that I am in college I realize that it was not as big a deal as I thought. I still had deep relationships with others and I could still laugh with them even though I was not as educated in the Harry Potter genre as they were. I may one day venture into reading these books, but for now, I am okay with leaving that to the future.
Are the movies bad themselves? I could not tell you. Due to my parent's beliefs, and what they passed on to me, it was decided that some of the things talked about in Harry Potter where not things my parents wanted me exposed to. Now that I am getting older and thinking about my future family I am starting to understand why it was a no. Down below I have provided the main reason why my parents were concerned about the books and what I have come to terms with myself.
At the age that I would have read these books, my brain would have been very impressionable. When you are younger you have a hard time discerning the real world from false worlds leaving you in a world mixed with both. My parents decided that it was easier for us to grow into that knowledge instead of pushing us to consider this at an early age. Also, when I was younger I could not watch scary or intense movies because they would typically lead to terrible nightmares. I have a very vivid imagination so whatever I am reading becomes a movie inside my head. This is a cool feature until you start reading a book that contains things that a young girl isn't ready to be imagining. I appreciate my parents looking out for me when I was little and caring enough to shelter me from the things they knew I could not handle. Every kid is different and only the parents know how much they can handle, so I am not saying that these books should never be read, but I think that discernment should be used before handing them over to kids. My parents erred on the side of safety and I have never heard either one say that they regretted that choice. I'm glad they did and I think I am better off for their godly wisdom and making the best decision they knew how.
