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What youngest age would you suggest for J.R.R. Tolkien books?
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Visual media is a very powerful thing. When we read a book, we can process it at our own toleration level and understanding. But when we see the image right in our face, all of our senses are blasted head on. We can’t filter out what might be too much. My 10yos is not usually not disturbed by what he reads or is read to him. Movies can send him completely over the edge.
I would agree with Robin. There are many things that I’ve allowed my children to read that I haven’t allowed them to watch. As an adult, I still have trouble processing some things visually that I’ve read.
This was illustrated to me clearly yesterday. We had a snowstorm (yes, on the last Friday in April!) and our kids were disappointed to miss partipating in a geography fair they had prepared for. I called a movie morning and decided on the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because I had read it aloud this past fall and because I was feeling very “always winter, never Christmas”. Within the first 10 minutes, my 5 year old was tense in the scene where the kids were running around, playing hide and seek, because Mrs. MacCready had said “no running”. We hadn’t even got to the White Witch or the battles and the “benign” visual of hide and seek was too much for her. Some might say that she needed to get “desensitized” and just watch but I’m not convinced that is the answer. I think we can be faithful to C.S. Lewis’ idea of letting our children know the stories, while still being sensitive to the fact that visually, many children and adults can’t process the same ideas that they have read with no problem.
I do understand that our family tends to allow the watching of certain movies later than most. My 15 & 17 year olds are the only ones who have watched the Hobbit movies as well, and it has been read by 7 & up in our home.
I agree about the movies, although my ds loves the Narnia movies. He did have a hard time with the Dawn Treador movie and I remember having a discussion about how the movie writers had changed the story and the disturbing parts weren’t even in the original story. I made a mistake last year when we were studying some Texas history in letting him watch the John Wayne movie about the Alamo. Oops. It turned out to be too intense for him. So no Hobbit movie, no matter how many times he asks. We did watch the 1970s animated version, though, which he thought was lame – cant win. Lol.
But he is asking to read The Lord of the Rings, so this discussion has been helpful on thinking that through. Thanks all.
Melissa
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