| Harry Potter series: Parents must be more discerning
I APPLAUD Mr Peter Tan, the principal of Anglo Chinese
(Junior), for his enlightened and bold stand on the Harry Potter
series of books, (""Principal tells boys: Keep away from Harry
Potter'', ST, Aug 12).
As a mother of two pre-teenage boys, I am always on guard
against anything that even borders on the occult.
And before anyone pooh-poohs my beliefs as unsophisticated and
rustic, let me urge them to look around and see the morass of
moral filth, crime, anti-establishment attitudes and hate.
One of my proudest moments was when my older boy, Craig, who
had borrowed one of the Harry Potter sagas from his friend to
check it out, informed me that he was not going to read it
because he felt uncomfortable about its theme and contents.
This from a boy who is the vice-head prefect of his school, ranks
among the top three in his class, and certainly does not lack in
any creativity or fantasy skills.
He is also a gentle, kind and well-composed boy.
I was thrilled by his discernment, maturity and the fact that he
did not feel threatened by peer pressure.
There are so many negative influences against which we need to
protect our children from.
These influences are waiting to ensnare our impressionable
young, simply because we, parents, do not have the time, energy
or discernment to filter and separate what is good and what is
bad for their spiritual and emotional growth.
Most parents seem to think that if everyone else is reading it, it
must be okay, or that if it is a bestseller, it must be okay.
Couple this philosophy with the lax attitude towards discipline
-- all in the name of tolerance -- and I wonder if we are not
sowing the seeds for a self-centred and self-indulgent future
generation of citizens.
As for me, I will continue to urge and teach my children to think
only about ""whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and whatever is
admirable''.
It is a formula that simply cannot go wrong. ATHENA
D'SOUZA
 
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