Don't be surprised if one day, your four-year-old wants to don a cape and rush off to catch some baddies. And don't be alarmed either.
'Superhero play' can appear to be aggressive - and might even include 'weapons' - but it should be harmless play fighting, and there is much that your child can learn from it.
AGE AND STAGE
'Superhero play' is a favourite with four and five-year-olds, and though more popular with boys than girls, girls do act out superhero stories as well.
Children imagine being all sorts of 'goodies' and 'baddies'. As well as caped crusaders, like Batman, or action heroes, like Ben 10, they also enjoy pretending to be characters like martial arts experts, knights and aliens. Witches, princes and princesses also count.
It's the power and strength of superheroes that your child will find so appealing. By this stage, they are becoming more aware of the 'scary' wider world, while you, the grown-up, are still making all the important decisions about their lives. Putting on a cape or taking up a magic wand to zap a villain lets them feel in control.
IMPORTANCE
Pretending to be a superhero will give your child the courage to explore:
- their fears, and abilities
- 'good and bad'
- danger and new experiences, even
- life and death.
And it's all within the comfort and safety of your own home or garden.
Superhero play will also help your child to:
- make friends and learn how to solve problems - saving the world takes a lot of thought and co-operation
- understand other people's feelings, by taking on the roles of champion, villain, even 'victim', and
- learn lots of new language through their superhero stories.
Superhero play also satisfies some children's desire for rough-and-tumble, with its harmless wrestling, kicking and rolling around.
PLAY AND LEARNING AT HOME
Costumes As your superhero might be a knight today and an astronaut tomorrow, there's no point in buying specific costumes and toys. Ideal are simple home-made capes - just add Velcro fasteners to pieces of material at neck and elbow level - as well as masks and belts or cuffs.
Props Cardboard tubes and small plastic bottles make great 'weapons'; a tent or sheets of material are ideal for hideouts; and a sturdy cardboard box can become a castle or rocket.
In miniature Your child might also want to act out superhero stories using miniature toys, so it is worth investing in small-world people and vehicles (again, simple and flexible toys are best).
Books Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod, Max by Bob Graham and Avocado Baby by John Burningham will make great bedtime reading for your superhero. Your child's nursery might be able to lend you some superhero books and recommend other stories.
PLAYING TOGETHER
Fantasy play If you're feeling apprehensive about your child 'playing superheroes' with their friends, remember this kind of play may appear loud and aggressive, but it is, in fact, full of storytelling and co-operation. View the children as actors in a play, rather than as real adversaries, and don't confuse a child's fantasy role with their real personality.
Rules You will still need to set rules, though, particularly around the kind of rough-and-tumble that you will accept. Explain that superheroes always use their powers wisely and agree that if anyone feels unhappy during play-fighting, they will say, for example, 'Stop. I don't like it!', and the playing will stop. Providing enough capes, masks and so on should avoid any real arguments breaking out.
Guns? Many parents are uneasy about gun play but you'll probably find that your superheroes are more likely to have magical powers than guns. Many nurseries used to ban gun play, but found children would take up the roles and 'weapons' regardless. Nowadays, nurseries usually recognise the importance of superhero play and provide props for children to play with.
Outdoors It's always a good idea to head for the garden or a park, maybe with a climbing frame. The children will relish the space to run around and challenge themselves, and there's no fear of them knocking things off a shelf!
And join in if your child and their friends want you to - and find out about the great stories that they've been creating.
