positive superhero stuff for a 4 yo?

[flowmom]

Ds is just starting to get interested in Spiderman . Are there any books about superheroes that communicate positive values and aren't just advertising for branded characters? Any other ways of turning the interest in superheroes into something positive? I adored what SouleMama's son did, but ds wasn't interested when I offered to help him make his own superhero costume. He covets the spiderman costume from the community playroom. I don't know if I love how he plays in it though. He is having aggression issues and I am not wanting him to encourage ways of playing that add to hyper/aggressive behaviour. Ds has been pretty sheltered from commercial toys/movies so I still have the chance to have some influence...for a while. I want to help him cultivate his interest but put in my own messages in there so . Or maybe I should just let him be in charge of it and get him a spiderman costume?

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

Depending on why you don't like Spiderman... We had rescue heroes here when DS was that age. There are plastic toys (I think its a Matel brand, so probably MIC), so if its plastic or toys you don't like, then this won't help. But there are also books, and videos. The characters rescue people and animals from natural disasters, so no violence and no weapons, which was why I liked them. I also liked the fact that they were both male and female and there was a huge emphasis on teamwork to solve problems.

[flowmom]

Evan&Anna'sMom, I wasn't aware of Rescue Heroes - . I like that they focus on "positive human virtues", although they are obviously quite commercialized. I do think it's preferable to the Spiderman stuff - which for ds turns into lots of fighting "bad guys". I wasn't able to find any Rescue Heroes books - only videos and action figures.

I guess I struggle with feeling that my child "should" be able to imagine things rather than adopting commercialized stories for his play. He often pretends to be animals or dinosaurs (using his imagination), but the allure of branded characters like Thomas the Tank Engine (video borrowed from the library) or Spiderman (costume, and talked about with neighbours) seems to stimulate his play more. I think it's partly because other kids are interested in those characters as well.

[sabrosina]

My son has been interested in Danger Rangers, though I'm not sure thats exactly what you're after. They're talking animals that go off in spacecraft to help people in danger and while they're saving people they talk about things like fire safety, gun safety, etc...

[SabraMamma]

Fisher Price has the Planet Heroes- who go out and save the solar system. Of course, there are the bad guys though. But my DS has learned some about the planets in our solar system (names and simple facts). They have a short DVD and action figures (plastic).

Another thing we did here, was I had my computer whiz husband put together a DVD for DS that shows clips of all his favorite superheroes (spiderman, superman and batman) learning about their powers and then using them for positive actions- saving people and whatnot. So now DS knows a lot about his favorites and he knows that there are bad guys, but he hasn't seen the bad guys in action, only in books- his video focusing on the good stuff.

[Ell-Bell]

There are several places that sell superhero capes that are not a copy of spiderman or batman, etc. You can get them with your son's initial on the back, in his favorite colors, and let him be "SuperDS" and make up his own superpowers, etc.

Etsy has many people making a variety of styles at a wide range of prices...

[flowmom]

Originally Posted by Ell-Bell

There are several places that sell superhero capes that are not a copy of spiderman or batman, etc. You can get them with your son's initial on the back, in his favorite colors, and let him be "SuperDS" and make up his own superpowers, etc.

Great idea . Wow the Panjo Supercapes are very cool, and would be good for open-ended play.

[flowmom]

wrong thread

[mimi!]

Hey Ksenia, this falls somewhere under archetypes.

Check the waldorf board for this, there have been few threads. Christopher Robin, in the old Pooh / predisney stories is a hero. He saves the day a lot. Robin Hood is a favourite here. Its a bit tricky to find stories at the library for 4 year olds, but we've found a few books. Like Robin Hood and too many Dogs. Some fairy tales are good for folks who save the day. Pirates are interesting for some too. Ds also like knights, but only has a limited knowledge about them.

Ds too is aware of Spiderman. Its scary how dd studies the odd pictures we have of him: in a t shirt and winterboots given to us. Its amazing how disturbing he looks to brand new eyes. At any rate, I try and balance it out with other heros. We've read loads of fairytales lately with princesses, just by chance, and he's spending a lot of time dressing up as a princess, after a long stint of being Robin Hood. He enjoys dressing up a lot right now. He also really like the capes he's seen of Sarah's Silks. Perhaps for his birthday.

I found these lists helpful:
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~dea22/classic.html
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/storclas.html

As for figures, we don't have any. I plan on making a Robin Hood bendy doll like this one though:http://blueberryforest.com/kathe_kru...ouse-dolls.htm

[dawncayden]

:

[PumpkinSeeds]

Usborne has a Greek Myths book that is appropriate for that age.

[flowmom]

mimi!, archetypes - of course I like where you've gone with this . I liked this MDC thread:
How to balance an obsession with superheroes

I think that introducing ds to alternative superheroes could provide heroic archetypes that come with more richly layered stories than branded characters would. I think I will get these books and see if they resonate:
Adventures of Robin Hood, The - Marcia Williams
Greek Myths For Young Children - Heather Amery (thanks Pumpkinseeds!)

[HipGal]

About half the boys in my son's preschool class dressed as spiderman for halloween. It made me wonder where they know spiderman from. Older siblings? Do their parents let them watch the cartoons? My son is interested and just chose a superman balloon at the party store, though he knows very little about superheros. (He just turned 4). I have the same questions about how to handle it in an age-appropriate way.

[mirthfulmum]

When my oldest was 3 he saw a spiderman doll on a shelf at the department store and was absolutely fascinated. As far as I knew, this was the first time he'd ever seen Spiderman. And though my son had no idea who this red costumed person was, he knew he wanted that doll. The doll had tapped into some basic human element

There's something about superheros, and as mimi pointed out it goes back to the earliest story archetypes. I too was a bit nervous by superhero play at first but I now come to see it as a great source of fantasy and roll play. Superheros are working for the betterment of human-kind, they don't kill the bad guys instead bad guys are captured and they try to rehabilitate them and superheros use their natural talents and wits, not guns.

And when superhero play came into our home we made an effort to read greek, norse, and celtic myths. We also read Robin Hood in an attempt to broaden our boys superhero obsession.

When playing superheros, my boys are superheros they've made up 90% of the time. And in battling aliens, and bad guys, and monsters they are getting a chance to work through some natural human aggression and fantasize about having control over what is normally a pretty crazy world.

[flowmom]

I'm really glad you chimed in mirthfulmum, because I know that superheroes are big in your home . I agree that there is a basic human element to the interest in superheroes - it's great that your children have really creative ways of playing superheroes . I'd be totally fine with play of that nature - right now it's pretty unimaginative and semi-aggressive. It's helpful for me to read about how you've incorporated positive messages into their interest.

[mirthfulmum]

Maybe you can read a couple of spiderman comics with your ds. There a few comics out there geared for younger kids and that way he can see for himself that superheros do not hurt people.

And for when he's just gotta battle something this may be an appropriate "bad-guy" just waiting to be defeated.