Super Hero Squad: Mom is recruiting her 9-month-old with Little People
Toy buying for my nine month-old has escalated beyond simple rattle and crinkle car seat toys into the wide world of smaller handheld toys that I will inevitably trip on in the the middle of the night on my way to the bathroom.
I鈥檝e decided to upgrade his toy collection to include聽, those pudgy, smiling plastic figures that fit like pegs into little toy tractors, buses, cars, and airplanes, and directly into my son鈥檚 mouth.
I found Little People figures modeled after DC Super Heroes and Disney Princess characters, and chose the superhero toys immediately, avoiding the princess figures altogether. These are my son鈥檚 first action figures (nevermind the fact that Little People look more fit to snuggle you into submission rather than resort to violent force), and I want to buy toys that encourage heroic, powerful characters.
Why did I automatically choose superheroes? As I watched him chew on Little Wonder Woman, I wondered 鈥� If we are careful to avoid pushing princess fantasies with fairytale endings to our daughters (protecting them from the 鈥淒isney Princess effect鈥� discussed聽here), should we also watch telling our sons that they need super powers to save the world?
I don鈥檛 want to be a buzz kill. I myself love superheroes and I can鈥檛 wait to encourage my son to have an active imagination which celebrates characters bigger than reality that help save the day. I am sure we will embrace our fair share of superhero make believe too, complete with underwear on the outside of the pants and homemade masks and capes to furnish his creativity.
Plus, superheroes, more often than not, seem to be positively defined for their strength, courage, and sacrifice for the greater good. Australian blogger聽, comparing the superhero make-believe of his childhood with his daughter鈥檚 princess dreams, notices the following:
"But my fantasies were all heroic: fists, feet, flying. Great powers and great responsibilities, and all that guff. This is not simply about physical violence 鈥� it is also about moral virtues, including bravery, constancy, temperance, and so on. The classic superhero 鈥� and his kindred heroes in Star Wars or Lego 鈥� has a public role, and the strength and ethical character to fulfill it."
While I agree with Young, I do want to make sure my son understands that it is the character of the superheroes and not just the fighting, flashy suits, bulging muscles, and鈥hem鈥�.tights that make them powerful.
I want to reinforce that the alter egos for each of these superheroes also impact their superhuman powers for the better. It is the men and women behind the masks that make the heroes, and they have their vulnerabilities, just like us. Marvel comics addressed this issue in 2012 when it聽. After the boy鈥檚 mother approached the comic publisher with concerns from her son that superheroes don鈥檛 wear hearing aids, Marvel created a character named 鈥淏lue Ear鈥� who helps save the day with the help of his own hearing aid.
For now, I think the affable Little People figures modeled after caped crusaders will be a good jumping off point for what I expect to be my son鈥檚 long relationship with superheroes. As he grows, I will do my best to help him identify his own strengths that make him powerful and able to take on the challenges of the world. I鈥檒l teach him that you can make the world a better place through Clark Kent鈥檚 journalism, Bruce Wayne鈥檚 philanthropy, or Peter Parker鈥檚 love of science.
And I will teach him that the courage to wear your underpants on the outside builds character too.
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