Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Art of Pretend: When Superheroes Come to Play

Batboy!
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. Nope, it’s my child flying around the house in his batman pajamas. Because life is not nearly entertaining enough on its own {sarcasm}, one must take on the persona of a super hero to add a little amusement to the day.

Part of me wants to fully embrace this new infatuation of superheroes. Another part of me wants to crawl into bed, pull the blanket over my head, and hide until this phase is over. Why such a mixed bag of emotions… Superheroes are fun but they can be violent. As much as I love playing pretend with my children, I foresee a lot of boo boos in my very near future.  

I adore the fact that Batman, Superman, and Spiderman are taking up residence in my home. William runs around the house singing theme music while jumping from coffee table to sofa and back. There is nothing cuter than seeing my tot run around the house in a cape pretending to fly. He comes to my rescue even when I don’t really need to be rescued. He is such a little gentleman.

I cringe at the idea of him getting into the fighting aspect of superheroes. All superheroes have an arch enemy. There is always a nemesis that must be opposed. The idea of my child wanting to sling a sword and shoot a foe does not make me jump for joy. I know that boys play rough, but I do not like guns and will NOT buy them for my children to play with. I really do not like the idea of my boys playing with any type of weapon. I don’t want them to think that it is okay to hurt someone, even if it is pretend.

There is such a fine line between reality and make-believe that I worry {surprise surprise} that my children will have a hard time distinguishing the two. I do not want my toddler who pretends to be a knight to pick up a knife from the butcher block and start wielding it like a sword. It is all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Maybe I am worrying for nothing. Maybe I am being overly cautious. Maybe I am crazy…

So far no one had been hurt. The boys are not fighting each other and no one has attempted to catapult themselves from great heights. The boys simply sing their theme music and race around the house. We play chase and tag and hide and go seek and by the end of the day everyone is thoroughly exhausted. Just the way it is supposed to be.

 

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