Why Superhero Worship is Beneficial
Posted by Corey on January 16, 2009
Tagged Under : fun, kids, superheroes
Fast Flash by joeandsarah
With great power comes great responsibility. - Peter Parker (Spider-Man)
Perhaps this is a little self-indulgent as I am a superhero nut. Even as an adult I can’t help but obsess about any movie or TV show having to do with super powers. It has been a fun few years with some fantastic treatments (Spider-Man 3 notwithstanding) of classic heroes from my childhood. Having kids gives me an excuse to continue my childhood fixation. Parenting.com has a great article on why this is perfectly healthy for kids. No mention of adults but I am sure I can find something on Wizards World. 
-excerpt and link below
How Batman and Wonder Woman can help your kid’s confidence
By Shaun Dreisbach, Parenting
Spider-Man. The Incredibles. Wonder Woman. A lot of kids love imitating these mighty superheroes, battling the bad guys and flexing their superpowers. You, however, may be less than thrilled about the idea — the running, the jumping, the fighting. “But from a psychological standpoint, superhero worship can be beneficial,” says Jeff Greenberg, Ph.D., a professor of social psychology at the University of Arizona. “Kids are pretty powerless and vulnerable, so pretending they’re superheroes is one way for them to gain a sense of confidence and competence in a positive way.
first of all, why do you give credit of common knowledge to SpiderMan?
Secondly, I disagree. Having superheroes as role models is wrong! A child’s role model ought to be their parent. If Superman is a role model, that means the parent means little and that the parent is not puting the right amount of time into their child.
Superheroes are an excuse for parents. When they themselves do not have the qualities neccessary to be idolized by their own children. Such responsibility shift is greatly disadvantageous. A child requires a parent not batman!
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@Grabek - Thanks for the comment. Agree or disagree, I love talking with fellow parents about this kind of stuff. I will say that the Spiderman quote was something I grew up with and associated with him. You present an interpretation I honestly didn’t consider and I think it mostly relates to the words “worship” and “role model”. This implies a larger role than simple characters they can play and imagine, which I took as the authors main point.
Grabek: “A child’s role model ought to be their parent.”
Completely agree. You have made me think Grabek, so thank you for that as well.