What is the psychological impact of superheroes on kids?

What we need to remember here is that the media is providing standard for what is becoming normal and acceptable behaviour, therefore children are choosing superheroes as their role models when there are often more appropriate and real-life role models that they could be choosing but these are then ignored. As children spend more and more time in front of the television they have more opportunity to see violent images. To put this into perspective, the average child spends more than 50% of their time out of school in front of the television and your average superhero programme contains 32 acts of violence in a one-hour show, so when you start doing the maths, that's a lot of violence being seen on a regular basis for many of our children. In addition to this, the media is affecting children's perception of reality and fiction and therefore violence and superpowers are often seen to be an effective solution to problems. It is important to remember however, that family and social factors are always going to affect the child’s response to what they see and hear, so letting your child watch superhero programmes on TV is not necessarily all negative providing you are aware of what they are watching and you discuss it with them.

Does wearing superhero clothing lead to more aggression?

It’s not so much the clothing that would lead to more aggressive behaviour, so much as exposure to superheroes and their actions on TV. Children wear dress up clothes in order to enact different roles, therefore if a superhero flies or fights a lot that is going to shape the play when the child is wearing superhero clothing. I fell short on this one, as my child has had very limited exposure to television and has certainly never seen a superhero programme but has managed to pick up the information from his friends at school and now has an idea of what, for example, Superman and Spiderman do.

Is it important for children to have fantasies?

Absolutely, children grow and develop through learning and experiencing their world, in addition to which fantasy play helps a child’s creativity and imagination, which leads to cognitive growth and development. This is the one area where a child has total control – they can be anyone and do anything in their fantasies, which creates self-confidence. Two things to bear in mind, young children cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy so parents need to supervise what is watched on TV and discuss it afterwards to help teach difference between them and fantasy play needs to be controlled to an extent – you don’t allow your child to eat mud, sand and grass when they have created a meal during play, so superhero play should be monitored too

Your child believes he’s a superhero and is able to save the world – is this wrong?

Superhero play is a special type of fantasy play, involving adventurous themes and physical activity. Children take on powers they wish they had and can be the hero and special person for a time – even if it’s only in play but it is important that the children understand they are not invincible. So while it is good to believe they are a superhero, they must be grounded in reality and that’s where the parent should intervene.

Many preschools have recently banned costumes as clothing that can be worn to school, is this a good thing?

Yes! Please bear in mind that as much as this is a professional opinion I am also I'm of a four-year-old boy who has been told by his friends that Spiderman can climb up the walls and on to the roofs of buildings and that Superman can fly! So for this reason I would far rather he be in an environment where I can monitor his play while wearing such a costume. However from a professional point of view, a lot of research has demonstrated that children are more aggressive when role-playing such characters and for this reason, superhero costumes should be banned at schools and this should also apply to wrestling related clothing. However, this does not eliminate the need for fancy dress at school and ideally there should be a dress up box at the school that contains props for real-life play (ie – professions – especially those that help in a real and positive light)

Do children understand the difference between reality and fantasy?

Certainly by age 7, children should be able to distinguish between reality and fantasy and also truly understand the difference and whereas some children do this younger than 7, it is unlikely to occur under the age of 5. Children of five years or younger may be able to identify what is real and what is not real but they don't necessarily understand what this really means and therefore cannot comprehend the consequences of various actions.

Are only boys affected by superheroes?

To an extent, it is mostly boys, as they are naturally more physical and active in their play and interactions, in addition to this the importance of being strong and brave is emphasised and superheroes portray these qualities, bearing in mind that most superheroes are male. Marketing and products are aimed at boys (specifically the costumes, figures and accessories). Girls are inherently more nurturing (marketing plays a role in this too) and men tend to rough and tumble with children while women are more comforting, cuddling and nurturing, and this sets a role model at home and children tend to copy their parents for the most part. However, this does not mean that children do not respond to superheroes and research has suggested higher levels of aggression evident when girls play superhero type games as well.

What can parents do to reduce violent behaviour?

• Set a time and place for superhero play
• Emphasise making of costumes, props and setting as well as the actual play
• Develop stories that avoid fighting, talk about these alternatives with your child
• Have a rule that aggressive play is unacceptable and intervene when necessary
• Limit watching of TV and time in front of screens, especially violent and aggressive shows
• Talk to your children about the characters
• Who do they admire in real life and for what reasons/qualities?
• Give children choice and power in their own life (this would give them control over their own life)
• Don’t buy them every branded product on the market
• Introduce games and toys not from the TV
• Show new ways playing with the action toys they have
• Ensure child is not desensitised to violence, in other words discuss the reality/consequences of their actions – what would happen in real life if you could do this?

Author:
Melanie Hartgill
Educational Psychologist
Pr. no. 0860000115134
Click here to email Melanie
082 678 4300

Specialising in: Assessments (educational, psychological, school readiness, emotional and career), Learning Disabilities, Parenting Issues and Training and Child Development
Visit Melanie's Q&A page

Posted: 25 February 2008

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