Glamaour Era magazine Glamaour Era Global | Page 61

My 5-year-old loves to play superhero, but his best friend's mom won't let her kid join in. Why not ? A perennial favorite of boys in particular, superhero play is a way for young children to feel powerful for a change. Adults, however, can be more ambivalent, fearing its set story lines, rigid gender roles and rough-and-tumble nature. "It's hard to run group time when a couple of Spider-Men are shooting webs at each other!" says Eric Hoffman, author of Magic Capes, Amazing Powers: Transforming Superhero Play in the Classroom. 'Kids who role-play are more skilled at judging how others might feel than those whose don't' But don't hang up the masks just yet. This type of play can encourage lots of healthy physical activity (running, wrestling, leaping tall buildings in a single bound), teamwork, and hands-on exploration of big issues such as fairness and right and wrong. "In particular, kids can learn to balance their desire for power and control with their need for relationships," says Hoffman. "Lots of adults have trouble with that!" To ensure your caped crusaders use their powers for good, not evil, try setting boundaries: Limit the action to the outdoors, for example, and decree that everyone (i.e., girls) be allowed to play. Hoffman also suggests providing alternatives to alluring (but violent) props such as toy guns. "Gold or silver wands, 'magic' bracelets, or hats can become power objects, with help," he says. At what age do kids grow out of dress-up? Around rst grade, pretending often becomes "miniaturized"—acted out more through dollhouses and action gures, with dress-up duds less frequently in circulation. But think of Halloween, and it's clear that the urge to play dress-up never really leaves us. Adults, too, are desperate for a chance to don a new identity—if only for a single, mysterious night.