Good heavens, did you know that super-heroes punch each other? Why, it’s little wonder that such heroic shenanigans are being banned in Melbourne.
At least 10 childcare centres have declared themselves “superhero-free zones”, claiming that youngsters who don capes and masks are more likely to end up wrestling, punching and karate-kicking unsuspecting classmates.
So we’ll teach kids to not cold-cock their mates, not by punishing them when they do so and teaching that such behavior is unbecoming a hero, but by maneuvering to avoid them being in situations where they just might do something we don’t like. If we can’t teach them restraint, we can just put them into restraints.
The head of one childcare centre, Madeleine Kellaway, told the Sun Herald newspaper: “There is a lot of violence involved, where you get wham-bam aggressive behaviour.” She said banning the superhero costumes had encouraged more creative play.
We play soft music to them, wrap them in gauze, and encourage frequent naps, too. In this way, we hope to teach them that confrontation and aggression and heroics are passe in this creative and cooperative world. Ideally, not only will they internalize that such thigns are inappropriate, but that they don’t actually exist.
Katherine’s been watching Justice League pretty regularly, and Powerpuff Girls. I have tossed in a few editorial comments at times regarding the propriety of punching people, and so far she hasn’t tried to jump off the roof or deflect bullets with her forearms. And after a long sit-down talk regarding her emulating Tom & Jerry, she seems to have learned her lesson.
Obviously I’m doing her a terrible disservice here. Not to mention stifling her creativity.
(via Samizdata)
How on earth did I miss the tale of her emulating Tom and Jerry?
(Not that I like that show, but still… does seem as though I would have heard that one 🙂
Not much to tell. She was hitting. When asked why, she said she’d seen it on Tom & Jerry. We explained that was improper behavior and wouldn’t be allowed and would be punished, and T&J went off for a while. The behavior went away.
Now, maybe if she hadn’t seen T&J, she might not have hit. On the other hand, she would not have learned to not hit, and sooner or later, would have. This way, though the lesson had to be taught, it was taught, which is better than betting on perpetual innocence.
Dave forgot an important part of the Tom and Jerry story. 1) Kitten was hitting with one of her golf clubs in a overhead swing. 2) She was hitting mommy.
Katherine would watch JL or Batman/Superman movies all day if I let her. I guess that is better than fixing on a large purple dino that has been linked to parentis extremis.