super-hero v druid path?

[Sapnanth]

My son (age 5) is really into super-hero action as are most of his friends at school. However I am concerned at the level of aggression generated which could be just 'boyishness' of course but I feel needs to be tinged with a respect for peace rather than so much 'action'.
Anyone have any suggestions how I might best go about encouraging my little one to see that peaceful relations and talking things through might be better than the attack and destroy mentality of the current laddish fantasy violence of such as 'power-rangers' or 'justice league' or 'superman' etc.??

[Bracken]

Just be respectful. Be peaceable. Model the behavior you value.

[Aphritha]

It seems that often with kids, the more you fight against something, the more it intrigues them. I wouldn't worry too much about the Superhero craze; it does seem to be normal. After all, most kids are exposed to such quite repetitively.
That being said, you could try to limit exposeure to the devices your child accesses it on, like TV, or game systems. Set up certain times for it, and certain times not for it. Personally, I wouldn't pick on books, though. You should be happy the child is reading!
Maybe instead of focusing on the violence, you could focus on some of the character's good qualities. "Its nice that [Superhero] wants to save the world. What are some ways we could help?" Or "[Superhero] is such a nice person, its a shame [villian] isn't willing to talk things over so they can be friends. Do keep in mind that while peace is always the first option, there will be instances in where parties involved won't feel the same as you, and you might have a violent situation on your hands. You could also talk about what you'd do in times like those.
Mythology can be a good teaching tool. There are alot of myths in various cultures that can be made child friendly, and many lessons to be learned from them. They might appeal to your son, if you can pick out some of the more "superherolike" characters. Some are easy to find(hell, Marvel seemed to have borrowed Thor), others you may just want to present to your son and see what catches his fancy. I'd work from his tastes; my own son is fascinated with Medusa, and we've had some talks about anger(he has quite a temper), and what happened to Medusa when she saw her own angry, hateful face in the mirror. It stuck with him.
I hope you're able to find a balance that makes everyone happy!

[Crinia]

Try him on "Captain Planet" (if you can get some copies, it's a bit old - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpXM9bj-WPU). At least CP has some green credentials and is supported by Gaia and the elements. My daughter loved it and started a Captain Planet Environmental Group at school to advise on greening the school and waste.

Crinia

[illion]

My son (now eight) had a period where he was very into super-heroes (from five to seven), now he is not very interested anymore. So hang in there, it will get over. I think it gets over faster if you don't fight it. Super-heroes are not all about fighting and violence. They are, as Aphritha said, saving the world. They are the good guys, helping people and cities in danger. And children at a certain age, is kind of frightened of the big world around them. They can invoke the super-hero arcehtype into themselves, and it can give them self-confidence to cope with the big world out there.

My son used to draw his own super-hero at the time he was about to start school. He is a very good drawer, so he made his own comics, and the super-hero called "Muscle" looks just like him. He had the same face and the same hair as he used to draw himself with. He had big bulks for muscles on his arms and an "eight-pack", and he had rocket boots that made him fly. My boy was a quiet boy at that time, and often got ran over by the other, more noisy, boys in his class, and one of them hit him every day in school. I think that "Muscle" helped him a lot, he was like an imaginary friend that made his confidence grow.

So, I don't think that super-heroes are all that bad. Some boys actually need them. Let them have it, I would say.

[Willowen]

Greetings,
My son's heroes back in the day were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He went slashing about quite a bit as his favorite character Raphael. Once in awhile I joined in. Even his great grandmother joined in the act (playing with the action figures). I have fond memories concerning the "Turtles". My son grew into a fine man and his fascination led to a foundation in Martial Arts. My advice is to join in, and you can help mold his superhero ideals. In the end, your child will make their own choices as they make their way to adulthood, but you can help lay the foundation.

[Sapnanth]

Thanks for those supportive comments everyone.

[hodekin]

Keep an eye on things but let him find his own level and only step in if you think he is REALLY going overboard for the simulated 'ultra violence'!

My wife and I decided that our boys would not have toy guns, we gave them Lego instead.....what was the first thing they made with it?....Yep, you guessed it, Guns!

It didn't last but it was something they just needed to work through, keep an eye on things but try not to be too restrictive....they will rebel against you if you do...either now or worse still....much later!

Just my view


Hodekin

[Markjones]

I found that explain the Jedi "religion" made a nice bridge between the super hero action, and the more peaceful enlightened attitudes I want my children to understand.

[Davin Raincloud]

Buy him the comics to read.

There is more complexity than the action in the movies.

Captain America seems to be a good roll model. The Hulk is all about wrestling with Anger. Batman has an ethical code not to kill.

[ideagirl]

I found that explain the Jedi "religion" made a nice bridge between the super hero action, and the more peaceful enlightened attitudes I want my children to understand.

That is brilliant! Thanks.

[Scottie]

I know this is an old thread but I just loved the topic so much that I felt I had to post a reply. I myself am a huge lover of comic books and I get to squee like a little child (I'm 35) whenever they make a new movie about them.

Personally, I think that if you look past the glossy special effects, super powers and high tech gadgets (this is why the books are better than the movies) these stories are really just about a bunch of people thrown into impossible situations and how they deal with it. The comics themselves often deal with highly complex emotional situations because the hero’s always force themselves to follow what they believe in and do what’s right. Even when the whole world is against them. I can't think of better role models than than.

Also, the comments about the Jedi in StarWars were bang on. Mr Lucas actually based the Jedi (and their use of the "force") on his limited knowledge of druidry...I think that’s pretty cool too.

Hope I didn't intrude.....

[DJ Droood]

If you want to avoid the blood and gore and laddish fighting, I would steer clear of the Celtic myths as well.