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Debi Gutierrez
Host |
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Superhero play is important and promotes creativity and social development
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Set up guidelines for superhero play and supervise the children at all times
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Encouraging positive Superhero Play will allow children to face their fears and help them feel powerful and in control of the things they experience
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Lucia Palacios
Executive Director, USC School of Early Childhood Education |
Superhero Play is very important. It improves language skills, promotes creativity and encourages social skills.
Most importantly, Superhero Play helps children learn how to face their own fears; it gives them a sense of power and awareness. It is also a great outlet for them to act out, which they need to do, constantly.
For Superhero Play to be successful however, it is necessary for parents and providers to guide and supervise it so that it doesn’t get out of control.
If it does, providers should use that opportunity to explain why violence and aggression is not acceptable, and make sure that the child understands that superheroes exist in order to help other people.
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Child Care provider Comments |
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Mechelle
Family child care provider for 4 years |
In my eyes, superheroes can actually be detrimental. I’ve had children, for example, who couldn’t agree on which characters to play, so they began hitting each other.
I really don’t agree with the idea of allowing children to play superheroes. I feel that superheroes aren’t good role models for them, so I try to redirect them to play other kinds of heroes, such as firefighters or police officers.
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Jo-Ann
Family child care provider for 2 years |
When I see children get into superhero play, I begin to set up parameters and guidelines. And during their play, if it gets out of control, I talk to them to explain that there’s no violence allowed and that they must respect each other’s space.
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Patty
Family child care provider for 5 months |
I allow superhero play as long as children understand the difference between reality and television, and I’m always supervising it so that they don’t get hurt.
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