Cape does not enable user to fly
It seems the list of things the new generation needs to be protected from is growing exponentially.
It has gone from being basically just childhood illnesses to including sex offenders, obesity, Myspace, tripping and falling while doing physical activity and playgrounds that aren’t up to safety code regulations.
Now, according to a recent British study, there is a whole new deadly villain out to claim our children’s sense of well-being: superhero costumes.
Yes. It’s true. Someone actually did a study on whether or not that Superman cape all the six-year-old boys are dying to have is harmful. And, no, it had nothing to do with whether or not the cape could get caught in something and accidentally strangle a kid.
The researchers found that wearing superhero costumes could cause kids to try things they normally wouldn’t and end up getting hurt. Kind of like a juvenile version of too much alcohol.
According to the study, many young children believed that by wearing the costumes, they could do everything the superheroes could do.
Thankfully, Dr. Patrick Davies, who conducted the study, was level-headed enough to realize that banning superhero costumes was not the answer. He simply said that this was something parents should be aware of, and that if kids weren’t trying to attempt Spiderman’s death defying, they would find other ways to send themselves to the emergency room.
I can attest to that. I didn’t care much about superheroes when I was a kid. My brother was crazy about Batman, and because of that, I believed superheroes were just for boys. Being the stereotypical little girl I was, I preferred my Cabbage Patch dolls.
You’d think that would have kept me out of trouble. And you’d think my brother would have landed himself in the emergency room trying to be Batman.
That was not the case. I had stitches twice by my fourth birthday, one of them being from attempting to use one of those little-kid push cars as a skateboard. I must have thought those high schoolers I saw skateboarding were pretty amazing.
I also realized just in time that bungee jumping off the neighbor’s balcony with a jump rope wasn’t exactly wise.
My brother can say no such thing, and he was the Batman fan. He was sensible enough to know that the cape really does not enable the user to fly. I was the one who wished it did.
I think in the end, kids (and grown-ups too) will do what they please, and there really is no good way to figure out why.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum