4 Parenting Lessons From Your Favorite Superheroes

 Image by Erika Wittleib via Pixabay

The great thing about being a geeky parent is that every now and then, the worlds of geekery and parenthood collide. Many of our favorite superheroes have existed in comics and other media for the better part of a century. 

While Marvel and DC may dominate the box office at the moment, their on-the-page counterparts have been in action for far longer than their cinematic equivalents. And in order to keep the characters fresh, their adventures have moved with the times. Superman, Batman, The Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Wonder Woman and even Deadpool have become parents at some point or another in the comics. Superheroes have always been a tool for moral instruction for kids growing up. What are comic book superpowers, after all, if not a metaphor for puberty? 

Nonetheless, superheroes don’t stop teaching us when we’re out of our teens. There are many lessons that parents can learn from their favorite superheroes about parenthood, temperance and keeping our kids on the right side of the moral tracks...

Family is where you find it

The current comic book Robin, Damian Wayne, is Bruce Wayne’s biological son. But by no means is young Damian the only kid sidekick whom The Dark Knight loved as a son. There was the original Robin Dick Grayson who was Bruce’s Ward. There was Jason Todd, a street kid whom Batman took in and reformed. There was Tim Drake who Bruce would eventually adopt. There was even a female Robin, Stephanie Brown. The lesson here is that despite the loss of his family, Batman has proven extremely successful in making his own family- a support network that keeps him on the right path. Any adoptive or foster parent understands that there’s way more to family than blood relations.

Talent should be nurtured… but humility is also essential!

Reed and Sue Richards (two halves of Marvel’s first family The Fantastic Four) are also parents. And, as well as being intellectual prodigies, their children Franklin and Valeria are potentially two of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe. As such, their parents understand the importance of honing and developing their talents (both natural and superheroic) while also teaching them the humility, responsibility and values that keep them on the right moral track. An important balance for all parents with able, gifted and talented kids.

Losing your temper can have disastrous consequences

When it comes to explosive tempers, no-one knows the importance of anger management more than Dr. Bruce Banner AKA The Incredible Hulk. But when Dr. Banner loses his cool, the consequences are often disastrous. And parents can learn a few lessons when it comes to managing anger at their children’s behavior. While you might not find that the house is demolished and your clothes are in tatters, you may find that serious damage has been done to your relationship with your child. Join Fitness 19 and deal with your anger and stress through exercise. Learn some CBT techniques. Try mindfulness meditation. There are all kinds of ways in which you can prevent your (perfectly natural) anger from causing damage to your relationship with the kids you love.  

With great power comes great responsibility

This motto coined by the late, great Stan Lee is a great dictum for all kids and parents to live by. From being able to drive a car to controlling their kids’ nutrition, parents have access to many different forms of power. And it’s up to us to use it as responsibly as possible so that our kids can grow up to be superheroes in their own right!