A chance conversation in a local bakery reminded me of one of my great accidental parenting discoveries. As I waited for my baked goods, a baker noticed the pins on my backpack and asked if I was a fan of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern.
Do you know the name of the first Green Lantern?
Well, I replied, the Green Lantern kind of confuses me. I don’t know if he is supposed to be black or white. Plus, it seems like there a lot of different Green Lanterns. The baker explained why: there’s a group called the Green Lantern Corps and it’s made up of a collection of interstellar Guardians who protect the universe. Oh.
Clearly, I don’t know my Green Lantern history — but I do like reading about the power-ringed super hero, whatever the color of his skin. (Don’t get the baker started on the origin of Deadpool from the recent Wolverine movie. That film is too violent for small children, by the way.)
Then I explained why I had the pin of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, on my backpack: My son loves super heroes and we like to trade pins featuring comic book characters. He is six; of course he loves super heroes.
But that wasn’t my great parental discovery — nor was the pin trading, but that’s a darn fun one too. The discovery was comic books.
We’ve been reading comic books together, every weeknight, since he was three. At first, it was all Spider-Man all the time. Lately he’s big on Wolverine and the rest of the X-Men. We’ve also spent a lot of time with the Justice League — the Earth-bound Green Lantern is a member — and the cuddly and funny Super Hero Squad.
Now, some of you are probably saying that comic books are violent, lurid and inappropriate for young children. And I say you’re wrong. Marvel and DC, the two dominant comic book publishers, offer a line of comics just for young children.
Marvel calls its kids’ comic line Marvel Adventures while DC brands kids comics under the DC Kids or Johnny DC label. Also, if you’re unsure if a comic is right for your young child, look for comics that are rated ‘A’. Avoid comics rated ‘T’, ‘T+’ or with the obvious ‘parental advisory’ label. A good comic store will also recommend comics for your kids.
The Super Hero Squad comic book is great for little kids
We read comics before bed and if the boy is not behaving, going to bed without reading a comic is about the worst thing that can happen to him. We love to visit the comic book store together on weekends — Brainstorm Comics in Chicago is our favorite — where we also buy the pins. (Brainstorm has a box for us to save and hold the comics we typically like to buy. It’s very handy to store comics for when Mom wants to buy the boy a treat.)
His comic book fascination is now spreading to other mediums — he wants to play computer games with Super Heroes (MarvelKids.com is recommended) and he likes watching the cartoons on TV.
But every night, he wants to read a comic book with Dad. And every night, Dad wants to read a comic with the boy.
One Comment
Nice post. I agree about the Green Lantern. I’m quite perlpexed by all of them. I wonder which Green Lantern will be featured in the upcoming movie?
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RT @TheDadList: Parenting tip: Comic books encourage young readers http://bit.ly/axa4ZS
RT @TheDadList: Parenting tip: Comic books encourage young readers http://bit.ly/axa4ZS
RT @TheDadList: Parenting tip: Comic books encourage young readers http://bit.ly/axa4ZS
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[...] Bendable Media › Parenting tip: Comic books encourage young readers [...]
[...] a big believer that comic books encourage young readers. I’ve been reading comic books with my son since he was three, most often at night before [...]
[...] of you who know me and have been reading here realize that I’m a big fan of reading comics with kids. There are plenty of appropriate titles aimed at children, but more importantly, comic books are an [...]
[...] of you who know me and have been reading here realize that I’m a big fan of reading comics with kids. There are plenty of appropriate titles aimed at children, but more importantly, comic books are an [...]
[...] great for reading bedtime stories (or comic books!) with your kids. The light is bright, adjustable and puts the focus on the content. And yes, I [...]
[...] great for reading bedtime stories (or comic books!) with your kids. The light is bright, adjustable and puts the focus on the content. And yes, I look [...]
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