Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Cheering for Chick

What is it about villains that make people like them anyway? Or maybe, people don't like them, and A is really confused. Let me explain. He likes the movie Cars, but unlike most kids, who have fallen in love with McQueen or Mater, my son's favorite character is.... Chick Hicks! I bought him a McQueen hat, and he asked me if the store had Chick hats too. I tried to explain to him that they don't, because people don't like Chick... because he's not nice, but A doesn't want to hear it.

When we play, he likes to pretend he's Chick. I usually have to be McQueen, and then Chick crashes into me. It's all good and fun, except that today, his teacher told me that he was doing it with the other kids in the gym, and that didn't go over so well... She explained to him that he was not a  race car and that we don't crash.
Why does my son like the villain of the story? Maybe it's hereditary... I did have a bizarre infatuation with Dallas' J.R. Ewing, back when I was 8 or 9 years old. When I watched The Shining, I was sad that Jack Nicholson got stuck in the ice, and I've always rooted for the shark in Jaws. The bottom line is that bad guys tend to be a bit more exciting, and that's probably the same with Chick.
I don't mind that A likes Chick, he just needs to understand that we should not behave like Chick...
I tried to ask him today why he likes Chick, this is what he said...
 Translation:
Me: A, do you like McQueen or Chick better?
A: Chick
Me: Why?
A: because he's nice
Me: really, what's his name?
A: Chick
Me: Chick who?
A: Chick nice

I was a bit surprised by his answer, because he usually says "Chick Hicks", squinting his eyes, like he knows it's bad and exciting at the same time... He also usually says he likes him because he bumps people, but he is  probably starting to change his tune as more and more people are telling him that bumping is not so nice...
So far, Chick is the only  villain he's aware of, other than witches, but he doesn't like them. I try to police what he watches as much as I can, and we usually watch Chuggington, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jungle Junction, or Dinosaur Train. All great shows that do not have bad guys.
I try to avoid watching Cars because he's really only interested in the beginning... the race where, you guessed it, Chick "bumps" the other cars. He gets giddy with excitement watching it, and I think it's not the greatest thing, and that he's still a bit young for that kind of thing, but this too shall pass, and as he grows he'll start being interested in more than just the crash parts.

Did your kids' favorite characters surprise you? Any tips on stopping the "bumping"?


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