The subject of superhero and weapon play has long been a topic of conversation within the early years and in family homes. Yet it is still a divisive subject. Superhero play often involves children using props, costumes and small world toys to engage in imaginative play about their favourite heroes and fantasy worlds.

It goes without saying that children should not be viewing inappropriate content, and our responsibility as adults is to shield them from real life violence and events which are too complex for them to understand. Yet superheroes tend to have weapons or powers - Spiderman has his webs, Wonder Woman can fly and is trained in hand-to-hand combat and Batman has an assortment of gadgets that are used as weapons.

For some adults, watching children play with pretend guns and weapons can evoke negative and worrying feelings. They may believe this is a route into anti-social behaviour, or that it suggests that children will be aggressive and violent as they grow up.

However, research suggests that superhero play teaches important concepts, such as right and wrong, strength and power, life and death. Hoffman (2004) says that imaginative play is used by children when they want to explore feelings:

“Fantasy monsters are most often symbols that represent children's fear, worry and anger… Magic wands, weapons and superpowers are the symbolic tools they use to take control of those emotions and feel safe, powerful and alive.”

Some settings apply a zero-tolerance position on superhero and weapon play while others embrace it and use it as a learning opportunity. One practitioner working in a zero-tolerance setting shared that children often forget and use their fingers as weapons while other children who are more aware of the rules tend to hide their play. To my mind this begs the question – if children feel the need to hide aspects of their play, then what are we really teaching them? As early years practitioners, it is vital we build on children’s interests to deepen their knowledge, rather than halting their interest or pushing them to hide it.

So how do we navigate superhero and weapon play safely for children under 5?

Having a robust setting policy helps to ensure consistency in the way adults respond and supports safe and appropriate engagement in superhero play. Your policy could include the following points:

• We teach children there is no touching while being a superhero. Non-contact play is encouraged throughout and where this is not being followed, adults will intervene.
• We talk to children about the consequences of hurting themselves and/or others. We have strategies in place to teach children about self-awareness and empathy for others e.g. asking the children, “how can people help one another?” “Is there another way we can solve this?”
• We do not provide bought guns or weapons for play and request that parents do not bring these in from home.
• We talk to children about the differences between pretend play and reality e.g. magic potions in pretend play and people who help us in real life.

What are the benefits of superhero and weapon play?

Allowing children to engage in superhero play allows for wide ranging development in several key skills.

• Language Skills - Children learn and use new words and phrases. As the narrative becomes more complex, children may learn past and future tenses and engage in two-way communication with their peers and with adults.
• Self-regulation - Children are afforded the opportunity to develop mutual respect, self-control and self-regulation through participating in group games and taking on different roles.
• Problem-solving - Children learn to negotiate with one another and work towards solving problems within the context of their pretend play.
• Social Skills - Children can form friendships around this type of play and it gives them the opportunity to test out different ideas within a shared interest.
• Literacy - Adults can extend learning through reading and writing opportunities e.g. children can create their own stories/comics and practice their mark making skills.
• Physical skills - Superhero play provides the perfect opportunity for jumping, running, climbing, crouching down, fitting in small spaces and filling large spaces.
• Personal and Emotional Skills - Children take on roles in their play where they can explore how it feels to behave as someone else. This in turn helps to develop their own sense of self.

We know that children continually explore and make sense of the world around them through play. We know that high quality interactions between adults and children supports their holistic learning and development. Superhero and weapon play is an opportunity for children to develop their imaginations, to interact meaningfully with peers and adults, and to safely explore the concepts of morality, empathy and self-regulation. Our role as educators should be to enable rather than stifle, which is why the phrase “we do not play with guns” needs to finally be left behind.