So with the kid able to sit through movies and having ‘Goosebumps’ under his belt, we thought it would be a good time to test him on ‘The Avengers’. We made popcorn and were ready for the scene where Coulson gets stabbied by Loki. That was the only scene we had to worry about, right? I mean, what else do we have to worry about?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxKW0K8Pok8
Oops!
You’d think we’d be prepared since we have a kid who is very sensitive to loud noises, scared of angry faces, and isn’t keen on big things that are loud and angry. One look at his face told me that things were not going well. Early on, we explained that Bruce Banner would turn into the Hulk and then he kept asking when that would happen. He didn’t understand why Hulk was attacking Black Widow and then battling Hulk. On the verge of tears and shaking, but refusing to let us turn the movie off.
Then I came up with the following:
My son is fully aware that he throws really destructive tantrums when angry, scared, or hurt. So I told him that Hulk is the same way. Like my son, he only needs to calm down and Thor was ‘helping’ him. Not sure how I got that last part to work, but it all clicked by the end of that scene. No more fear of Hulk. In fact, he wouldn’t stop asking when Banner or Hulk would come back. He even refused to believe that Captain America was going to save some people. When Cap did show up, the kid only told him to leave so Hulk can save them.
Anyway, I was glad that he made it through such a long movie. Even more so that he managed to fight being afraid. That doesn’t happen often with him. He tends to lock into an emotion and hold onto it until he gets his way. To connect his own actions to the Hulk was a first for us. Normally we’d have to wait him out or argue him down. Hopefully we can do it again if need be. Trying to think of another superhero movie to show him tomorrow after playing outside for a while. Too bad Ant-Man doesn’t come out on DVD until December.
Legends of Windemere 
That was awesome. Good thinking on your feet too.
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Thanks. Though we’re not going to try him on Avengers 2 yet.
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That’s a great idea to have the kid relate to the hulk – be prepared for “when do I get to have green skin?” Questions 👍😃
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I thought that would happen, but he’s aware that Hulk is fictional too. So he knows that while he and Hulk throws tantrums, he won’t turn into an actual Hulk. It’s like he already knows the difference between fiction and reality.
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Excellent 👍
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I was just reading the other day on that. Apparently, kids do know the difference between fact and fiction much earlier than previously thought.
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For some reason this doesn’t surprise me.
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Charles, good that you persisted with the Hulk movie image! Even if your son continues to be sensitive to violent noises, the story line will be remembered. More of that will help! Enjoy your Sunday! Chryssa
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Thanks. Not sure he remembers the story line more than what Hulk did later. Also that Loki has black hair, so every black-haired superhero that he doesn’t recognize is ‘Loki’ until we correct him.
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This sounds like an excellent way to develop some awareness of outside the house shared motivations. Good job.
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Thanks. I have to remember to email his teacher about this. Just so she knows what he’s talking about.
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Good idea.
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The original Spider-Man is a good one to show in order to focus on someone’s alter-ego. Green Goblin always freaked me out in those scenes with him in the mirror. BTW, the very first movie both my kids sat through in their entirety, without getting up once we Star Wars movies. Ha, the apple don’t fall too far from the tree!
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We were considering Spider-Man, but he doesn’t seem to have the patience for the long build that it had at the beginning. We might try next weekend or Thursday if the weather keeps us inside. Star Wars is on the list, but we don’t have it on DVD. One of those ‘I thought you bought it’ scenarios.
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Awesome! Isn’t Ant-Man now available world wide?
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I say this because I have fellow Ant Man followers who were awaiting it’s release a few weeks ago. I’m pretty sure it could be out already on dvd.
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It was made a Digital Download on November 17th.
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Not on DVD until December 8th here.
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Quick thinking! I could have used the Hulk when my son was young – but then he was into He Man and She-ra, Princess of Power!
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I remember those. Those two and Thundercats were my favorite before Ninja Turtles appeared on the scene.
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Parenting done right 🙂
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We’re thinking of trying Star Wars on Thanksgiving.
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Great. Now I’ve got the Imperial Theme stuck in my head…
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Worse things to be stuck in there. I won’t mention any of them. Not cruel here.
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Thank you, that’s very thoughtful 😀
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Wow. What a great parenting moment. So glad you could use that movie as a teachable moment. Does your son like the Lego Justice League movies (like the Bizarro one and the Legion of Doom)? I love those! Maybe he might like them.
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We haven’t watched those. We really only work with what we have in the house since his default is Chuggington. So we haven’t bought any new kids movies since we never know if he’ll like them.
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That’s understandable. At least you know he likes the Avengers. I hope he’ll like Star Wars. You’re talking about the originals, right?
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Yup. We’re not letting him know about the prequels until he’s much older. He has to watch them in the right order. Although Empire and Return are going to have to wait. The Wampa and Rancor won’t go over very well.
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What a fascinating insight for you and a milestone for your son. Has he been intetested in Hulk before? Anyway, if you have Netflix or a public library there should be plenty more Hulk videos and comics for him to enjoy.
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He had some interest in Hulk when he was very little. We used to watch ‘Super Hero Squad’ when he was 1 and 2. He liked how animated and colorful Hulk was compared to the others. Then his interested faded and he moved on to Captain America. A friend recently gave me a large book of Avengers stories, so we’ll probably dig that out for him to go through for pictures.
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One day I will have to visit you downstate and teach him the ways of the Spider 🙂
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He already knows about Spider-Man. Has a lot of clothes with him. The only thing is that he isn’t a big fan of the cartoon and we’re not sure he could handle Dafoe.
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