The Power of Superpower

When my 4-year old declared that he is not sleeping in his bedroom because there's a "something" (later on identified as aliens) coming in from his window to his bedroom, I suggested that I go to Supertarget and get him superpowers. He nodded his head.

So off I went to work, and he and sister went to daycare. That night, I reminded him again that, like any other big boy, he needs to stay in his bedroom. He looked at me tearfully and exclaimed, "But you forgot to buy superpowers!!"

Well, yes, I did forget. In my defense, I didn't think he'd take me up on it in the first place! There are no real superpowers, all preschoolers know that! I guess he missed the memo so I promised him that I was definitely going to get one or two.

But what appropriate pretend superpower talisman should an educated mother get for a preschooler? Spiderman stickers (too commercialized)? Catholic crosses (hello the exorcist?)? a bible on his window (felt it was too tacky)? Now I was stumped. Dad's no help either ("How about a spiderman/batman/ironman/superman poster?"). Good thing I had to go to a gift shop to find a present for a niece's confirmation. I found these...


Little metal things with stamps of angels on them. These will work.

I headed home, told Dad that I finally got them and he should perform some kind of a rite establishing the superpowers on the ledge of his window. So before bed that night, father and son put those superpowers on the windows so aliens can't get in. We went to bed with high hopes of a good night sleep, no little boy staring at me in the middle of the night, long and deep slumber at last...

No such luck. The superpowers didn't work. Not yet, I guess. Today I asked him where those little things are. He said that he put them all together so it "has more power." I think he still believes in them -- just not enough to put his life on their hands when aliens come a-charging.

And ultimately, that's what superpowers really are for - just for that little bit of confidence that will make him stay in his bed until 2:26 in the morning -- not the kind that will prompt him to jump out of his second floor window to fight aliens.

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He has not been to our bedroom in a few nights. We've instituted a chart/sticker thing where he'd get a toy if he stayed in his bed for 30 days (and a sucker for every five stickers). Turned out, he's been sleeping in his sister's bedroom. He's been claiming that he stayed in his own bed and so he'd been getting a sticker. We've been had.