Welcome to the first in a series of articles dealing with ways to connect with your children. In my June 1, 2004 article, When Meanness Is Cool, I discussed the bullying that happens in school and the need for parents to connect with their kids. Zanzi then posted a thought-provoking discussion question about HOW do we connect with our kids? I thought about it at length and decided that the answer is different for everyone. I then decided to share with you and other parents, through this column, the ways I connect with my son. Some parents may find what I have to say useful while others may not agree. That's ok. These articles are just a tool to get you thinking about what will work for you. The main premise is that parents and children need to start spending time together doing things that bring them closer together.
This first article will illustrate for you one of the ways I try to engage my son in research activities about fun things. We have become fans of Japanese manga and have always enjoyed comic books, so I thought it'd be worthwhile to explore the colorful history of these creative works. We spent about a week researching and learned so much more than we ever thought we would. It also allowed us to spend some time getting to know each other better, which was the whole point of the entire project!
Everything old is new again! I started thinking about this phrase and how it holds true to trends in America and how my son and his peers are now enjoying the remakes of many '80's songs I enjoyed as a teen. Not only are we seeing a remaking of old songs by the hot young teeny-bopper bands, we are also seeing a retelling of many of the classic comic book stories. Spiderman, Superman, Batman, The Justice League, just to name a few, are some of the newest superheroes to get a makeover for the young, hip, adolescents of the 21st century.
Since my son and I love to share things, I thought it'd be fun to share the history of comic book heroes with him. I didn't just want to introduce him to the comic book heroes I grew up with, the mainly Caucasian heroes like Superman and Batman, I wanted him to see that heroes in comic books, and in real life, come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. What follows is a brief history of how
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