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>>>>>My oldest was 6 when he discovered Dragon tales.

It really got to be 'too' much fantasy play when EVERYTHING he did or said
was based on the show. He was bringing the play into his 'real' life.

The show was banned for a short while. Now he can watch it and enjoy it
without it 'taking over' his daily life. It wasn't a good thing to watch if
he couldn't determine what was real and what was not.<<<<



That is SOOOOOO incredibly sad! I mean, so sad that I can hardly sit here and
read this! Sad, sad, sad! To-my-core-deep-in-my-soul sad!

I have two boys, 16-next-week and eight-next month. Both were "Batman". And I
don't mean wore a Batman costume occasionally. I mean BATMAN!

Duncan has eight or nine bat-costumes that he wore daily. He lives (still) in
the Batcave---ask anyone who has been to my house: the room is painted dark
blue with a glow-in-the-dark batsignal on one wall, the town of Gotham with
glow-in-the-dark windows on another, the Batmobile on a third, and "POW!",
SOCK!", "OOF!" on other walls. Batman curtains and blanket with dozens of the
plastic Batmen and villians everywhere! (We also have some Spiderman stuff, but it's
minor!)

Cameron, on the other hand, only had one or two costumes, but he WAS Batman.
You were ALWAYS to address him as Batman (or the Caped Crusader)! Unless, of
course, he was in "street clothes" when you were to address him as "Mister
Wayne" or "Bruce"! Seriously!

We've given both boys complete freedom with fantasy play. They both really
got into these characters. Duncan's lasted YEARS longer than Cameron's. Cameron
was also a dinosaur (T-Rex, of course) for about a year. He also went to
school! :-(

Both boys brought smiles to strangers' faces when seen in public with their
costumes on. More than one person was TOTALLY entranced with Cameron when he
answered that his name was Bruce Wayne! <G>

I would be afraid that, if I were to have hindered this deep and intense
fantasy play, they might have taken it "underground" and been little batmen when
they knew I wasn't watching or made up stories/scenes in their minds that they
wouldn't share with me-----or WORSE! Given up on fantasy play all together! My
heart breaks.

It IS real to them----just as your religion, which *I* think of fantasy, is
real to you.

Dragon Tales would no more turn him into a dragon as Batman would turn my
boys into Batmen as Chritianity would turn me into Mother Teresa!


~Kelly


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