A four-year-old boy in our nursery enjoys super-hero play and is constantly asking questions about danger and risk, such as: Would I break my leg if I fell out of a tree? Would I die if I fell from the ceiling? How high would a wall have to be for me to end up in hospital if I fell off it? Is this a normal part of development for a child of this age, and how should we respond?
This question in reality has two strands, as superhero play and the child's anxieties may be entwined, so I want to think about superhero play as well as children's fears and adult responses.
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