Heroes play a more vital part in the lives of children than ever
before. Here’s a look at who their role models are
When it comes to heroes, Superman is an obvious and good choice. He’s faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. He can fly, save entire cities from the evil plots of Lex Luthor and – to top it all off – he looks great in blue tights.
But, an equally good hero choice is Amelia Earhart. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, she broke the women’s altitude record and set the women’s nonstop transcontinental speed record. She set and broke many other records and shunned early 1900’s stereotypical gender roles by strolling around in pants when women were expected to be in dresses.
Superman and Earhart, though not frequently mentioned together, are the heroes of 11-year-old Gilroy resident Jessica Chizanskos.
Historical or fictional, heroes play an integral role in children’s lives.
“Heroes may change as society changes and depending on what’s going on in the world and what’s in the media, but they will always be important,” said clinical psychologist Carol Johnson-Schroetlin, who has offices in Hollister and Morgan Hill. “The first and most influential role models children will have are their parents, but then children will often find other people to look up to, whether they’re real or imagined.”
Many children will often look up to figures that are opposite of themselves. They idolize superheroes and action figures because these figures have power and control over their environment, Johnson-Schroetlin said. Children, who are small and generally have very little control over the world around them, aspire to be like these heroes.
Older children may see rock stars, professional athletes or other famous figures as heroes, not necessarily because they want to be exactly like these people, but because these role models have certain qualities an adolescent may find appealing.
“If, for example, a teen looks up to a professional baseball player who is perhaps known for a bad temper, the teen may admire that person’s skill in the sport, not their whole personality,” Johnson-Schroetlin said. “A teenager may look up to (the rapper) Eminem, but only because he’s been successful in a field that the teenager wishes to be successful in.”
Heroes may also play a more vital role in children’s lives than ever before, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Children who were old enough to have any understanding of what happened on Sept. 11 probably found comfort in having role model figures in their lives, both real and fictional. Even now, with images of the war in Iraq often splashed across television screens, heroes provide a sense of safety to vulnerable youngsters.
So, who are today’s children looking up to? We asked South Valley kids to tell us who their heroes are.
– “All my teachers are my heroes and my parents. Also, Goofy and Pluto because I think my personality is a lot like them.
“My parents are my heroes because they teach me a lot of things I would never know without them, and then my teachers because everything I don’t learn from my parents, I learn from them.”
– Amanda Spandri, 9, of Hollister
– “My heroes are Army guys and police and firemen and ambulance people because they help us. I met a policeman and a fireman when they came to our school. They came to the gym where we usually have P.E. and they talked to all of us. My uncle James is a policeman, too, and I want to be a policeman like him when I grow up. I think I like Army guys the best, though, because he protects every single one of us.”
– Connor Robinson, 6, of Gilroy
– “My hero is Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks. I like how he plays and the speed he uses in the game. I’ve been a fan for about seven years and I think maybe in college or something I’d like to try hockey, too. I’ve seen a few interviews with him and he seems like a really nice guy, too. He contributes to the community by helping kids with reading programs and stuff.”
– Kyle Skinner, 13, of Hollister
– “We had to dress up as an American hero at school one day, and (my teacher mentioned) presidents wives, so I asked my parents. They said Jackie Kennedy was a good one, so I did a lot of research and I really liked her and I decided to dress up as her.
“The superhero that I like is Wonder Woman. I was her for Halloween one year. Her super powers are really cool and I like how she flies an invisible jet.”
– Julie Chizanskos, 8, of Gilroy
– “When we dressed up as heroes at school, I picked Amelia Earhart. I don’t like wearing dresses, and neither did she. I borrowed my mom’s leather jacket to be her. My mom looked her up on the Internet with me and I saw pictures of her and read all about her life. There were a lot of neat things about her online.
“I’ve also always liked Superman. We have some movies about him and we have Super Friends on DVD. I like watching Superman because he flies and does a lot of cool things.”
– Jessica Chizanskos, 11, of Gilroy
– “Dr. Seuss is my hero because he inspired me to start reading. He wrote all these funny, cool books. I think my favorite Dr. Seuss books are “The Foot Book” and “The Cat in the Hat.” After he kind of got me into reading, I read some Harry Potter and Animorph and a couple of Goosebumps books.”
– Nick Burchard, 10, of Hollister
– “My hero is my uncle Brad. He does a lot of stuff that I’d like to do, like he gets me ice cream and he brings me to kids’ museums. He lives up in Iowa. I think his hobby is cooking. I want to cook just like him and I want to have a big barbecue just like him. I wish I could spend more time with him.”
– Brandon Burchard, 8, of Hollister
– “My big brother, Jared, is my hero because he taught me the love of music. He taught me to play the piano, the drums and the guitar. He’s 18 years old – almost in college. He taught me to do something so hard, my fingers almost got tired. It was a hard guitar line. We play rock. He was the first person ever to find the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He got a movie from Netflix and it was a live show of the Chili Peppers playing in Italy and then he saw them live in Oakland. He’s helping me try out for the talent show at school. I’m going to play “In the Fade” by Queens of the Stone Age.”
– Cameron Burchard, 8, of Hollister
– “My favorite hero is a policeman, my second favorite is a fireman and my third favorite is hospital people. The police are my favorite because they arrest all the bad people and put them away forever. I like firemen because they put out fires and they rescue people. My uncle is a fireman and a policeman. I like hospital people because they help people when they need surgery or tests or something.
“I like rock stars, too. I don’t really listen to rock, but I want to be a rock star when I grow up.”
– Grady Fiorio, 6, of Gilroy
– “My hero is Mahatma Gandhi. I admire him because when he fought the British, he didn’t use any violence, and I think that’s so cool. I think when you stand up to someone and fight for something, it’s hard to do it without violence. You have to figure out a different way, and he did. We learned about him today in history when we were studying about India, and I thought he was really cool.”
– Maura Forebush, 12, of Hollister
Kelly Savio is the Lifestyles reporter for South Valley Newspapers. Reach her at (408) 842-2205 or ks****@sv**********.com.
