DAILY DILEMMA: SPIDER-MAN DRAMA

A mom got another mom’s number from somebody at the school. Then she sent a text saying her son is scared of Spider-Man after catching parts of the movies. She wanted the other mom to swap out her boy’s Spider-Man backpack and lunchbox. No more Spider-Man stuff at school. All year.

Let me tell you where this went sideways. First off, you do not hand out another parent’s number. That was the real mistake right there. You don’t give nobody digits, no email, nothing, unless you talk to that parent first. Period.

Now let’s talk about the ask. No. Just no. You don’t get to make another kid give up something they love. That backpack? That lunchbox? That’s the boy’s joy. Next thing you know, she wants the whole school to cancel Spider-Man. That’s not gonna work. It shouldn’t work.

And here’s the thing. If your kid got scared, that’s on you. Every parent controls what movie their child sees. You took him. You own that.

Now for real talk, fear in kids is normal. About 90 percent of children have at least one specific fear between ages 2 and 14. Around 5 percent of kids deal with a full phobia. And here’s the kicker: experts say the fix is gentle exposure and support, not shutting the world down around them. Hiding every Spider-Man doesn’t help a kid grow. It just teaches him to run.

So teach him. Talk to him. But don’t ask another mom to erase her son’s favorite hero.

Good luck to the woman and her kid.

Check out the Daily Dilemma weekday afternoons on The Madd Hatta Show on Majic 102.1.