By Donna Shea
My summer program is chock full of boys. A great deal of play that boys engage in has to do with power. Imaginary battles abound. It is the nature of of many boys to engage in power play with army men, Lego figures or super heroes. I both expect and respect the way boys play.
I have observed that the challenge for some boys who engage in this type of play with their peers is the inability to share the power. For some kids, there is a tendency toward chronic one “upmanship” and declarations of invincibility that wears down their peers, causes arguments and in the end, leaves those power players with no one to play with.
A simple solution that almost always works is we created a no-invincibility rule. All of the players in a power game must have and declare one weakness. Just as Superman has kryptonite and the Green Lantern the color yellow, a little weakness goes a long way to keep your friends while battling your make believe enemies in power play.
