Desperate parents want SUPERPOWERS to help with the kids… and invisibility is top of the list so they can get some peace
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PARENTS want to be able to fly like Iron Man or have Captain America’s ability to never feel TIRED to help with parenting.
A study of 2,000 mums and dads found nine in 10 wish they had a superhero power to help with the trials and tribulations of raising children, with invisibility – so they can get some peace – the top choice.
Others would like the same super strength of Thor, or Captain Marvel’s super healing abilities so they could easily deal with any bumps and bruises their kids pick up.
X-ray vision – so they can see what their kids are up to through walls - would also be on the wish list while more than one in 10 would simply settle for a superpower that made kids keep their bedrooms tidy.
A spokesman for Vitabiotics Wellkid vitamins, which commissioned the research to launch its partnership with Marvel, said: “Everyone loves a good superhero. There’s no doubt that parents are the real-life version.
“And while superpowers sadly don’t exist in the real world, there’s probably a few parents who wish they did to make their parenting lives a bit easier.”
Following the findings, Vitabiotics Wellkid vitamins has created a quiz to find out which superhero your child is most like.
The study also found three in 10 parents would pick teleportation as their top superpower of choice - to allow them to zip between work, home and other engagements.
A further 22 per cent would ideally like the power of telepathy, so they could see what was going through their children’s minds.
Having the power to become a human lie detector, to spot when youngsters are fibbing, and being able to be in two places at once are also on parents’ wish lists.
The research also revealed 66 per cent of parents said their children are ‘superhero fans’, and a quarter have even dressed up as one of the current crop of heroes.
TOP 20 SUPERPOWERS PARENTS WISH THEY HAD
1. Invisibility
2. Flying
3. Time travel
4. Teleportation
5. Super strength
6. Super healing abilities
7. Telepathy
8. Super speed
9. Talking to animals
10. Super intelligence
11. Never feeling tired
12. The ability to stop time
13. Immortality
14. Constantly full of energy
15. Being able to breathe underwater
16. Being able to get ready - showered, dressed, clean teeth etc - at the click of a finger
17. Invulnerability (impossible to hurt in any way)
18. Psychic
19. X-Ray vision
20. Become a human lie detector - instantly know when someone isn't quite telling the truth
As a result, more than half have used lines such as ‘Thor would eat all his vegetables’ at dinnertime, to encourage youngsters to eat things they may not like.
And for more than four in 10, this line of reasoning can actually be expected to work on their children.
More than half (57 per cent) of parents also believe superheroes are inspirational role models for their children.
For 54 per cent, this is due to a belief that superheroes teach how to have compassion and how to help others.
While three in 10 of those polled, via OnePoll, think superheroes show skills in intelligence or problem solving that are good lessons for youngsters to learn.
A spokesman for Vitabiotics Wellkid vitamins added: “It’s great to hear that superheroes can be used as a motivator for healthy eating habits.
"And while many kids probably think having a superhero for a mum or dad might be fun, they’d probably realise they couldn’t get away with quite as much.
“After all, who’s going to tell Hulk they don’t want to eat their greens?”
In other parenting news, how one mum was breastfeeding at home when she faced unwanted comments from her father-in-law.
Elsewhere, mum hailed a ‘genius’ for tricking son, 6, into thinking £1.50 Aldi body wash will stop him having tantrums.
Plus this mum revealed the simple way she encourages her kids to keep washing their hands amid the coronavirus outbreak.