It’s easy to get addicted to fun stories. Just start with Harry Potter, then A Series of Misfortunate Events, then Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then Twilight, and soon you’re hooked on many otherworldly texts and movies.  Young children, teens, and even adults sport magic or vampire inspired wear, and are often bit by vampires and werewolves on Facebook.  No, these books and films are not of the devil.  But a widespread fixation on fantasy well into adulthood is perplexing.

I propose that the fixation on vampires, wizards, and other fanciful creatures is based on a deep-seeded dire to be special and to have a remarkable life.  Many American kids want to escape the normal, suburban world they are in, so they daydream, perhaps about comic book heroes or unicorns.  So what is the problem with daydreaming about being a vampire for three hours a day?  The time spent imagining and daydreaming is extremely important.  If a tween spends all her imagining on flying on a broomstick, when will she have time to imagine how to really do something remarkable, and how to turn her dreams into reality?

Children stuck on any fantasy, be it getting bit by vampires or being dropped in a vat of atomic waste, are going to grow up with an unrealistic process for becoming special.  Besides, what you fantasize about is what you become.  As far as we know, people cannot really become vampires, so the next best thing is a “wanna-be-pire.”  When children hit adulthood, they won’t find any profession that excites them the way potion making does, so they just take some job, keep fantasy hobbies to after hours, and return to the suburbs they wanted so badly to escape.

These vampire, fantasy, and comic book stories and toys can be a lot of fun, but don’t let these imagination-sweets be the means to fulfill that hunger to be unique.  There are so many ways for human beings to be extraordinary and make a big impact on the world.  Scientists, politicians, businessmen, inventors, and artists all find realistic ways to be different and live “non-normal” lives.  Having an amazing life doesn’t have to be fantasy.

Still, it does take smart work (and sometimes hard work) to be an amazing individual.  The possibility for failure and the risks associated with becoming amazing can cause paralyzing fear.  A playful fantasy is much more safe, yet exciting at the same time. So what is a parent to do? Tell and read real life-stories, and do it well.  Read great biographies out-loud with as much enthusiasm as you would read Twilight.  Help children, tweens, and know-it-all teens to discover what being special really means.

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