Research published in the cheerful-sounding Archives of Disease in Childhood reveals that children who dress up as Spider-Man, Superman and other superheroes have a higher risk of injury.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports on the study, which found that the children tend to overestimate their abilities, and are more susceptible to fractures and cuts from falls.
I’m no scientist or statistician — just ask my high school biology teacher! — but this sentence from the article makes me a bit skeptical: “The British researchers studied injuries in five boys aged three to eight, who were wearing Superman or Spider-Man costumes when they were hurt.”
The study is based on five boys? Shouldn’t the pool be larger, and a little more random?
And the next paragraph would be kind of funny, if it weren’t for, y’know, the little kids getting injured:
“One boy broke two bones in his foot and sustained deep bruising on the right side of his body after he fell out of a window while pretending to be Spider-Man. Other cases included three boys who had fractured bones ‘after initiating flight without having planned for landing strategies,’ the report said.”
March 7th, 2007 at 11:58 am
I’ve read the report. It’s a case study (or series of 5 of them), not any actual prognostic research. It’s all anecdotal evidence, and the authors clearly realize this.
The Morning Herald, sadly, does not.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Oh, good. I tried to access the study via the Archives of Disease in Childhood website, but I apparently have to be a subscriber.