That hot Saturday we had the other weekend was nice, wasn’t it? The temperature hit 71 degrees, and my little family took advantage of it by going to the playground in Martins Ferry.

Our young son, Henry, had a good time running around, swinging on the swings and pretending to be Batman on one piece of equipment that spins around. He loves to pretend that he is Batman and he is battling Superman.

He even makes the sound effects of the punches as he falls to the ground. He recalls the scenes in the movie and plays them out frequently, sometimes adding his own twist to the

dialogue.

We don’t let him watch it too often, though. It’s not a particularly bloody flick, but it is kind of violent — in a super hero, fantasy-way. I guess it’s my job to worry about these things, right? The way I see it, you are only a kid once and there really is no need to watch stuff that’s beyond one’s years.

Eventually he will be old enough to drive himself to the mall and see movies with his friends that I’d probably disapprove of. Until then we will continue to watch PBS cartoons and other G and PG-rated stuff. What is nice is that he still likes those things.

Every once in awhile he will pull out an old toy to play with from his babyhood — a stuffed tiger from his first Christmas. I hold on to these sweet

moments.

I cherish them because I know someday he will be a teenager. I’ve been warned about these teenagers. They can’t be that bad, right? Was I that bad when I was a teenager? I think maybe I should call my mom and ask. I’ll let you know what she says … Well, according to my mother, my teenage years weren’t too outrageous for her as a parent.

“You weren’t that bad. You were pretty tame. I don’t remember you yelling at me and telling me you hated me. … As far as I’m concerned you were perfect then and you’re perfect now,” she said.

Thanks mom, you’re pretty perfect, too.

Hanson can be reached at shanson@timesleaderonline.com.