Don't trick my kid

I recently went to an outdoor mall to get some stuff for my mother's birthday and Mother's day, which is quite close to her birthday. That went fine, Yankee Candle is a lifesaver for late present purchases for moms, who like candles. However, while my son's mother was finishing up paying for her candles, me and my son, Ki, came outside to check out some stuff. Right next door was a shoe store, Stride Rite, on the outside there was a poster advertising their new Marvel, Avengers-based shoe line, for kids.


Now, that's all fine and dandy, until my son asks me if we can get them so he can,
A.) fly
B.) stomp green cracks in the ground
C.) manifest a shield from his mind
D.) shoot webs from his wrists.

This stuff drives me nuts, as a dad. If I have to see the look on my son's face when I tell him he cannot fly, stomp green lines, present an imaginary shield as actual, or shoot webs from his wrists, one more time, I might lose it. My boy loves the avengers, loves super powers. So when he saw this, he wanted them, naturally. However, it wasn't because of the shoes. He wanted the powers, being falsely advertised to the unexposed mind of my son, Ki.

In the words of my son Maleki James Meyer, "Stop tricking me! It's not fair making me think I can shoot webs. I'm mad!"

Now, don't get me wrong, yes it's effective, but not at the expense of the hopes and dreams of my son, or anyone else for that matter. In the five minutes we were standing there, at least three other boys asked their parents the same questions. "Can I get those? I want to fly like Iron Man." Obnoxious!

Now, my son refuses to wear or buy Stride Rite shoes, and I'm joining him. He understands at four years-old, that they are deliberately trying to trick him. You lost a good one Stride Rite.

Shotty call Stride Rite, shotty call.