Peta Todd is fine with superhero role models for her kids – because she also teaches them about real-life heroes

MY daughter Delilah turned six recently and she had to choose a theme for her “film-making party”.

I know, I know, parties have come a long way since the Ronald McDonald soirees of yesteryear.

I was surprised when Delilah chose a superhero theme and told me she wanted to be Wonder Woman – given that she’s never seen the film or read a comic book featuring the action heroine.

She dashed around singing an improvised tune, introducing herself as Wonder Woman, and then attempted to save her baby brother from perilous situations. Which, of course, she created herself.

When I asked her why she wanted to be Wonder Woman, she said: “Because she is strong and brave and a girl.”

I was expecting her to say she liked the outfit or that one of her mates from school liked Wonder Woman.

But to hear that Delilah wanted to be this fierce female because she was brave and strong really made me feel proud.

And it got me thinking about the subject role models.

Who should we be encouraging our children to look up to?

Are cartoons or television characters any less valid than real human beings?

If that person makes our children feel empowered, brave or confident surely the positives are the same.

Our children are fortunate enough to be surrounded by men and women pushing themselves to achieve amazing things.

As the daughter of an Olympic cyclist, Delilah has the privilege of watching female cycling stars such as Laura Kenny and Becky James training.

She sees what it takes to achieve their goals.

Not just the smiles when things are going well but the sweat and sacrifice of the journey.

As a family we work closely with Help for Heroes, a charity for injured British servicemen and women.

And we are in awe of the men, women and families who exceed expectations, demonstrating teamwork and determination to achieve great things.

Then in our everyday lives, I try to encourage the kids to find examples of real-life miniature heroes.

For example, the boy who sings in assembly but is usually painfully shy, the girl who finishes the race last but has given 110 per cent, or the sibling who owns up to doing something wrong even though he knows he will get in trouble.

All of these actions take a pinch of being brave and strong, whether you are wearing your pants over your Lycra leggings or not.

So if Wonder Woman makes Delilah feel strong then I am happy for her to be my daughter’s role model.

If a skateboarder my son Finnbar watches on YouTube blows his mind with his story of using sport to get him out of trouble at school, that works for me too.

It sounds like a cliché but not all superheroes wear capes.
Sometimes mine is in the washing machine on a cool wash and my tracksuit bottoms have to make do.