“Who’s your favorite?”

Several years ago my boys asked me this question while I was driving them to school. They were talking about superheroes and sharing their favorites. The boys shared names like Green Lantern, Batman and a little rodent with a big mouth named Rocket Raccoon (don’t ask!).

After sharing that mine was Superman, I was stunned to learn that the fellas had reached the ripe old ages of 7, 9 and 11 without watching this classic.

That evening, we made popcorn and watched the movie as a family. The kids loved it – and him. Afterwards, they were all humming the Superman theme song as they flew down the hall toward their rooms.

While watching the movie, I realized that Superman wasn’t just showing me how to fight crime in a fictional world, but how to parent, serve and lead in the one in which we live. Here are four lessons from Superman for parents (interchange “parents’ with friends, spouses, leaders) that apply to us all.