Why are kids obsessed with detectives?
Is it the cool gadgets? The joy of the little guys taking down the big, bad guys? Or is it the desire for clarity and closure in a confusing, unjust grownup world?
Right after my 13th birthday, the movie Harriet the Spy hit theaters. My fellow Elder Millennials may remember this Nickelodeon adaptation starring Michelle Trachtenberg (later of EuroTrip fame) and Rosie O'Donnell (of Koosh fame).
My younger sister, Becca, and I became obsessed.
We spent the whole month of July 1996 “playing” Harriet the Spy. How do you play Harriet the Spy? You mostly sneak around the neighborhood with notepads, hide behind bushes and write down lists of random objects left on the front seat of your neighbor’s Jeep.
When we finished with those tasks, we decided to take things up a notch and started stealing our neighbor’s mail. Michelle was our new neighbor; she was single and had no kids and was a professional Business Woman and I was fascinated by her.
Of course, we’d never heard the term “mail fraud,” so we’d just casually empty out her mailbox every day, mining for intel. Michelle subscribed to National Geographic. Interesting! (Scribble scribble, scribble) Michelle gave money to a variety of charities. Interesting! (Scribble scribble, scribble). There had to be a crime or a case in here somewhere.
Then a few days later, Michelle knocked on our door and asked our mom if the mail carrier had been putting her mail in our mailbox by mistake. We overheard the conversation and cracked. We told our mom everything. It was humiliating to have to walk over to Michelle’s house and tell her we’d been stealing her mail. We were WAY too old to be playing Harriet the Spy and this event is probably the exact moment in which my childhood died.
Kid-Detective culture
Young detectives like Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Cam Jansen, Encyclopedia Brown and even Scooby Doo have been solving fictional crimes for over 150 years. No doubt about it, kiddos love our amateur detectives. My 5-year-old daughter, Abigail, is also smitten with sleuths. She loves sneaking around with her magnifying glass, binoculars and journals.
Why, though? Here are a few reasons I’ve thought up…
Why are kids obsessed with detectives?
Spies and detectives are cool. From Sherlock Holmes to 007, professional spies are slick (even when fictitious). Well-dressed. Polite. Pensive. Sharp. Strategic. They’re not bumbling and nervous and fidgety like most of us. They’re aspirational. They usually have a friend or a sidekick to help them. They’re natural leaders and they notice everything.
Underdogs rule. Everyone delights in watching the unassuming and underestimated hero outsmart the pros. We all love rooting for the little guy! This is especially true for kids and teenagers who are constantly being underestimated and undervalued. There must be some kind of latent psychological desire to add value and out-smart the adults.
They have cool gadgets. Decoder rings! Binoculars! That Talkboy thing from Home Alone! Spies and detectives have the coolest gadgets - and kids love gadgets. CASE CLOSED.
Intelligence is rewarded. Most smart kids are picked on for being curious or overly intelligent (I guess it’s never been cool to be a try-hard). Mystery stories are an opportunity for the smart kids to be the heroes and win the day! So naturally these tales are inspiring and validating for nerdy kids.
There’s always a neat and tidy ending. Each mystery ends with a clear ending. We know who committed the caper. They are exposed! The hero is celebrated. Justice is served. This is so rarely the case in the real world it’s laughable…so there’s something soothing and feel-good about watching.
Were you obsessed with all things detectives + spies as a kid?