(no subject)

[guppiecat]

One of the nice things about going to zoos is that I also learn about myself. Another thing that I learned yesterday is that I have developed a new pet peeve. Well, maybe it's a new facet of an old pet peeve.



See, zoos serve many functions.

1. They provide a way to do wildlife conservation in a manner that keeps the animals completely free from poaching.


2. They provide a way for those of us who live in cities and do not travel much to appreciate nature, often nature that originates far from where we are.


3. They provide a way for parents to educate their children about the wonders of nature and install a moral and ethical system that includes appreciation for life.


4. They provide a way to get the kids out of the house.

When I go to a zoo, the children that I see are very much expecting function 3. It's great how they jump and down, excited about what they're seeing. They're constantly asking their parents "what's that?" "what's that?". They are astonished by what they see and want to learn as much as they can. They are completely in the moment.

My problem is that parents seem to expect function 4. In response to "what's that?", I often hear "I don't know". Even worse, I sometime hear the parent answer incorrectly. For example, chinchillas are not bunnies and caimans are not alligators. I understand that many adults are not well educated, but, and it's a big but, the sign is right there!. If a parent doesn't care about their kid enough to read a bloody sign, maybe they shouldn't be there.

When I see this happen, I used to just let it slide, thinking that it wasn't my job to educate these people's children. However, I hit a snapping point yesterday, when the following things happened:

• A kid asked his mother what kind of a lizard that was, and she answered "I don't know", when there was a sign on the glass right over the lizard that read "Tegu Lizard".


• A kid pointed to a sea horse and asked his dad if it was a sea horse or a sea dragon. His dad answered "sea dragon", incorrectly. Right above the aquarium, was a sign that linked the sea horses and sea dragons to pictures.


• A kid asked his mom what that weird animal was, his mom answered "I dunno", when there was a picture of the quoll, with lots of information right there.


• A kid asked his mom what that weird swimming thing was, and (this part I love), she answered "I don't know, lets find out." She then read the sign about horse shoe crabs to him.

Why can't everyone take the extra 30 seconds to answer as the last mother did? It's not hard.

By the way, I've started correcting the parents in front of their children, including pointing out the signs. After all, it's not the kids fault that their parents don't care, and I'd rather live in a world with educated kids who appreciate nature.

Comments

[born-to-me.livejournal.com]

I am a parent and you are *totally* correct. Heck, Bundle is not even 3 and I tell him all that stuff correctly even though most of the time he's not asking. I am careful to say what something is, be specific but brief, and always engage whatever it is that has caught his eye, if I can figure it out.

He was probably a fairly rare two year old who knew what an ibex is, because he got a plastic one in a bucket of animals. :-) He has a few 'baby slang' words (like meemo for marshmallow) but typically he'll ask for something by saying "cheese stick" or "goldfish crackers", and he addresses the cats by their name appended with "kitty cat".

[guppiecat]

I'm tempted to buy him this, just so I can hear a three year old say point to a toy and say "giardia".