(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

[sunruner.livejournal.com]

When the girls are with us (10 and 8) and they ask what something is, I say "I don't know... let's find the sign and find out." And then let THEM read to me what it is. Even if I already know what it is. (I think it's better to let the kids find out the information for themselves than to rely on someone to tell them what everything is.) With the boys (3 and 6) I generally get them to find me the sign and I read it for them. I'm trying to get Alien to read some of the smaller words but he's still a little young for it.

I have, in the past, read the sign really loud and made an "OH, look at this sign, it says that that animal there is a _____ and that it usually lives in ____." So that the kids who's parent just said "I dunno" hears it and the parent gets the idea that maybe THEY should read the signs too.

[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".

[born-to-me.livejournal.com]

One of the problems that I've seen is most people don't talk to their children. I went to a doctor's appointment with Gabriel once when he was maybe 3 or 4 months old. He was in a carseat bucket thingy, and I sat him on the floor and settled in to wait. A wonderful older lady next to me engaged us in conversation and watched Gabriel for a few minutes before saying "You talk to that baby all the time, don't you?" I was sort of astonished - but she said that most infants don't completely track on a conversation like he did, moving eyes from person to person as they speak.

I honestly didn't know any other way to do it - but I realized early on that I got rolled eyes and even dirty looks from people in stores when I'd chatter away to G about what I was buying and where we were going next. I had a woman in front of me make fun of me to the cashier for it, and they both laughed openly about it - as if I was an idiot. *shrug* Won't stop me. How else are they supposed to learn adult conversation if they don't *hear* it?

[pauamma]

How else are they supposed to learn adult conversation

*blink* Are you saying that adults know adult conversation and can engage in it? Because that hasn't been my experience, most places. :-)

[guppiecat]

This has been very good for me to hear. I never really considered not bowing to social pressure when doing the day-to-day raising of kids. Obviously, I will never be a conventional parent, but I find it easier to think of issues and how I would deal than to think about daily life.

[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".