That looks harmless, right? Not if your the child of a mother who is terrified of bees and wasps!I just got part 2 of a lesson in how we instill fears in our children. Last week while at the zoo, a bee was following me. I tried to (somewhat) calmly get away from it, but it kept. following. me. While helping Sam to the top of a slide, I lost it...the bee got too close to me and I couldn't control myself. And Sam quickly 'lost it' too. I've never seen such a look of fear in his face as he started batting at the bee. Although he wasn't in danger (although batting at a bee probably isn't the best way to avoid being stung) , he read my face and emotion and reacted the same way. I went home and told John about it that evening. It really bothered me that I had now probably taught him that bees are something to be scared of and freak out about...John was concerned that this type of reaction (batting) to bees will make it more likely for him to be stung one day. So part 2 came today at Pop's house. A large butterfly from the garden came by Sam and my dad said he 'lost it'...tensed his whole body and screamed. My dad came in and said he'd never seen Sam so scared in his life. So, not only have I made him scared of bees, but other flying bugs and insects...sigh...now what?
Bad mom!
2 comments:
yeah I have a fear of fish and am afraid Drew will see me freak out one time at the lake or ocean...
Bad Mom?! I don’t think it has anything to do with bad or good issue it is what it is. Sam will grow out of it and he will be shown what to respect and be cautious of. I am sure his mom will do that. It won’t take long that he will be taught the difference as he is in everything else. He isn’t afraid of birds or insects in the yard he just needs to be worked with on flying insects. After the incident he was looking for the butterfly so he could see it it just never came back. The thing now is to teach him the difference in a butterfly and a bee. There are a lot of bees in the yard this time of the year and most here are honey bees that will tend not to bother you . You will be able to take him out and let him watch them work and make sure he doesn’t disturb them.
Post a Comment