Dear Dr. Debbie,
My four-year-old saw a caterpillar on a picnic table and screamed. I tried to talk him through it, explaining about the life cycle of butterflies, but it was easier just to walk away and put him on a swing. It’s not as though he hasn’t been introduced to insects. Do you think it’s just because we haven’t spent much time outside lately?
Bugged Dad
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Dear B.D.,
Time moves slowly for a young child so if his last encounter with a caterpillar was even as recent as six months ago, he may not have a clear memory of it.
Teachable Moment
Although it might’ve been a fine time to talk about butterflies with a caterpillar present, your child’s emotional reaction suggested otherwise.
Preschool educators refer to unexpected distractions from carefully planned lessons as Teachable Moments. If your son had pointed out the caterpillar to you – with an expression of curiosity and wonder – then you would’ve had his rapt attention for a nature lesson. Instead, you accurately read the room and moved on.
Now that spring has sprung, you will hopefully have many Teachable Moments – opportunities to come upon members of the insect world and other amazing discoveries in the great outdoors. Let your child lead the way. He will let you know what he’s interested in and, if you have information to fill in the gaps of his knowledge, you are well on your way to widening his appreciation of nature.
Modeling
Children pick up on feelings – yours and theirs – above words and facts as they learn from their grownups. This is important for all kinds of lessons, intentional and unintentional. Forcing an interaction with the fearsome caterpillar might’ve added emotional stress to your child’s wariness, affecting future encounters with bugs and other frightful things. Your positive attitude toward insects will serve as a model. You also are modeling respect for your son’s (hopefully temporary) aversion. This might not have been the day for a discussion of butterflies, but there will be other days. There will certainly be other bugs, too.
A four-year-old is typically interested in whatever his parents are doing. So if you continue to model your interest in entomology, by what you stop to look at, by videos you choose to watch, by magazines and books you read, he’s liable to notice. Your enthusiasm will likely generate a few questions and observations of his own eventually.
Bibliotherapy
Have you read Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar together? There are some recent picture book releases based on this character including The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Garden Friends: a Touch-and-Feel Book available in Anne Arundel County Public Library. Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert is another good choice for exploring this topic from the comfort of your lap. The library catalog or a friendly staff person can help you locate these and other books, both fiction and non-fiction, to help familiarize your child with caterpillars and butterflies.
What other insects has your child show an interest in? Does he sing about the spider going up the waterspout? Has he marched along to the “Ants Go Marching”? These fictitious accounts can also be found at the library in book form as well as in music videos online.
Field Trips Galore
I hope you continue to spend time outdoors with your child, pointing out the insects, their habits, and their habitats, The holiday of Earth Day later this month brings awareness to our responsibilities for stewardship of the environment by reducing our carbon footprint so that all living things can exist in harmony. Insects are indeed a critical component of the tapestry of life.
You might vary the places you visit, starting with parks and playgrounds that have swing sets since that is something your son enjoys. There’s no end to the variety of insects you may encounter – honeybees buzzing in clover flowers, daddy long legs on a fallen tree, ladybugs on a blade of grass, water striders causing tiny turbulence on the surface of a creek.
There are many benefits to exploring nature with children. Not the least of which are enjoying each other’s company when you do so.
Dr. Debbie
Deborah Wood, Ph.D. is a child development specialist and founding director of Chesapeake Children’s Museum www.theccm.org. She will be presenting Zoom workshops for parents on Mondays 7-9 pm, April 24: Good-for-You Food Fun, May 8: Dinosaurs Divorce, May 22: The Skin You Live In.
The museum is open with online reservations or call: 410-990-1993. Each Thursday there is a guided nature walk at 10:30 am.
Read more of Dr. Wood’s Good Parenting columns by clicking here.
