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KC in TX
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How do you get over an insect phobia? Not my children--ME!!  The thought of ticks and such prevent me from venturing too far into nature. There's not much here around the neighborhood, but there are so many parks around here. How should I approach this? I so want my children to love nature and start a nature journal.
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KC,
wife to Ben (10/94),
Mama to LB ('98)
Michaela ('01)
Emma ('03)
Jordan ('05)
And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
The Cabbage Patch
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folklaur
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Oh, dear, no help here, but I am hoping you get some good advice!
Both me and dd16 hate bugs, and dd is VERY allergic. When she gets a misquito bite she wealts up like no one I have ever seen before. She is absolutly terrified of bees. If she even sees one on TV she breaks out into a sweat. I understand her anxiety, but I don't want to pass it on to the two littler ones, either.
And ds 7 *loves* bugs, of course.
My real fear here is scorpions though. I detest them, and I get nervous around palm trees all the time becasue of them. Ick!
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Taffy
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Knowledge is power! The more you learn about the creepy crawlies, the less scary they are! But don't take a class in parasitology - I did and had the creepy crawlies for weeks  . But I did gain a lot by knowing which bugs to avoid and which ones are harmless.
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Susan
Mom to 5 on earth and 1 in heaven
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Dawn
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KC in TX wrote:
| I so want my children to love nature and start a nature journal. |
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This is the only thing that helps me deal with my own bug phobia. I am no fan of bugs, but I find it really exciting to have the boys see or learn something new and that usually helps me cope.
So I guess I'd say I agree with Taffy ~ knowledge is power! These days I can take just about any bug except spiders. I almost went off the road the other day when a jumping spider crawled across my dashboard.
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Dawn, mum to 3 boys 
By Sun and Candlelight
The Nature Corner
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Courtney
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I have snake phobia and have found that having a good field guide and being knowledgable is really helpful.
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Courtney in Texas
Wife to Mike since 3/94
Mom to Candace 10/97 ,Christopher 4/00 and Connor 11/11
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lapazfarm
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I have been thinking hard about how I would help someone get over their fear of insects and spiders.
I agree that knowledge is power. Field guides are great for that, but even better, I think, are books like Fabre's Book of Insects, that go more in depth on the interesting habits and characteristics of each kind of bug.(MacBeth, I'm sure has some good recommendations). Once you get to know them a little better, their little quirks and fascinating behaviors,they seem more of a curiosity than something to fear.
Another thing to do is just observe. Start with someting relatively harmless, (say that jumping spider that so frightened Dawn), put it into a see-through container if you must, and find out about it. Ask questions like: How many eyes does it have? How does it move, and which legs move together at one time (imagine trying to control 8 legs!) Why does it wave it's little arms (pedipalps) around like that? How well can it see? What happens if I move, or tap on the table it is on? Put a fruit fly in with it and watch it hunt...how does it catch its prey? With mouth, legs, arms? Does it spin any silk at all? If so, when? And don't forget to draw it or take a picture for your nature journal.
Try this with harmless little creatures and soon you will work your way up to scarier fare, like wasps and bees.
Good luck, and happy entomology!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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alicegunther
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Here is how the ever-resourceful Rebecca helped her daughter get over a fear of small critters: To Heal the Emotional Wound. It seems to have worked, and it was educational too!
BTW, her daughter's fear was well-founded and began after a harrowing experience with a spider "'bout the size of a dinner roll": Miss Mary Muffett-An Unplanned Lesson in Nature Study.
One thing I've noticed about children and insects is that the kids tend to react similarly to the mother. If you are able act nonchalant around insects and spiders, the children's nervousness may dissipate after a while.
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Love, Alice
mother of seven!
     
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Jenny
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lapazfarm wrote:
Start with someting relatively harmless, (say that jumping spider that so frightened Dawn), put it into a see-through container if you must, and find out about it. Ask questions like: How many eyes does it have? How does it move, and which legs move together at one time (imagine trying to control 8 legs!) Why does it wave it's little arms (pedipalps) around like that? How well can it see? What happens if I move, or tap on the table it is on? Put a fruit fly in with it and watch it hunt...how does it catch its prey? With mouth, legs, arms? Does it spin any silk at all? If so, when? And don't forget to draw it or take a picture for your nature journal.
Try this with harmless little creatures and soon you will work your way up to scarier fare, like wasps and bees.
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Ummmm, no
I once stepped on a spider...with her babies on her!...who knew!
Harmless little creatures...roly poly. Not a spider.
I guess I need to toughen up
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Jenny
Chris' wife and momma of 7. My blog: The Littlest Way--Bible Journaling, Inspiring Bible Quotes, Daily Affirmations, Prayer Journaling & photography
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MaryM
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Not fond of them here either although we have a new "pet" as of yesterday. The kids found "Slither," a tiny garter snake, resting inside a wiffle ball in the yard and transferred it to a glass tank. It's amazing they have no fear/qualms. I never would have done that at their age.
alicegunther wrote:
One thing I've noticed about children and insects is that the kids tend to react similarly to the mother. |
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With all these "creepy crawlies" I think that how mother approaches it does make a difference - despite my internal yuckiness about snakes a couple years ago I actually caught one for them with my bare hands without making a big deal. They were quite impressed.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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marihalojen
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KC in TX wrote:
| The thought of ticks and such prevent me from venturing too far into nature. There's not much here around the neighborhood, but there are so many parks around here. |
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Start by choosing the parks with paved paths!
Set up the art station on a picnic table to work on the journals, build up to the blanket spread on the grass (or not) we store our journals and pencils in the back window of our car and frequently draw in the car, great for those times we have to wait for someone.
Great ideas on this thread.
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The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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Rebecca
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Thank you Alice! I am still working on that little ones fears, trying to encourage her to "step outside". She is moving ahead a little each day. She seems fine when I am outside but if I go inside and she is in the back with her brothers, inevitably she runs in the house after a moment or two yelling about "bad bugs"!
alice wrote:
| One thing I've noticed about children and insects is that the kids tend to react similarly to the mother. If you are able act nonchalant around insects and spiders, the children's nervousness may dissipate after a while. |
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I sure hope so!
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alicegunther
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Rebecca wrote:
| if I go inside and she is in the back with her brothers, inevitably she runs in the house after a moment or two yelling about "bad bugs"! |
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If I had encountered that giant spider, I would still be shuddering. BTW, my four year old son was just looking over my shoulder, saw the picture of your spider and said, "I saw that same spider under the kitchen table this morning!"
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Love, Alice
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KC in TX
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What great ideas. The thing I have to learn is to take baby steps. I will try next week to get out to the park and start our nature journal. Thank you all for your responses.
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KC,
wife to Ben (10/94),
Mama to LB ('98)
Michaela ('01)
Emma ('03)
Jordan ('05)
And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
The Cabbage Patch
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JennGM
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alicegunther wrote:
| One thing I've noticed about children and insects is that the kids tend to react similarly to the mother. If you are able act nonchalant around insects and spiders, the children's nervousness may dissipate after a while. |
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I try not to be squeamish in front of ds. But I get startled easily...and usually scream and jump, whether it be a person or bug. I'm not sure how to control involuntary reactions. The secondary reaction is we examine (and squash if necessary) and I'm brave Mama...but I think with my jumpiness all credibility will go out the window.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Insect phobia
