>From:    hotdish <[log in to unmask]>
>Some children are afraid of animals because they have been bitten before.
>I feel this is a result of how the parents react to these situations.  My
>niece has been nipped by animals and she simply says "no" and pushes the
>animal away.  When asked, her response is "no big deal, animals sometimes
>bite." When the child understands this concept, they are less likely to
>get freaked over a small incident.
 
Exactly.  And if a child doesn't over-react, the animal probably won't
either.  Of course we're talking nips here, not out-and-out dog attacks or
such-like.  But to give another example, I had a friend and his 9 year old
(well, he might be 10 now) son over last weekend.  They themselves have a
cat, two dogs, 5 snakes, several pet rats and a budgie.  I was showing the
ferrets to them, and had pulled one totally trustworthy ferret out for him
to hold.  I also pointed out my least trustworthy ferret and said "that one
might nip so I won't take him out".  I didn't explicitly say "don't stick
your finger in the cage" which I should have done.  Anyway, son was holding
the other ferret for a few minutes and then gave him to Dad, who began
asking me a few questions.  I was distracted and didn't notice that son had
put his finger down for the other ferret to sniff, until I heard "Let go."
It was said in a completely non-panicked, stern, calm voice that one rarely
hears from a 9 year old.  I moved to open the cage door and naughty ferret
let go.  I asked him if he was bleeding and he looked at his finger and
said "no".  This is one level-headed kid.  Of course, he was hit by a car
back in September and fractured his skull, so a little nip probably wasn't
enough to bother him.  A few minutes later he said matter-of-factly "Oh, I
am bleeding a little".  Naughty ferret had gotten a tooth alongside the
nail where the bleeding wouldn't be immediately evident (how do they always
manage that, anyway?).  Dad said "you wanna wash your hand?" and he said
"naw, it's OK".  I probably should have insisted, but since Dad wasn't
concerned, I didn't.  Dad said to me "we have one rat like that.  He always
has to 'muckle on' to your finger when you pick him up, just to make sure
it's not food".  So nips aren't treated as earth-shattering in their house
either.  Makes a big difference.
 
Karen
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"The snake is an animal. It has a backbone and heart. It has red blood and
drinks water and eats food. It breathes air and feels fear, just like every
other animal in the world. And it's in a body that is the hardest thing for
the average person to understand."
                -- Dave Barker, herpetologist
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If you love ferrets, check out:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~crassi/index.html
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[Posted in FML issue 2975]