Cranes in flight over vibrant sky, Sunset on the water with cranes / Ryan Hagerty ©, American coot / USFWS
Some tips for parents to reduce kids’ nature fears
- Encourage your kids to play outdoors — whether under your supervision or in a nature club. Says Dave Sagan, "That's the biggest thing: exposure to nature. Let them get their hands dirty. Kids are told to be scared of so many things nowadays. … When they experience nature on their own, they say, 'That was neat. That wasn’t scary.'"
- Relate unfamiliar things to stuff kids already know. That's what Laurel Harrison does at Patuxent Refuge when she invites kids to touch, say, a black rat snake. "If you say, 'It feels kind of like a basketball,' then they want to touch it to see if it's true. If you say a snake egg feels like a stale marshmallow, then they’ll touch it. If I want them to touch the side of a toad filled up with air, I might say, 'I hear if you feel it on its side, it feels a little like a water balloon.' They’ll touch it and say, 'That’s right. It does.' "
- Replace myth with fact. Says Jenna Mendenhall: "My son is afraid of ants. I help him understand it's okay to be afraid. Once you learn more, hopefully you won't be as afraid. Education is the main way to get over your fear."
- Don’t overreact. You may be "scared to death of snakes," allows Mendenhall. Try not to transmit that fear to your kids or grandchildren.
*The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the US Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s fish, wildlife, and plants.
Following the establishment of Florida’s Pelican Island as the first National Wildlife Refuge in 1903, the System has grown to encompass more than 150 million acres within more than 550 Refuges, many Wetland Management Districts, and thousands of Waterfowl Production Areas.
More than 41 million people visit National Wildlife Refuges each year to participate in activities such as hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, and photography, and to attend environmental education and interpretive programs. Their spending generates almost $1.7 billion in sales and close to 27,000 jobs for regional economies. Wildlife Refuges are home to more than 700 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 reptile and amphibian species, and more than 200 species of fish.
Fifty-nine Refuges have been established with a primary purpose of conserving threatened or endangered species. There is at least one National Wildlife Refuge in every state, and one within an hour’s drive of most major cities — offering people a welcoming, safe, and accessible place to nourish their spirits and reconnect to the land.
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