When......

[havocsdad]

Have just watched a young boy, about 5 or 6 as he picked up a dor beetle. hold it in his hand and look at it from all angles, prodded it and his eyes were full of excitment and wonder, he ran to his parents to show them his discovery. The father not loooking up from his Iphone mumbled someting and his mother told him to put it down as it was dirty and had been on horse poo, his sister chewing on gum like a fat heifer just said disgusting. He turned away , eyes dull and expressionless put the beetle back and went and sat in the car staring out from the forest car park. He leaned across and pulled out a hand held computer game and began exterminating aliens

I had just witnessed the point in a childs life where a seed could have been sown. matured and developed, a moment when a family could have done something exciting as a family, a memory made that would stay with that young lad for his life. instead he remembers nothing apart form negativity.

At what point do we as a society become so detached and nonchalont about our enviroment , when do we stop lookng with wonder and awe at what is around us.When do we stop looking?

That young lad I feel has just done that
A sad day indeed

 

[The Lord Poncho]

How incredibly depressing.

Makes you wonder why the parents even bothered taking their children to the forest car park at all, when there are perfectly good TV shows about forests.....

As you say, a sad day.

Every one of us on this forum has a duty to try and correct this in my mind. Who knows, maybe when that boy is a bit older, he'll come across someone inspirational who will rekindle his interest in the natural world. Dare i say it, this could even be through the medium of television. Our TV survival/bushcraft superstars get a bit of flak at times, but if sensationalising the outdoors gets people out of their cars and into the forest, then that's a good thing.

 

[Harvestman]

I'm with you there. Its the reason I help out at a young person's wildlife group each week, because the kids and parents theres don't have that attitude. I also love helping out at open days and so on because you can engage so many children who would otherwise never see these creatures, and the reaction is almost universally one of delight and fascination.

What really pees me off is the attitude of "Its a wasp/bee/spider/bug-thing, quick, kill it before it stings me/bites me, or just because it is horrible looking" when the creature was just passing by and would probably prefer to be somewhere else anyway.

Rant over.

 

[RonW]

A very sad moment indeed. Maybe even a breaking point.....

It's not just bugs. It's plants/weeds and animals, too. Kill it, spray it, chase them away.
How about different looking people, with different ways?
Pour over a sauce of violencefilled TV or computergames....

And then comes the great public debat about why young people derail...

It's the very basics that are totally crippled, the family and the lack of upbringing and attention.

 

[CBJ]

That is very sad indeed,

I have always taught my little uns as much as I can since day 1 and already my eldest can get a fire going and both of them know a shed load of plants and animals and there uses.

They love the outdoors and would rather watch " Super Dave" (David Attenborough) than Sponge Bob whats his name.

I hope the young lad doesnt loose his interest in the natural world.

 

[Shewie]

It's a shame to hear this, I expect if you'd gone over and goffered the lad some information about the beetle then his parents would have thought you were some kind of weirdo.

Sad times

 

[Harvestman]

I expect if you'd gone over and goffered the lad some information about the beetle then his parents would have thought you were some kind of weirdo.

That might not have stopped me. I AM some sort of weirdo, albeit in a harmless way...

 

[havocsdad]

I expect if you'd gone over and goffered the lad some information about the beetle then his parents would have thought you were some kind of weirdo.

It did cross my mind , but I had the dogs with me and in view of the parents attitude I owuld have no doubt been thought a wierdo or worse a perv!

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Let them get hands on

It is sad when you see stuff like that, I like most on here just can get my head round it?

 

[weekend_warrior]

It took us years to get to this point - loss of connection with the landscape and nature - you might say the rot started with the industrial revolution! Take heart in the fact that you are here and your children, if you have any, will benefit from what you know, learn and experience. My son has turned a few of his mates onto nature (albeit small bits!) with what he's learned and experienced. Keep the faith..

 

[sasquatch]

Sad indeed, chances are the parents of this lad were treated the same as kids...ignorance perpetuated perhaps?

 

[Maggot]

Let them get hands on

It is sad when you see stuff like that, I like most on here just can get my head round it?

Urrgghh, what is that thing the sloe worm is crawling over

 

[ged]

Funny, you have to pass a test to fly an aeroplane, to wire a house, to drive a car, to install a boiler.

But you can bring up a child without any qualifications at all.

I think that should be changed.

 

[Paul_B]

I must admit with my sister's kids as they grew up they got told to put stuff down because its dirty. However that wasn't bugs and stuff more likely it was the horse poo the bug was on!! My nephew is very interested in bugs much to my displeasure. I have a real phobia about centipedes, millipedes and woodlice. Also anything soft and squidgy like larvae and slugs (although I do like snails in garlic butter together with whelks and winkles and other types of shellfish). Pathetic I know but a phobia is a phobia and you can't get round them that easily.

Having said that I did buy him a mini explorer kit with bins, bug magnifier (a screw top jar with a magnifier lid) and some other kit in the pack. So that serves me right when he brings across what he happily informs me is a wolf millipede. Or something like that I wasn't really paying attention as I was trying to look interested and encouraging when really inside I'm already climbing up the back of the chair to get away from it in complete fear!! The kid had the jar in the window, INSIDE ***!! He got it out onto his hand and showed it to me!! They kid is a master torturer. I was about 4 seconds away from knocking it to the floor and stamping on it (and his hand if it got in the way). I also have a major fear of heights but I can control that with climbing and confronting it. Bugs with multiple legs are just too WRONG for me to cope with though!!

Anyway I am like you lot in I try to encourage my niece and nephew in nature especially if they show any interest. My sister is the same. AS pathetic as I am with my phobias I do still encourage them. I want to encourage my nephew more into climbing and kayaking though as it would wind my sister up to know he is off doing something potentially dangerous. Only when he's a bit older though. Although he showed some climbing skills once on those kids climbing walls. Like a rat up a drainpipe. A natural!

 

[Paul_B]

Hey, I think most parents would never be able to fly solo with their kids if there was a test for it!!

 

[Harvestman]

Funny, you have to pass a test to fly an aeroplane, to wire a house, to drive a car, to install a boiler.

But you can bring up a child without any qualifications at all.

I think that should be changed.

For some people, the ability to reproduce is the only talent that they have...

 

[pauljm116]

Such a shame that the poor boys parents cant be bothered, so glad mine werent like that. I see a lot of parents now wrapping their kids up in cotton wool (not literally) and saying dont touch it cos its dirty or will bite/sting. All children should pick up frogs, insects etc etc and go out and get dirty as thats all part of growing up, I did and had a great time. Still do as it happens, who else just has to pick a frog up when they see one!!!!

 

[Lumber Jack]

Such a shame and very upsetting.

I often find myself staring in astonishment when i venture into the local city for supplies. Over weight, grotesque young women, in pink velour track suits, which have been warn away in between the legs pushing a pram whilst another toddler follows along behind. "F*ing hurry up will you" is what can usually be heard coming from their mouths. It really is disgusting. The poor kids don't stand a chance. I often witness Mums & Dads on the estate telling their kids "not to touch" various plant life and animals because it's "dirty" or "horrible". If you try to offer them advice they shrug it off and plod on thinking you're some sort of head case who's escaped from the local funny farm. Bad times indeed.

As a foot note. I once seen a women like the one mentioned above. Pink velour track suit and about 20 stone. She ran for a bus and her legs caught fire.

But seriously, I hope we can establish some form of connection with our countryside again in the near future.

LJ

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Urrgghh, what is that thing the sloe worm is crawling over

Just spent 10 min explaining sarcasm......

 

[Mesquite]

It's a sad testament to our society to see things like this.

As part of my job I have a couple projects where adult offenders go to work at some local allotments assisting elderly or handicapped plot holders maintain their allotments.

Quite often a toad or a slow worm turns up and the shrieks of horror from the 'hard' boys is hilarious. But what sadder is the fact that a lot of them never realised that food is actually grown and that people not only do that but actually eat the food they grow. They're almost looking for the cellophane packaging