Heart Broken

[petitegreeneyes]

I am so sorry, such a young age to deal with death. I have a 10 1/2" T.blondi that hasn't molted since I got her and I am very worried that she will have problems too. I'm hoping that she will give me an eggsac before she molts. Tell her I am sorry and that mommy needs to take you to the pet shop

 

[Nixy]

Cowshark Nope I haven't but she does have a nack for guessing pretty good on things.
I love how much the twins love their babies.
I myself am still a little shocked at How Much they adore them.
And they Do defend their T's against Anyone that says anything bad about T's or spiders in general. The littleboys in their class don;t get much of a raise from the twins. Prolly because if something hops upor is tossed on them they will examin it with a great deal of interest. All last summer we combed the garen with magnifying glasses. the twins drew picture of their finds. I get alot of matise in my yard. Perchased some years ago to "seed" my gardens with. It's a tradiion for me when i move. They lay eggs every year and keep coming back. Those and lady bugs gallor. I usualy get them at Vally View Farms. But at this time they lay so well I haven;t needed to get more. I Don;t like to use pesticides. So the twins just have always been Interested. And not afraid. They are great about it too. they don;t run up and grab or touch a Bug without asking about it and if they should. They Do grab their magnifying glasses and shreik at the top of their lungs for me to "come look at the Beautiful neat bug Mommy!" And if they find a spider. My sweet mercies it's like descovering a whole new world they get so excited. We have "late night" in the summer. A night when bed time is set back so we can go out and look at the webs that are put up.
We just have fun with it, and the twins have learned to respect, but not fear the creatures that share their home and world.

--

petitegreeneyes I hope you get the egg sack AND a nice clean carefree uncomplicated molt.
And Yes, the twins Do want to go T buying. But I just can't right now. No Mulla for da bug bugs..
But as soon as life makes it possable I AM getting Eden a new Blondi.

 

[rapunzel]

we do alot of that here also.

I have a nine, seven and four year old. Last summer, we found a mantis eggcase in the field and hatche it in my flwer box..and we watched the zillion or so babies climb out and wander around the deck and on into the flower beds below...very very fascinating for both the kids and myself. My four year old has NO fear whatsoever, and stuffs worms into her pocket, and any other bug she can find.
What is very funny is that I do NOT like spiders. Tarantulas are wonderful, so long as they are fuzzy. But, hairless ones give me the willies.My boyfriend cracked up night before last because right on the dresser below where all my T slings are, was a spider crawling around. My four year old was trying to snatch it up, saying "Look mom a spider..can we keep it for a pet?" and I had the major heebiejeebies and at the same time, I had to make sure it wasnt one of our babies that had escaped. My boyfriend didnt understand how someone could handle lil slings and big Ts without the willies, yet something as simple as a house spider could make me jump around and get goosebumps. hahahaha. yick. Spiders are creepy things that crawl across the ceiling when you are in bed, and wait to fall right when you look away...T's are fuzzy lil Gizmo kinda critters. Big difference. Really. :}

 

[Nixy]

LOL.
That's what I try to explain to my husband.
Spiders are bugs...
Tarantulas are, little cats with extra legs......

He doesn't get it either...

My desire to open the girls up and nip any fears and phobias in the butt early is Right from me.

I stepped in a chuckhole when I was nine years old. A few rocked slipped, I was Stuck.
Chuckhole just happened to house a yellow jackets nest.
I was sting and bitten All over and spent Days in a hospital and now have a HUGE allergy to wasp stings. Put me Right in the hospital.

When my 15 year old was little I would squeak and run from wasps.
I noticed She gained a fear from MY fear, and I felt Horrible for it.
It's taken me a Long Long time to force myself past my own fears.
I didn't want to saddle the twins with uneeded phobias that could be avoided with education.

Mercies knows life goves kids enough to worry about.

 

[LPacker79]

It's so wonderful to read about the kids enjoying bugs and nature. In the summer of 2001 my nephew couldn't get enough of spiders. Everytime he found one he'd come grab my hand and lead me to where he saw it last. He was fascinated. At the time I didn't have any T's and spiders of any sort gave me the willies.
This past summer (at 4 yrs) he was absolutely TERRIFIED of spiders. I don't know what caused this huge change, but he won't even walk in my bedroom now because of my tarantulas. I know his mother is really scared of spiders, so maybe that's what's causing him to be so scared now.
And for the record, all spiders except for tarantulas still give me the creeps.

Leanne

 

[Nixy]

Originally posted by LPacker79
It's so wonderful to read about the kids enjoying bugs and nature. In the summer of 2001 my nephew couldn't get enough of spiders. Everytime he found one he'd come grab my hand and lead me to where he saw it last. He was fascinated. At the time I didn't have any T's and spiders of any sort gave me the willies.
This past summer (at 4 yrs) he was absolutely TERRIFIED of spiders. I don't know what caused this huge change, but he won't even walk in my bedroom now because of my tarantulas. I know his mother is really scared of spiders, so maybe that's what's causing him to be so scared now.
And for the record, all spiders except for tarantulas still give me the creeps.

Leanne

Maybe a bad experience changed his attitude. But most likely it's Seeing a reaction out of an adult and that growing the fear inside him. From there a childs own imagination and emotions will take that seeded fear and turn it into a Terror.
I'd suggest, and Please make sure it's ok with the parents. Slow reaclimation to your collection. Draw pictures with him. Take pictures of You holduing one of your T's. Maybe if the parents are willing Pictures of them doing so. Or have mom come into your room for a glass of tea and a sit down. the boy will eventualy follow his mother in as well, and natural curiosity will draw him to Look on his own. Once the Looking and emotional and mental explorations start again, he can have more " contact. IE: Being in the room when one is out, but not being forced to go Near it. Just small step stages to help him overcome his fears by learning in a Sae way that he Need Not fear. Along the way he learns respect for the creature. This dispalces terror with common sense caution that kids Do learn well even if they don't apply it much once they hit teenage years

Talk to the parents though. See if They are responsive to the idea.
To me, catching fears while thier young only Helps a child. Their sponges. they Learn Everything. Soak it all up, the good and the bad.
It's at This age that the best wedge can be stuck in the doors to keep their minds open to all the infinate possabilities life has to offer.

Ok, nuff of my blathering...

 

[LPacker79]

Thanks for the ideas Nixy. Now that I think about it, I first noticed his fear of spiders after his mother and stepfather took him to the theatre to see "Spiderman."
His mother's a nice girl, but at only 19 years old still has a lot to learn. I for one wouldn't have taken him to see that movie when he was so young.

Leanne

 

[Nixy]

Movies don't create fear, parental reaction and aftermove and during movie talk Does.

I'm a horror movie fan.
Love them. All my kids have been raised on them.
The twins favorite movies.

Eden - Free Willy, The Lost Boys, Jaws.

Faith - Beetlejuice, Monsters Inc, and The Mummy.

The movies they Both Love equaly and are on the top twin charts.

The Thing,Eight Legged freaks, The Scorpion King, Nightmare on Elmstreet,Jason X, The Car, Ice Age, Aliens.

We talk about the movies. I always talked to them about the movies. Even when they were " yo young" to understand what I was saying.
They Know that giant spiders won't crawl into their bedrooms with the intent to eat them. They know acid bleeding space aliaens won;t invade our planet and stick spider shaled face hugger things on them to breed aliens in their guts.
They eat popcorn and giggle and enjoy the movie.

It hasn't desensatized them. It hasn't harmed them.
Education is the key to handling movies, music, all that stuff thats blamed for the way things are and how kids act.

Bottom line. It's the parents that do the teaching. Or DON"T do the teaching.

I understand young parenting. I'm 35, my oldest, my son, will be 18 in April.

See if she's open to helping the child overcome his new fears. Heck, helping her child will help HER overcome Her fears.

It's a good thang all around.