Eye on Research: Endangered species and 5 year olds

 

“Knowledge without love will not stick. But if love
comes first, knowledge is sure to follow.”

-John Burroughs, 1919

 

Source: http://www.zmescience.com/other/videos/
elephants-cooperate-to-save-baby-elephant-from-drowning/

Katie Slivovsky with the Brookefield Zoo in Illinois came out with a research based article on teaching young children about endangered species and human affects on the environment.  She begins her piece with an account of a 5 year old boy at a zoo, in awe of seeing an elephant for the first time.  While he is taking in this beautiful creature, the interpreter is talking about how elephants are hunted for their tusks and how it is a huge problem for their species.  The author raises the question of how this young boy is supposed to reconcile his feelings of wonderment for the elephant and mental images of them being shot by poachers.  She argues, that while he can understand the message that the intepreter is sending, it is developmentally inappropriate and he doesn't "get" the larger picture.  She highlights this point by titling her paper after a campaign slogan written by an eight year old girl after studying elephant poaching.  The slogan is, “Save the Elephants: Don’t Buy Ivory Soap.”

 

Her other main point in the article is that teaching small children about environmental problems before they have had time to develop a relationship with nature, may turn them off all together.  Children cope with bad news by distancing themselves from it.  They are less likely to form a relationship with something if they associate sadness and negative feelings with it.

 

Of course you don't want to lie to your child, nor keep them too sheltered, but the main point is that we should focus on providing positive, nurturing, exciting, awe inspiring experiences in nature and wait until middle school age to start delving in to topics such as endangered species, pollution, habitat destruction, etc.  The author provides suggestions for age appropriate ways of dealing with such topics with your child.

 

The complete article can be found here, under Age Appropriate EE.

 

Source: http://confedmo.org/cfm2/index.php/
programs-and-activities/missouri-children-in-nature-challenge

An article with ideas for nurturing biophilia in children can be found here.  Biophilia, coined by E.O. Wilson in 1984, is the idea that humans have an inherent connection with nature that brings them enjoyment and well-being.  Consequently, if children have negative associations with nature at a young age, this can lead to biophobia, an aversion to nature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't forget to check out our events calender for things to do, and our location listings for places to go that will help your child's biophilia flourish!