I was looking into bat houses....

Because I like bats (and hummingbirds, but they can get feeders instead of houses....) and it reminded me of something that upset me last time I took Ana to the zoo.

I go to the zoo with Ana, and head straight towards the fish. We stare at the fish a while. We admire the eel. Then we go look at the bats, and the bugs, and the snakes, and the various adorable mammals.

It's great fun. Ana has no fear of these things when they're safely behind glass. (I'm working on reducing her fear of bugs outside of glass, but it's a bit of a struggle. She's fascinated when I show her how completely unafraid I am to have insects crawling all up and down my flesh, but, unfortunately, most insects are not so unafraid as I am, and refuse to participate in this valuable learning experience.)

If she develops such a fear, it certainly won't be from me. It may, however, be from the other adults at the zoo.

God! Why would you go to the zoo just to teach your kids that bats are scary, bugs are icky, and the only fish worth noticing are those in popular movies? WHY????

And if you hold any of those views, why do you specifically go look at the animals you're scared of? Don't you think it's a little rude to walk up to them in their clearly labelled little alcove and start screaming your silly little heads off?

And, while we're on the subject, can you read the damn signs before shooting your fool mouths off about the animals? The little bird isn't the baby peacock. It's a starling. It snuck in there uninvited to eat the food. One would really think that was obvious by the fact that it keeps hopping in and out between the bars. The big bird down there? That's not a duck. It looks nothing like a duck. It doesn't sound like a duck. It ain't a damn duck. It's a goose. You know, the other part of the "duck duck goose" equation? Saved the city of Rome? Ringing any bells?

Read the signs.
Stop being silly.
Grow up.
And please - stop trying frantically to undo all my good work with my nieces. They don't need to have your phobias, thanks very much.

Oh hey...

I bet I could make something similar, stick it on Ana's window....

What Ana's working on now that she's three.

Loosely divided into the arbitrary categories of social, physical, and intellectual. Who makes up these divisions, anyway?

( Intellectual )

( Physical )

( Social )

There's more, of course. Always is.

This list is just to remind me - Ana's got a lot on her plate right now. I tend to forget, and want to yell at her "GROW UP ALREADY!" as she does something immature.

She'll be back Thursday. "When I go on a plane, I fly, and then I see Mommy!"
Me: Uh, and Daddy...?
Ana: Uh-huh, Daddy and Mommy!
Me: And me?
Ana: Yes, and Mommy!

Very clear what she's excited about :)

Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Taken from asperger

( Read more... )

I'll confess. I haven't actually seen the Autism Speaks video. I've been too scared to. When everybody I know and trust who has seen the video says how horrible it was... well... I avoid it. You'll note I barely mentioned it, other than to repeat that, yeah, it (allegedly, but I suppose I can confirm that) had specific terrible scenes.

But I'm going to bite the bullet and watch that damn thing now. Wish me luck. I'm going in.

I have a question.

An honest, serious question.

Many times, the subject of corporal punishment pops up in places where you really wouldn't expect it. And on the side of the Spanking is Okay people, there'll inevitably be at least one who recounts a story about how when s/he was a young whippersnapper, a really bad spanking was given. They don't remember why, but they know they never did whatever-it-was again. And, hey, look - I grew up into a responsible, well-adjusted individual! Spanking works!

This is an issue where both sides tend to have trouble breaking down their own arguments, I know. But my question is this - if you can't even remember what you did to get that spanking, how do you know you never did it again? Can you know?

This is the *exact* same story I've seen recounted by dozens (well, tens) of different people. A key feature of the story is that they don't remember what they did. And this is said to prove everything. But how does it prove anything at all?

Edit: I'm not asking about spanking, though I welcome discussion on that matter too. So long as it stays reasonably calm, 'k? I'm asking "Is it possible to know you've never done something after being punished if you don't even remember what you were punished for in the first place?"