Observer Online | Viewpoints

Posted May 25, 2007

Bye Bye, Bumble Bee

Why is it that we are so often afraid of things so small we can squash them with our thumbs?

In an effort to get my children not to freak out about spiders, ants and the occasional flying insect that gets into the house, I repeatedly point out that a child is big, a bug is tiny and there's no reason to be afraid of bugs.

So far, I've had limited success. My son, Charlie, for example, has clearly made up his mind on how he feels about bugs.

It started with the bumble bees in the springtime. He would panic when he saw the many bumble bees drifting from flower to flower in our azalea bushes.

He has still not fully warmed to the idea of getting in the sandbox to play, and he's only recently decided that it's okay to touch the grass, so he's not really starting off to be an eco-adventurer.

But because he had never seen a bumble bee before, I hoped he would learn that they are friendly and nothing to worry about. So whenever he would get upset about a bumble bee, I would tell him everything was okay, and I taught him the phrase, "Bye bye, bumble bee."

Well, he loves the phrase, of course. So much so that within a day or two, every unidentified speck of black anywhere in the world became known to Charlie as a bumble bee, and if he couldn't get rid of it by saying "Bye bye, bumble bee," then it was time to panic.

This morphed into all bugs of course, including ants on the ground, and most recently, any unidentified specks in his food.

Now, in addition to being overcome with terror every couple of minutes while outside, he's equally gripped with fear when he sits down at the dinner table.

So much for the "Terrible Two's," when will the "Terrified Two's" end?