Why do Parent’s allow their Kids to Chase Birds?¿Por qué los padres permiten que sus hijos persigan aves?
By: Keith
I have a hard time understanding how parents can justify allowing, while at a park or some other family outing, their kids to chase after wildlife. We’ve all seen it, some kid, old enough to either know better or be taught, giggling and scaring the hell out of birds and squirrels and such. They run after these poor animals while their parents stand by with huge proud smirks on their faces. Most of the same parents would probably not say it’s ok to throw rocks at squirrels or taunt a chained dog. So why is it ok to chase a seagull? Are seagulls toys now, and I just missed the parent information meeting about it? No, I don’t think I did. Thus, I’ve helpfully put together a list of don’ts that parents can reference when teaching their kids how to deal with small, cute, harmless animals.
1. Don’t be an Inconsiderate Douche: Well, that concludes Keith’s parenting lesson for today. Join me next time when I tackle How to avoid Chasing Grizzly Bears.
You say your kid doesn’t need a lesson on how not to chase a grizzly bear? You say he wouldn’t do that in the first place because he might get his face chewed off, and he’s not keen on doing really stupid things in the first place? Right, I got it. What about if the bear chased your son around a little instead? Would that be ok? I’m sure that’d be fun for the bear.
But it’s Okay because these Animals are Pests:
No, it isn’t ok. Don’t make that argument. Some animals are pests because humans think they’re toys and have trained them to eat French fries and pickles. Animals do not exist for our amusement. That includes feeding them unnaturally tasty and addictive French fries and giving them post meal heart attacks by chasing them. Feeding a seagull greasy and unnatural food isn’t the worst thing you could do, but it’s also why there are so many of them on the beach (they aren’t all there to eat up dead crabs). I don’t think it’s very nice to lure them in with food just to chase them when they arrive. That’s called hunting.
It is not okay for kids to chase animals for fun. It’s cruel. Parents need to think about the lessons they’re really teaching by allowing their kids to do it. It’s ok to be mean to an animal as long as it’s small and defenseless. Everybody knows it wouldn’t be fun to get chased by a bear. Why can’t the same people understand that the seagulls might not like getting chased either?
A mí me cuesta mucho trabajo entender cómo es que los padres pueden justificar el permitir, ya sea en el parque o cualquier otro lugar familiar, que sus hijos persigan animales. Todos lo hemos visto, un niño, lo suficientemente grande como para saberlo que está haciendo o cómo para ser enseñado, riéndose mientras espanta a los pájaros, ardillas u otros animales por el estilo. Estos niños corren detrás de estos animales mientras que sus padres están ahí parados con una enorme sonrisa con orgullo. La mayoría de esos mismos padres no dirían que es correcto aventarles piedras a las ardillas o mofarse de un perro encadenado. Así que ¿por qué es aceptable el perseguir a las gaviotas? ¿Qué acaso las gaviotas son ahora consideradas juguetes; y yo me perdí la junta de padres con esta información? No, no lo creo. Por lo tanto, amablemente he puesto un alista de “nos” que los padres pueden utilizar cuando les estén enseñando a sus hijos cómo tratar a los animales pequeños, tiernos e inofensivos.
1. No seas un tarado inconsiderado: Bueno, con esto concluimos la lección de paternidad de Keith. Visítame la próxima vez para la lección de Cómo evitar ser perseguido por osos grizzli.
¿Tú dices que tu hijo no necesita una lección en cómo no ser perseguido por un oso grizzli? ¿Tú dices que él ni siquiera lo haría porque eso le podría causar que el oso le arrancara la cara, y él no es tan bobo como para hacer algo estúpido como eso? Ya lo entiendo. ¿Pero qué tal si el oso persiguiera a tu hijo por un rato? ¿Sería eso apropiado? Estoy seguro que eso sería divertido para el oso.
Pero está bien porque estos animales son una peste:
No, no está bien. No me des ese argumento. Algunos animales son una peste porque los humanos piensan que son juguetes y los tienen entrenados a comer papas fritas y encurtidos. Los animales no existen para entretenernos. Eso incluye el alimentarles con algo que sin ser natural es sabroso y adictivo como las papas fritas y luego darles un ataque al corazón después de la comida al perseguirlos. El alimentar gaviotas con comida grasosa y que no es natural no es lo peor que puedes hacer, pero es la razón por la que hay tantas gaviotas en la playa (no están ahí para comerse todos los cangrejos muertos). Yo no creo que sea bueno atraer las aves con comida para luego perseguirlas cuando ellas se acerquen. A eso se les llama cazar.
No está bien que los niños persigan a los animales simplemente por diversión. Eso es cruel. Los padres necesitan pensar acerca de las lecciones que les están enseñando a sus hijos al dejarles hacer eso. Les enseñas que está bien ser malo con animales siempre y cuando estos sean pequeños e inofensivos. Todos saben que no sería divertido el ser perseguido por un oso. ¿Por qué las mismas personas no pueden entender que a las gaviotas tampoco les guste ser perseguidas?
Nor is it right to feed seagulls Alka Seltzer tablets in the hope that their stomachs explode– not a fair punishment for swooping down to steal your lunch when you’re not paying attention.
.-= Dennis Yu´s last blog ..3 Facebook ads on the homepage =-.
Hooray! Finally a voice of reason regarding this troubling game! I love your picture of the pigeons revenge, hahaha.
I agree with you 99% of the time.
“Don’t be an Inconsiderate Douche” isn’t what I’d call my parents though.
A little kid isn’t chasing after a bunch of birds to scare them. The kid wants to play. He can’t help that the birds get scared. Would it be bad if a kid ran up to a puppy? It’s the same thing. Except most puppies wouldn’t run away in fear.
Birds are very timid– something a small child won’t know. How often do you see 20 year old men and women chasing birds? I don’t ever see that. That’s because we know birds are going to run away. You can WALK towards a flock of birds and they scatter. Maybe they aren’t even scared. They probably move because it’s instinct to get the hell outta the way.
“Are seagulls toys now”. No? But what’s the difference in having a pet? For amusement right? I know you have a bunny rabbit. I’ve had one too! And I have three dogs!
I think you might be over-thinking the whole bird-chasing! It’s fun for kids when they’re young, Afterwards, they quit.
On the other hand, if a kid is 10 or so and s/he chases a bird just out of being mean… that’s a different story. S/he shouldn’t do that. It’s just cruel.
Kody: I’m not over thinking it at all as it takes very little thinking in the first place to know the ethical right and wrong of the matter. Who cares if birds are timid? It’s still wrong to chase them. The difference between my rabbit and a seagull is that my rabbit is a domestic breed that can ONLY survive with the assistance of humans. I don’t chase him and torment him for fun. I feed him and pet him because we mutually benefit from it. Rabbits have been pets for hundreds of years and they are NOT optionally captive. Small kids who chase birds should be taught that it’s wrong. parents who don’t teach them correctly don’t deserve my respect (not that they’d probably want it anyway). And, I’ve most certainly seen 3,4,5,6,7 year old kids chasing birds just to watch them scatter, not just out of curiosity of the animal (for which there are proper ways to study them that the parents should teach). And, yes, it’s very bad for a kid to run up to a puppy. You were taught to approach all animals slowly, right?
Oh, I’ve definitely been guilty of this from time to time. I’ve “taught” (I quote that because I didn’t so much teach him as mention it a few times and that was it) Ben not to chase birds, but held off on Ryan since he in no way was doing it in a mean way.. he just walks up to them to see if he can pet them. He wants to take one home and have it as a pet. Both Ben and Ryan are exceedingly kind to animals and about swooned over the mama bird and her eggs who made their home in our wreath on the front door. They even had a pretend birthday party the day the eggs hatched and the day they flew away.
Tammy: I can’t imagine Ryan tormenting seagulls or any other animal. Walking slowly up to bird is different than running up to them to watch them fly. I get what you’re saying about intent. I can’t stand the game of running after birds that some parents condone, but I understand the curiosity factor and wanting to walk up to a bird. At least then the bird doesn’t get scared, just sorta moves out of the way.
I’m GUILTY!!!! We love feeding birds popcorn or bread, and then my younger ones love to chase them. Never saw it in the light you wrote. But I agree with Tamy, for my younger kids it’s more about wanting to touch them and pet them than scare the crap out of them. But it’s kind of ridiculous to try NOT to scare them away, when just a jog down the beach is going to send them flying off too. A flap of your towel, a run to the bathroom, my shotgun…(JK)
I disagree with you about chasing birds. I have never seen a child catch one and I haven’t seen them chased for the purpose of being mean. I have let my kids chase the birds. They get some exercise and fun out of it and the birds just move down a little bit.
I wouldn’t let my kids throw rocks at them or engage in another activity that I saw as malicious. In this situation, I just don’t see it.
.-= jack´s last blog ..Somebody To Love =-.
Jack: So you’d be ok having a bear chase your kid around as long as the bear was getting some exercise and having fun. After all, if your kid is quick enough then his life would go on without trouble. The question is what if he wasn’t quick enough. And what would a kid do if the bird was injured and couldn’t get away. perhaps pick it up and injure it more by accident? Maybe even step on it by accident? Just because a kid can’t catch a bird doesn’t mean the bird doesn’t get scared. It’s wrong — period.
So you’d be ok having a bear chase your kid around as long as the bear was getting some exercise and having fun
They aren’t equivalent. This is like comparing apples to oranges. That is a straw man argument.
the question is what if he wasn’t quick enough. And what would a kid do if the bird was injured and couldn’t get away. perhaps pick it up and injure it more by accident?
Well, I have had that happen. My son found an injured bird. We took it to the vet where we likely saved its life. There were a lot of cats walking around that day.
Your claim that bird is scared is an attempt to apply human emotion to a response that is based upon instinct. The bird moves away because instinct teaches it to do so.
But if we want to take a silly argument farther I’ll say that I would find it to be different if the bird was being chased into a corner or was physically unable to get away.
Let me ask you two other questions:
1) Do you believe that it is ok to keep animals in the zoo?
2) Do you believe that it is ok to conduct lab tests on animals?
3) Are you a vegan?
On a side note this is one of my favorite parts of blogging, the interaction. I doubt that either one of us are going to change the other’s mind. But, who knows, maybe something you write will spark something in me.
.-= Jack´s last blog ..Somebody To Love =-.
Jack: You don’t need to teach me about anthropomorphism; I wrote an article about it. No, it isn’t anthropomorphism either as fear is a universal emotion that animals experience too. It’s not a claim, jack. It’s a fact.
I think comparing your kid being chased by a bear is NOT a straw man argument. It’s exactly equivalent. You’ll have to explain how that’s different. From your kid’s perspective, not knowing the bear’s intent, it makes no difference if the bear was getting exercise, toying with a weaker animal for fun or even hunting. Youre kid, because of his relative weakness is going to be equally scared regardless of intent. Just like a bird has no idea what your kid intends by chasing it around. Could be curious, could want to play, might want to hurt — doesn’t matter to the bird because the fear or the real danger is the same whichever way you slice it. The bird is much quicker and can almost always get away — doesn’t matter because if the bird didn’t get away the result would be just as much up in the air for him (no pun intended) as the result of if a bear caught your kid — he might want to just play (bears are unpredictable like that).
Not sure if you know about modern zoo policy — but all those animals you see are bred in captivity. The ones who are being rehabilitated will eventually be set free again if they’re able. No animal is taken from the wild in an american zoo for the purpose of amusement.
No, I don’t think it’s ok to conduct lab tests on animals
No, I’m not a vegan. I never made an argument against hunting, Jack (that would be a straw man argument). Hunting to kill and eat or breeding for food are different than playing with an animal and scaring the hell out of it. One is a selfish attempt to play with a lesser species while the other is a survival device. You don’t hunt an animal for fun — that’s wrong too. you hunt it to eat.
I love that you used the word “inconsiderate douche”. Here in Oklahoma… I’m really trying to start a movement to start calling people who are real assholes “dochebags”… I think it’s so much more appropriate… and hilarious.
.-= Papa K´s last blog ..Someone Out There Doesn’t Like Me: Part II =-.
‘Douche’ is coming over to the UK now as an insult. I haven’t decided yet whether I’m OK with it.
.-= Ben´s last blog ..Week Nineteen: Take your partner by the hand… =-.
Can’t agree more Keith, it annoys me too. Around my neck of the woods, there are too many animals that can seriously hurt a kid + we are a bunch of tree hugging, granola eating round here but it happens.
What I find quite entertaining though is when kids chase the Canadian Geese in our area, the tables are usually turned in short order and they chase the kids. Then the parents get all bent out of shape because the geese scared the hell out of their little darlings and perhaps took a chunk out of their backside.
Oh so much fun.
The straw man is making a straw man argument. The issue is teaching love, respect, and compassion for other living beings, in this case wildlife. It should start early in life. The same is true for companion animals. The child’s motivation is immaterial, as is the animal’s reaction to their human encounter.
This is one of the most important components of our humanity.
The issue of food choices, zoo animals, and laboratory animals are complex, not germane to the blog topic, and can be discussed as children either learn about them or question their relation to the lessons they have already learned. Or parents can bring up the issues if they so choose.
Thank you! I don’t have kids but I do have birds and know for a fact that if someone came to my house and starting chasing my birds around for fun I would strike! You can’t do that to any bird – you are right, they get scared easily and being chased frightens them and it is never cute when kids go around running after birds outside. I am always disgusted when I see kids doing that and their parents looking on like it’s all fun and games. Leave them alone. They are not there for your kids amusement nor will they ever be.
Finally, someone who hates it as much as I do. I go to a lake and adore the animals there. I have gotten to know them personally. About 90% of the kids I see there either throw rocks and sticks at the birds or chase them, even older kids. Parents laugh when I talk to them about it and claim that their kid never would hurt any animal because they’re too small, too weak, etc. Whenever a kid throws rocks at the birds, they all think he’s throwing food and all gather around. I deliberately try to leave the lake before any families show up because I get so nervous whenever I see kids there. This infringes on my enjoyment of the lake as well as messes up any photographs I want to take! I have stopped confronting parents about chasing as long as the birds aren’t getting hurt, but I still speak up for rock throwing. There is no ranger or game warden there, either, and I don’t want to put myself in a situation where a parent might get physical with me.
One of the things I have noticed is that an extreme number of parents are not watching their kids, but texting and talking on a cell phone instead.
i learnt this lesson the past weekend. i took my guests and their kids on a walk around the park and they (the parents) were encouraging the kids to chase some ducks around – they were thrilled to see the kids so thrilled. It all happened very fast and I was stuck between the knee-jerk reaction to laugh along and the nagging voice at the back of my mind that said the ducks looked stressed.
before i could make any rational judgement about it, though, a passer-by shouted angrily at us to stop it and gave us a long and loud lecture about teaching children not to feed birds.
I agree with that now that I think about it (my own child is still a baby so I have never encountered such a situation before), but being shouted out at in public like that did ruin my day
sorry i meant “not to CHASE ANIMALS”