#so...err on the side of not implying they could get eaten by lions if you don't know the kid well

[tj-crochets]

Octopus friend here!!

(The one who thought the Frogs were octopi, changed my user since then soo whoop)

And eheh!! A question for you as the distraction post requests,

How come objects sometimes look like they have faces?

Hello frogtopus friend!! Why objects sometimes look like they have faces, as explained to a four year old: Our brains are like really really complex machines. They are doing all kinds of things in the background as we walk around and [list one or two things the kid likes doing or is currently doing]. Without thinking about it, you're breathing in and out, and blinking, and your body is turning your food into energy. How cool is that! So many things you don't have to tell your body to do, it just does them automatically. One of those things that humans are really really good at doing automatically is recognizing patterns, and one of the patterns we are best at recognizing is faces. I think it's because if we were out in the forest (or in whatever fantasy setting of a show/book the kid likes), and there were lions or tigers or monsters out to get us*, noticing them before they could pounce would help keep us safe. And there are lots of different kinds of animals, that are different colors and sizes and everything, but you know what they all have? Faces! Every animal we might see on land has a face, and most of the animals in the sea have faces too! Do you know any animals that don't have faces? (maybe talk about jellyfish and starfish and animals** like that). Nowadays, we spend less time worrying about lions and tigers and monsters, but that automatic face recognition is still in our brains, so we still notice faces. We're just more likely to see them on trees or stains on the ground or in the clouds. Why do you think we see faces on things? (talk for a while about their ideas) Let's see who can find the most faces in the house/yard/room! Ready, set, go! Let's find some faces! *unless you live somewhere where large carnivores hunting children is a legitimate concern, maybe do not tell toddler that the hypothetical lions are trying to kill or eat them. Depending on the kid, that could be fine, or it could give them nightmares and make them scared to go outside (not as dramatic, but I accidentally had the toddler I babysat super afraid of snakes for a few days and he wouldn't go in the part of his yard with tall grass. We did live somewhere with a lot of rattlesnakes, though, so it was important that he knew that there were dangerous snakes and what to watch out for so he wouldn't *run towards a snake* again)

**idk where the line is between "animal" and "not animal" or where jellyfish fall but I do not think that's a line a four year old is likely to know a lot about or care about

#ask away! #tj explains things to toddlers #snake mention #local-hellcat #long post #explaining to toddlers why objects sometimes look like they have faces #I don't know if that's really the reason we see faces? #I think it's like vaguely in the right direction of the answer #so I made sure to couch it as 'this is what I think' #and ask 'what do you think?' #I try not to lie to children #that said. the tolerance for sentences like 'if lions are trying to eat you' varies WILDLY between little kids #when I was a toddler I really really liked animals and the movie Jumanji #the idea of large carnivores eating me wouldn't have bothered me a bit I'd just have started talking about the food chain #(yes I know now it's called the food web I did not know that at age four) #but I have met several toddlers that are terrified at the idea of any animal out to get them #I've also had a toddler chased by a dog and utterly unafraid (both toddler and dog were fine I intervened) #so...err on the side of not implying they could get eaten by lions if you don't know the kid well #if you do know the kid well use your best judgment #the toddler I babysat was completely unafraid of any kind of animal (except temporarily snakes) #but was TERRIFIED for weeks after learning about the SCP foundation through youtube videos of a game #that was like...based on it? a version of it? #he was having nightmares and his parents had no idea what SCP was and I had to explain it while also only vaguely knowing