I’m a terrible parent…

[CRIKEY!]

Today I was doing some yard work and like usual I try to catch this Eastern Garter when I see her basking in the sun. I try to get her out of the way when I’m cutting the grass. She (I’m guessing she’s a she) lives in a pile of folded tarps with a wooden pallet on top. I caught her and placed her in a bucket with a night crawler and the worm was gone when I finished the lawn. I guess she was hungry.

So I had the bright idea of showing her to my 2-½ year old son before I release her. My 2-1/2 year old loves animals. When I took her out of the bucket, she was pretty grumpy. But seamed to calm down as I held her for a few minutes. Then I showed her to my son and said he could pat her. So all of a sudden he put his hand around her and before I new she swung back and bit his pinky finger. She just nicked him. Didn’t hang on or anything. It was lightning fast! Poor guy. He flinched a little, but didn’t miss a beat. Thankfully he didn’t get scared. I tried to keep it as positive as possible.

Unfortunately…his finger started to bleed and my wife got really, really mad with me. :angry01: So we cleaned it up with hydrogen peroxide and put bacitracin on it. I was afraid he was going to be psychologically scarred for life. But thankfully he was non the wiser. He was so cool, he even helped me release him back in the tarp pile.

But I felt soooooooooooo bad. I guess it could have gone a lot worse…right? To make me feel better, do you have any similar stories with your kids?

 

[Asbit]

My story does not involve a snake, but a yellow jacket(wasp/hornet) instead. I have always told my children not to be scared of bees, hornets, wasps, yellow jackets etc. and that if you just leave them alone they will fly on by and nothing will happen and worst case you get a little sting, hurts for a bit and then goes away, no big deal.

My youngest son (7.5 yrs at the time) used to be so scared of them, so I persisted and persisted with this theory and eventually, he was almost convinced. So we are at the cousins farm and one starts flying around him on the unfinished raised deck(no railing approx 10-15 foot fall) so I am giving him stress to stay still stop trying to run away from it before he fall off the deck edge. He finally listens to me, calms right down and sits on the bench and what happens, that damn yellow jacket flies straight to his neck lands on him and stings/bites him. It hurt him so bad and he freaked out so much!!

Needless to say all I heard for about a year was how "I lied to him and they were mean and not nice and it did not matter if you leave them alone they will attack you anyway just because!!"

To make matters even worse, just when he was finally starting to get over it, one did the same thing to me, except it stung got me under the arm and I almost died from it ( turns out I am deathly allergic, who knew). Turns out I lied to him again!

Sometimes when it comes to raising our children we do things with their best interests in mind, so as not to make them paranoid or scared of everything in their world, unfortunately, it does not always end perfectly. Don't be hard on yourself, you taught him about cool wild snakes, he also learned that when scared they may try to bite, good to know esp that young, as he will be unable to know what is or is not venomous and may keep his distance with out you. He was not traumatized, and he learned how the natural order of things work...seems all good to me.

 

[CRIKEY!]

Thanks for sharing Asbit. That makes me feel better. I do the exact thing with both my boys. My oldest is 5, and he tends to be afraid of bugs and animals. So I guess I’m going above and beyond to teach these boys that bugs and animals are our friends. Good thing my 5 year old wasn’t there to witness the attack today. LOL!

I’m sorry to here about your bee allergy. Man…that’s scary. How’s your youngest doing with the whole hornet/bee thing? Is he old enough now to understand what you were trying to teach him at the time? I hope you guys can laugh about it now.

Thanks again! :wavey:

 

[Asbit]

Yeah he is doing much better about it all now. In fact he knows mom was not lying but that all wild "animals" are unpredictable. He also understands that most times what I've taught him is the case. He still hates them though becuse they can "kill" his mom.

The hard thing about the sting was that I run a home daycare and I was about 1/4 mile from home and had 6 kids under 4 to try and rush back home, as well as a stunned mom who dropped an 18 mth old off and left him with me after it happened even though I told her I thought was having an allergic reaction. By the time I got them home I could hardly breathe. It took another 30 min to get all the parents here to pick up the kids and get me to the hospital. By then the reaction was so out of control it took them almost 40 hrs to get me to be safe to be released from hospital with no threat of my throat closing again!!

Now I have an epi pen, I just have to remember to carry it all the time.

 

[The_Thunderer]

When my oldest daughter was 2, I was alone at the house taking care of her and her older brother (5 at the time). Well, I was cooking and she started crying so I lifted her up and sat her on the counter (not close to the stove). Well, I had to stir the food, so I told her to sit still and, keeping one hand on her shoulder/arm, went to stir the food. Needless to say, before I even realized it, she fell off the counter onto a rug on the linoleum floor. No damage done, but she did get hurt. She's since forgiven me (she's 10 now), but I'll NEVER do that again. I felt like a heel for the longest of times. I still remember, I had my hand on her arm... then FLASH, she was on the floor screaming. Now, I'm paranoid when I see others do the same or similar things.

Tisha, I do the same thing with my kids... and - fortunately - have been proven right thus far. I hope your son's experience never happens to my kids. For my part, I've been stung dozens of times from honey bees to scorpions to yellow jackets to wasps... I know I'm not allergic, thank God.

 

[BobbyHill]

On a positive note, as least your son was not terribly upset by the incident!

 

[CRIKEY!]

Now I have an epi pen, I just have to remember to carry it all the time.

DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!!!

When my oldest daughter was 2, I was alone at the house taking care of her and her older brother (5 at the time). Well, I was cooking and she started crying so I lifted her up and sat her on the counter (not close to the stove). Well, I had to stir the food, so I told her to sit still and, keeping one hand on her shoulder/arm, went to stir the food. Needless to say, before I even realized it, she fell off the counter onto a rug on the linoleum floor. No damage done, but she did get hurt. She's since forgiven me (she's 10 now), but I'll NEVER do that again. I felt like a heel for the longest of times. I still remember, I had my hand on her arm... then FLASH, she was on the floor screaming. Now, I'm paranoid when I see others do the same or similar things.

I'm glad your daughter was OK. Just last week my family and I was eating dinner outside on the deck. And my wife asked me to bring the highchair out on the deck for our 2-1/2 year old. But I had the great idea of having him sit on the picnic table bench with the rest of us. You know, like his big brother. Yah...you know what happens next. All of a sudden, he falls backwards and I see his feet fly right over. He fell on the deck. He was OK though. He was very upset and crying, I think he was scared more than anything else. Mom wasn't too happy with me then either. :realhot: I felt like a jerk. Thankfully he fell only about 18 inches or so. I can only imagine how you felt about the counter. Scary stuff! Good thing kids are as resilient as they are or the human race would have gone extinct a long time ago.

On a positive note, as least your son was not terribly upset by the incident!

Yeah...I was pretty impressed. He's a tough little dude.

 

[The_Thunderer]

Scary stuff! Good thing kids are as resilient as they are or the human race would have gone extinct a long time ago.

Oh, yeah... and it would have been us "older & wiser" ones who would be at fault. LOL.

Glad your son's okay!

 

[abell82]

.......
To make matters even worse, just when he was finally starting to get over it, one did the same thing to me, except it stung got me under the arm and I almost died from it ( turns out I am deathly allergic, who knew). Turns out I lied to him again!

So Asbit, are you allergic to honey, as well? Or is it only certain types of bees, or wasps or ??? Just Curious.

 

[danielle]

All my kids have been bit by one of our reptiles, but they know their animals so therefore it CAN happen- does it normally no; but when it does its not your fault, your still a kick a$$ dad, and he won't be a pansy in the end always look on the bright side.

 

[Asbit]

abell82..nope to allergic to the honey, just the wasps, bees and related insects.

As well, I happen to be anaphalacticly allergic to Salmon as well but no other seafood...i can eat any shell fish I want to, not problem.

Some spices give me a mild tongue swelling and throat tightening reaction but I never seem to be able to narrow them down as most things are cooked with a few spices at a time.

I also have the same reaction with a couple of drugs and several very strong skin sensitivities, I can touch some things and break out with hives or blisters, and never know what...chemicals and cleaners are the worst.

 

[snakemom1961]

Just last week my family and I was eating dinner outside on the deck. And my wife asked me to bring the highchair out on the deck for our 2-1/2 year old. But I had the great idea of having him sit on the picnic table bench with the rest of us. You know, like his big brother. Yah...you know what happens next. All of a sudden, he falls backwards and I see his feet fly right over. He fell on the deck. He was OK though. He was very upset and crying, I think he was scared more than anything else. Mom wasn't too happy with me then either. :realhot: I felt like a jerk. Thankfully he fell only about 18 inches or so. I can only imagine how you felt about the counter. Scary stuff! Good thing kids are as resilient as they are or the human race would have gone extinct a long time ago.

Yeah...I was pretty impressed. He's a tough little dude.

That sounds like when my son was 3. We were at a family reunion at a park. We were done eating and just sitting around. My son was sitting on a picnic table(not the seat part, the table part). He ended up falling backwards. The only problem was the picnic table was sitting on cement. He hit pretty hard but seemed alright after he got over the shock of it.
Later that night when we were putting him to bed he ended up vomiting. I knew immediately that he probably had a concussion. I had his dad bring him to the hospital(I stayed home with his 1 year old twin sisters at the time).
Sure enough he had a mild concussion and we had to wake him every 2 hours through the night to make sure he was alright.

We all make mistakes with our kids and hopefully most of us learn from those mistakes.
I'm just glad your son isn't afraid of snakes after this incident.

 

[CRIKEY!]

That sounds like when my son was 3. We were at a family reunion at a park. We were done eating and just sitting around. My son was sitting on a picnic table(not the seat part, the table part). He ended up falling backwards. The only problem was the picnic table was sitting on cement. He hit pretty hard but seemed alright after he got over the shock of it.
Later that night when we were putting him to bed he ended up vomiting. I knew immediately that he probably had a concussion. I had his dad bring him to the hospital(I stayed home with his 1 year old twin sisters at the time).
Sure enough he had a mild concussion and we had to wake him every 2 hours through the night to make sure he was alright.

We all make mistakes with our kids and hopefully most of us learn from those mistakes.
I'm just glad your son isn't afraid of snakes after this incident.

Oh mannnnnnnnn...your poor son. I hope he recovered OK. But yeah, these things are all part of life. I really think it can be worse on the parents. Just last month my 5 year old son got his thumb slammed in a door at school by another kid. He ended up with a ripped off nail and a fractured distal phalanx. He didn't even cry. Kids are so tough. It was me, who wanted to cry or maybe faint. LOL!


Thanks everyone for your encouraging words and thanks for sharing your war stories.

 

[Nanci]

As a child, I was bitten by uncounted garter snakes. Nearly every one I captured. Tell your son he is now a member of the Bite Club, and some adults here aren't even members!! He should be proud, and when he is a future snake-keeper, he will be happy to have the very first bite commemorated!

I have a horrible reptile story concerning my daughter. She didn't get bitten, but witnessed a "murder" caused by me!

We were in the Everglades. She was four or five. I caught an anole for her to admire. As we crossed a bridge over a stream, I informed her that lizards were actually excellent swimmers, and proceeded to demonstrate this by tossing it gently into the water. Where it was promptly swallowed by a fish. Nice. For years, she and my husband would tease me about "Watch my lizard swim!!!"

 

[CRIKEY!]

As a child, I was bitten by uncounted garter snakes. Nearly every one I captured. Tell your son he is now a member of the Bite Club, and some adults here aren't even members!! He should be proud, and when he is a future snake-keeper, he will be happy to have the very first bite commemorated!

I have a horrible reptile story concerning my daughter. She didn't get bitten, but witnessed a "murder" caused by me!

We were in the Everglades. She was four or five. I caught an anole for her to admire. As we crossed a bridge over a stream, I informed her that lizards were actually excellent swimmers, and proceeded to demonstrate this by tossing it gently into the water. Where it was promptly swallowed by a fish. Nice. For years, she and my husband would tease me about "Watch my lizard swim!!!"

"Bite Club" I love it. :laugh: I know he's only 2-1/2, but I think we're going have a good laugh about this someday. You're right, I think he will be proud about it someday.

As far as murdering an anole....I did a similar thing with a baby bullfrog. I was 13 or so and I caught him on the shore of a pond I used to fish at. As I was admiring him in my hand, he jumped right into the water and started swimming out to toward the middle of the pond. Then all of a sudden I heard the JAWS theme music and SPLASH!!! Poor little guy was gone. A huge largemouth bass ate him. I felt so dumb. I mean, at least I should have had him on a hook. Just kiddin'. I really did feel guilty. Man, at least no kids witnessed it. LOL!

 

[Leonore]

That cute little man looks pretty tough. Just keep catching garters with him and it will all just be a part of his wider experience with snakes. If he seems nervous at all, I would simply say "Well, we got a bit of a nip last time, let Daddy pick him up first and make sure he's not so grumpy today!"

My 2.5 yr old recently got scratched by a neighborhood cat... he was pretty upset that afternoon (probably in part because I had just told him not to bother the cat), so we got out a little anger by talking about how mad we were at that cat. Later, we talked about not touching the cat when Mommy isn't around and ways to handle the cat so he doesn't get mad. They seem to have forgiven each other now.

Oh, and to your point, I felt pretty guilty that I didn't supervise more closely. But we just do the best we can do as parents and stuff happens. you're not terrible!
I'm sure I have dozens of stories from the past 8 years, but I also have selective memory to protect my sanity! LOL.

 

[ForkedTung]

Live and learn, you're a better father for allowing life to happen. Just don't pull a M Jackson and dangle him from a balcony and he'll be fine.

We were in the Everglades. She was four or five. I caught an anole for her to admire. As we crossed a bridge over a stream, I informed her that lizards were actually excellent swimmers, and proceeded to demonstrate this by tossing it gently into the water. Where it was promptly swallowed by a fish. Nice. For years, she and my husband would tease me about "Watch my lizard swim!!!"

I love that story..."the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry"

 

[MinLynn]

The only incident with Scooter that I felt really bad for was when he was 2, He had a Little Tykes rocking tricycle thingy in the living room. I was in the kitchen and when I glanced over he was standing on the seat of the tricycle rocking it back and forth(think surfing it or something). Of course I shoulda just let him be and I'm sure he would've been fine but instead I hollered out to get down,it frighten him and he went flying over the handle bars face first into our hard-wood floor. Nose was bleeding like crazy and so was his lip. Took him in to the ER to make sure his nose wasn't broken and he was fine. I think I cried for days over that!

 

[The_Thunderer]

Ohhhh, here's another one...
I was taking guitar lessons a few years ago (never got anywhere... still can't play an "F"). Well, my youngest was only 1 1/2 and I didn't have any problems with him strumming the guitar (which was a piece of junk). One of the strings snapped and the loose end flipped onto his forehead - scratching him pretty hard. You all know how head injuries bleed... Well there was LOTS of blood and my wife was pretty scared. So, I grabbed him and told her to get ready to take him to the ER... but when I cleaned his head, it was a TINY cut... and I didn't think it necessary to take him to the ER. Fortunately, one of our on campus nurses agreed with me and we just bandaged it up and it healed quickly.

I still count my blessings that he wasn't hit in his eye.

 

[Zyzzyva]

I was 7 when I got my first pet/snake and it was an eastern garter. The first day we took him home he bit me between my thumb and forefinger. Bothered my mother more than me. I'm surprised she let me have a 2nd snake after that. She's still not fond of snakes, but she says Max is "cute for a snake."