Why did you poke the frog?

Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
@Scott B since we stopped playing marbles as a game the natural flicking skill has degraded. Smart phones, computers, and laptops just done need flicking as a way of moving something. So perhaps she should be given a little grace.
The real sad issue is the amount of laughter that occurs as the frog lands on the child's nose. That really is over the top.
 
Sep 20, 2006
2,912
Hunter 33 Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
Sorry but I'm going to disagree. That amount of terror is traumatic and then to only make it worse. That's something that's going to stick with that child for the rest his life. Besides he's now most likely going to be afraid of frogs insects for a very long time. Just plain cruel and ignorant.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
I seriously think the mom was trying to encourage the frog to jump away. The fact that it chose to land on the screaming face of a little human kid speaks more to the poor judgment of the frog than of the mom.
But then, higher order thinking shuts down when we are scared and need it the most.
Or the frog was just being an @$$ #0|€.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
I think the kid will laugh about when he gets older and he sees the video. He can get even in biology lab when he gets to dissect one.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH

This is a traumatic frog encounter. That guy no longer has a left thumb.

The screaming kid was lucky it was just a grey tree frog and not a bird eating frog.


-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Jul 21, 2016
42
san juan 7.7 wabamun
We were camping one time. Sitting around the fire, when a big frog hopped up close to my wife. She leaned over a bit to look at it and the frog jumped straight at her face! It planted a foot IN her ear, the pushed off and landed directly in the middle of the fire. It never moved again. It was a very weird experience, but made a great story!
 
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Oct 26, 2008
6,041
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Sorry but I'm going to disagree. That amount of terror is traumatic and then to only make it worse. That's something that's going to stick with that child for the rest his life. Besides he's now most likely going to be afraid of frogs insects for a very long time. Just plain cruel and ignorant.
Oh c'mon... that's just plain silly. Resilient kids learn quickly how to deal with adversity, trauma, fear, and every emotion imaginable with just a little help and humor from their parents. Now it seems the world has gone crazy when we worry about trauma from a common frog! We used to hear about helicopter parents, who hover over their kids to protect them from every silly thing imaginable. Now we're calling them "snowplow" parents, because they think it is necessary to clear every obstacle away from their kids. So this results in parents whom cheat with university admissions to get their kids in the college that they think they are entitled to go to. The kids actually have no interest in an education, it is merely the purchase of credentials. How is that going to serve them when they have to deal with something real?

If we want our kids to be self-reliant, they will have to deal with fear and even ridicule. It is not escapable. This mother had a completely rational reaction to the situation and just a little humor. Little kids are going to cry and throw tantrums, and learn from the experience. If we take that away from them, they will really have a rude awakening later in life.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,041
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Look at it this way … a little kid pokes a frog and it jumps on him. He doesn't like it. Mom laughs (telling him it's not so serious, even though he doesn't like it). Then she makes it jump and it jumps right in his face. This really startles him and it makes a lasting impression on him that these creatures of the wild can really move fast! Mom laughs even harder … the kid learns about humility. Mom still loves him, so a little humility isn't so bad.

A few years later, he runs across a poisonous snake in the woods. He's had a lasting impression about things in the wild and he steers clear. Now, does the lesson make sense?

The funny thing about parenting … so many of these lessons come very naturally. We don't have to think everything through. We often do well without even putting any thought into it. Of course, bad parenting has opposite effects, that can't be denied. In this case, I can see nothing wrong in the humor displayed in this video with a little frog frightening a little kid.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
I agree with Scott. :) Really, I do. Rare, but true. :)

Heck, the little boy has a Nike swoosh on his flip flops. Should be ready for anything.
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I can see nothing wrong in the humor displayed in this video with a little frog frightening a little kid.
Neither did I.
It was not the events but the way that I perceived the parent. Laughing at the child all the while videoing the event. Then the flick and the frog goes for the nose. Kid screams more, parent keeps videoing and laughing harder.
My parents were tough. They would have laughed, not shot a movie, and then helped me learn that frogs were not to be afraid of, Mountain lions yes, frogs no.
Instead of flicking the frog they would have captured the frog and we would have looked at the frog together.
It is more common these days to film the foibles of an individual than to explore the nature of the event.
It is a learning experience when we explore together. It is embarrassment when we sit back video and laugh.
 
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Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
Almost 2 full days have passed without comment from the green one. @Kermit , is everything alright down there?
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
You know, most of us get only this one time to parent well. We hope to get it right and sometimes it works and sometimes we don't make the best choices. Often it's just a matter of differing values, culture and opinion about what is appropriate. We often respond to things in ways that surprise even ourselves. We are given material to work with and we make the best of it.
Here is another traumatic parenting moment. My guess is the bird will remember but the child will not
What's a parent to do?:sosad:

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
When my brother was 9 years old we visited Trafalgar Square where a hundred thousand pigeons make their home. We had watched Mary Poppins and learned bout "feeding the birds".
So of course we bought some feed from a vendor, filled my brothers hands telling him to "stand still, hold out your arms and open your hands".

To this day my brother hates pigeons.

There are no cell phone videos. Just memories and roll on the floor laughter.
 
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