If you are raising kids in areas also occupied by wildlife animals, you probably already know that you must prepare them for the inevitable wildlife encounters to come. Thanks to the popular Hollywood depiction of animals, many children may hold false ideas about wildlife characteristics and behaviour. It’s up to parents and guardians to ensure that the youth are properly equipped to take care of the precious natural inheritance that will be their responsibility in time. A combination of proper preparation for interaction with wildlife species and humane wildlife control approaches will ensure that Scarborough remains a safe space for both people and animals.

Help Your Kids Fall In Love with Nature

Young children are naturally fascinated by nature, but you can help the process along by engaging them in activities that will enhance an appreciation for it. If they learn to truly appreciate nature, they will treat all life forms with respect. One way to do this is to lead them in explorations of the crevices that host bugs and other small life forms. They can watch a caterpillar transform into a butterfly in a controlled conducive environment or follow the adventures of an ant colony.

Wildlife animals come in a wide array of shapes and sizes and produce a number of different interesting sounds. Help your children become familiar with this kaleidoscope of patterns and sounds by playing interesting guess that sound games and taking on fun art projects.  A colour based scavenger hunt is an excellent way to teach them to recognize the different hues of wildlife species. Use this opportunity to let them know how animals use their colours to assist them to survive in the wild.

A great way to get children to appreciate the value of smell in the animal kingdom is to have them experience the world the way animals do. A great activity for this can be done by placing children in groups and giving them different items (with powerful scents) to smell. For this, you could use a cinnamon stick, a piece of orange or a cotton ball soaked with an extract (such as almond or peppermint). You could then have them close their eyes, smell the items and try to identify them. After the experience, they can be told that that is how many animals survive in the wild. Let their imaginations run wild with the exploits of scent dependent animals such as wolves.

Safe Practices for Kids Who Explore the Wildlife World

In order to ensure that meetings with wildlife are safe, children need to practice caution when they are in habitat spaces.  This includes remaining calm in the presence of animals that startle easily and staying away from dangerous wildlife animals like coyotes. Parents should caution children to never harass or frighten wildlife animals and advise them to stay away from animal occupied spaces unless they are with an adult. Children who are sensitive to the value of animals in our world will be more likely to understand the need for humane wildlife control services at properties in Scarborough.