Kid Fears

Wesley had been grilling me with questions about snakes: Where do they live? What do they eat? How do they crawl? I am not an avid lover of snakes and my knowledge is limited, so we headed to the library for a book. I was apprehensive when the subject of venom and swallowing live prey came up, but he seemed to take it in stride. There was one picture of a boa squeezing a opossum, and Wesley asked me if that was his baby he was hugging. That should have been the red flag. The next night, around 9:30, Wesley bolted from his room and said with terror and near tears, "Mommy, there is a snake in my room!" I investigated the situation, finding no snake, but a problematic shadow from the nightlight. He slept in my bed for one night, and an alternate light source is being used until a more suitable position can be found for "the bug light" (his usual nightlight). The snake book has been returned to the library. This week we are reading about bees, who, as it turns out, die after they sting a mammal because it tears out part of their innards. Wish me luck!