Kids know Daleks more than they know owls

[DuncanE]

[quote=Meta menardi;303646]It is very sad, but what can you expect. If you live in the middle of, say, Manchester, how do you learn the ins and outs of ID'ing Magpies? QUOTE]

Quite easily... the Starling, Magpie, gull and pigeon are all common there

[Jez]

As a child I would have answered just the same. I knew what Daleks were but couldn't have ID an Oak leaf to save my life + I'm not to Keane on the National Trust

[ellen h]

Originally Posted by shei111

Hello cav probaly a lot of this is due to parents who dont go outside for walks with their children if you get children interested in wildlife they soon want to learn more and ask which is interesting for the whole family, but I do believe that more families have computers than ever so they just sit in front of the screen too much, it seems to be the trend.with the younger generation im afraid. shei.

Have to say I agree there Sheila.
Why go outside when you can stay inside and have the world come to you-even if it is via a screen!
They really do not know what they are missing!!!
ellen

[2dogs2000]

I blame Brooke Bond because they used to give free cards with their tea and they were nature related.
Children are now more interested in top trumps

[cavscott]

To be fair, I think kids have always loved Top Trumps. I know I did when I was a kid (in fact I still do, I use to edit Disney magazines and now have a nice collection of the new top trump cards. Not as good as the old ones - the horror ones were my favourite as well as Super sharks!)

In fact, I think there's a call for nature top trumps. I know they have sharks and dinosaurs in the recent ones but a birds set would be great.

I'm pleased to say that my two year old identified six different garden birds for me excited. (although she knows what a Dalek is thanks to the remote controlled one that sits in my study! )

[Gill Catton]

Actually regarding the bee and wasp thing - there are plenty of solitary species where the vast majority of folk couldn't be certain which was which!!

And I actually don't think society is any more dangerous than it was 40 years ago, I think people are more paranoid. There were plenty of dodgy peole about - they just weren't talked about in the media. Cripes my dad was allowed to run about as a kid and there was a war on!!!

And yes it is a real shame that kids don't get to learn these things..... I remember doing a survey in Dudley and coming across two little lads who you would expect to be interested in much moore than darleks and football, but they were fascinated by what I was doing and what I could tell them about the woodland they were playing in...
Tere's plenty of enthusiams but perhaps not enough people to channel it.

I was very inspired by nature quiz at school (and the fab documentaries on the telly) and when (IF) I have kids I'll perhaps run a quiz or nature club myself, put something back.

Oh and I hope I'll be brave enough to let my kids run around and get to the world on their own terms too.

[Mercadante]

I don't remember ever having a 'nature' lesson about identifying birds or tree leaves at school, and I'm forty-five, so this is not a recent decline. I remember one venture into a local green patch to identify buttercups, and that's it.

Really I think we should be very pleased that over half the children could identify the oak leaf. Given the huge amount of publicity and marketing Dr Who has had of late, I don't think universal recognition of daleks is remarkable.

[Les E]

HI All,
Ive not watched Dr Who since John Pertwee left! Ignorance of our wildlife is not comfined to children,a surprising number of adults cant tell the differance between Wasps Honeybees,and Hoverflys and get into panics and waving arm fits.Its no use telling them about there differant body shapes and style of flight,I just tell them if its got a face like Darth Vadar its probebly a wasp!
Regards Les.

[DuncanE]

I did the test in the mail today.. got all of them right

[ron1863]

Originally Posted by Les E

HI All,
Ive not watched Dr Who since John Pertwee left! Ignorance of our wildlife is not comfined to children,a surprising number of adults cant tell the differance between Wasps Honeybees,and Hoverflys and get into panics and waving arm fits.Its no use telling them about there differant body shapes and style of flight,I just tell them if its got a face like Darth Vadar its probebly a wasp!
Regards Les.

I've not watched it since the first Doctor Who (William Hartnell).
I never had a nature lesson at school and I doubt if the kids nowadays do either but I know that I would much rather have had a nature lesson than Latin or RE.