Shark Week

This week is shark week on the Discovery Channel. I’ve long been fascinated by sharks, especially Great Whites, so I tape a lot of shows during shark week, watching them after the girls are safely in bed, so as to avoid subjecting them to any gruesome footage.

But then Peanut saw an ad for shark week, and now is demanding to watch the “shark show” over and over, all day long. So now I’m pretty much taping the whole endless array of shark-related shows, pre-screening each show to see if it’s about people being viciously attacked or just cool stuff about these perfectly streamlined top predators.

I like that, without any prompting from me, she’s also fascinated by these creatures. I can’t say why I’ve always loved sharks, but I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love them, so it’s possible my interest started around the same age. I also think it’s important that she get the positive image of sharks, as misunderstood and over-fished animals who need protecting, before she sees Jaws and gets the flip side of fearing them and wishing they were wiped off the planet.

I guess in that way it’s a little like everything about parenting. Load them up with the facts as young as you can, so when the other stuff comes they’re not swept up by fears, or myths, or propaganda. I’m not quite sure yet how to take all of that on. So this week we’ll just focus on sharks.