"I find a big ampipod!"

My two year old daughter sometimes joins me when I grab the flashlight to look through the sump or display tank for bugs and sponges and tunicates and stuff. So I've left the flashlight where she can grab it and look at it by herself. I was helping my wife with dinner when I hear her yelling, "I find a big ampipod, I find a big ampipod, dad come see."

Aren't kids great.

Most people have quite different stories to tell about 2 year olds and their fish tanks.

The only experience I've had with 2 year olds and fish tanks was accidental carbon dosing of sorts... And by carbon dosing I mean sugar... and by sugar I mean Kool-Aid... which turned out isn't very cool at all when it goes into your reef.

bstuver wrote: CapnMorgan wrote: The only experience I've had with 2 year olds and fish tanks was accidental carbon dosing of sorts... And by carbon dosing I mean sugar... and by sugar I mean Kool-Aid... which turned out isn't very cool at all when it goes into your reef. Oh wow!!! Yea I had to make sure my daughter never got near my tank at that age she was the only one I worried about. However I still worry about her and she is 6!

Edited by CapnMorgan - November 30 2010 at 8:14pm

I did a BIG water change, added fresh carbon, and purigen. I also turned my skimmer WAY up. Everything lived through it so I figure it probably worked pretty well.

You should insist that parents accompany their children into your office... er wait, was the parent there and just not caring?...

dont you guys just hate it when kids are doing something wrong and their parents dont say anything i mean kids are kids dont get me wrong but sometimes some parents just dont care

I can see Smacky now breathing a huge sigh of relief and wondering to himself..."Wow, with all these horror stories, how did I luck out with my daughter that wants to find Ampipods rather than causing trouble?"

well the horror stories dont apply to every kid my little brother who is two is always telling the other kids that come over to not stick their hand in or throw anything inside because "nemo lives there" even though the two clown fish are gone

Fish eardrums bleeding. That's a good one to tell the kid next time - not really, but that's funny.

Honestly, for our own kids at whatever age, the attention we give them toward educating them about the world and their surroundings is the key to their behavior. If we expect it of them and have real faith in them, they respond very well to fair rules of conduct and sincerely given truthful information. If we treat them with disrespect, by lieing to them, they in turn, treat us with disrespect, lies and misbehavior.

The same goes for other peoples kids. When we give them respect (even if they don't deserve it by their actions and even if their own parents don't), they respond very well to our rules of conduct when we take the time to explain it to them. Even a little time spent with a child rewards great dividends.

It's really not so difficult. It just takes an attitude of thinking of them as adults in a small body that require more explanation more time to understand. They also require true kindness. Many adults tend to ignore or even disbelieve even if you are telling them the truth. Most children tend to believe because they can sense that you are telling them the truth and that you truly care.

When we moved back here to Salt Lake, one of our grandsons was a real terror when he would visit. In just a few visits we changed that by our love and patience and by helping him understand the rules.

The best advice I can give to parents is "Set fair rules and in kindness stick to them" This works for your own children around you all the time and it works for other peoples children whom you have just met.
And when I say just met, one of the things that will help with that attitude I spoke of above, is to ask them their name and give them yours. Remember their name while they are with you and treat them the way you would your own child. They will love and respect you for it.