Another reason I like penguins

I forgot to say this in my previous post. One thing I learned about penguins is that their egalitarian child-rearing methods have a lot in common with what my husband and I did in my son's first year. The penguin parents take turns going out to sea and fishing. Then they return and regurgitate the food for their offspring, and the other parent goes out to fish. Okay, we didn't regurgitate much in that first year, but I was working full time and my husband was working in the evenings. Like the penguins on Mrs. Silverman's site, we would nuzzle each other briefly, kibbitz about the way the other one fed the baby (!) and then say goodbye. I guess the bottles of expressed milk I brought home for my husband to use the next day weren't much like regurgitated krill.

Now of course we are both looking for work and our downy chick is a bit older. Who knows which animal parents we resemble now, and which we will resemble in the future? You could do worse than to parent like a penguin.

Comments

[kaspit]

Photos of penguins and cold soup, thanks for a touch of relief from this heat!

Now maybe you can work in a plug about global warming. (COEJL just put out a press release on a Senate vote. Ck my blog) :)

By the way, T just started pre-K and is learning about volcanos, tornados etc. We have a great Israeli children's book on ecology stuff, any English ones to recommend?

Kaspit

[balabusta]

Here is a link to Kaspit's post on COEJL and the Senate vote on global warming:

http://kaspit.typepad.com/weblog/2005/06/news_how_do_jew.html

I have not yet begun to buy books on environmentalism in general. I have ordered all of those penguin books but none have arrived yet. My little two year old can say "Emperor penguin rookery" and I am waiting on the word "habitat." Please post the title or a link to the information about the Israeli children's book on ecology stuff, Kaspit, so that if people come a'googling my site, they can get it.

Global warming is very scary for Antarctic penguin afficionados. Also for anyone who has mastered that difficult early-childhood concept, "actions have consequences."

[kaspit]

>anyone who has mastered that difficult early-childhood concept, "actions have consequences."

Right on -- we are all still working on that! When the time goes, you will want to check out the "Love and logic" method, well, maybe.

[balabusta]

YAY! Another quick, silver comment!

I am thinking of doing a review of some children's books, including the penguin books. (Two of them came today.) I would like to also write about some of the parenting books I have read, and maybe I should read more. I have heard of Love and Logic. I've heard of a lot of them, actually! It's a subject close to my heart.

One thing I think about actions and consequences: I don't want to impose "natural" consequences that are really just covert punishment. I feel like I have to be very strict with myself because I was punished a lot and it's going to take vigilance not to be a big punishing mama. This is enough of a real discussion to come out of the comments and into the posts, but I have to gear up for it....and figure out how it relates to the main subject of my blog, hmmmm...

[Beth]

Another reason to love penguins and look at the culture these animals use in parenting is the fact that penguins are quite loyal. I don't remember the exact figure, but I think it was over 80% of penguin couples mate for life.

[balabusta]

Hey Beth! Hi Beth's friend DM! How sweet is this!

My husband thinks it's funny that there are penguin fans commenting on my blog. I have more penguin links to post and a book review of the four penguin children's books.

Guillaume Dargaud claims that Emperor penguins are relatively non-monogamous, that 78% of mating couples split up after the first year. I think there is a lot of variation in penguin species. I also think that mating in blizzards and warming eggs on your feet while fasting for several months might stress parents' relationships!