It’s National Insect Week! First-time mum, writer and former CBeebies presenter, Dr Jess French, has written how minibeasts and motherhood have something in common…
I love minibeasts! Anyone who has met me, watched my shows or read my books could tell you that. It’s no great secret. Everywhere I go, I lift rocks, search leaves and scour the skies for crawling, scuttling and fluttering critters. But as much as I love them, I recently realised I have become a little bit USED to them. I know that snails come out when it’s raining, that caterpillars eat themselves silly until they turn into chrysalises and then grow wings and become butterflies and that woodlice can curl themselves into a protective ball when they are threatened. None of this is new to me.
Luckily, I have a 7-month-old daughter, to whom every single one of those facts is BRAND NEW. And through her eyes, I have been able to experience the magic of the minibeast world as if I’m seeing it for the first time again too! Isn’t that the amazing thing about kids? You get to experience everything that you were just beginning to get bored of through new, wide eyes, amazed at the sheer wonder of our incredible world.
This week is the perfect week for both you and your little one to revel in the magic of the minibeast world because it is NATIONAL INSECT WEEK! So what are you waiting for, get outside, go on a bug hunt, explain to your children how the caterpillar eats so much it grows wings and flies away – and then take a moment to reflect on how incredible that fact is. And while you’re at it, marvel at the fact that you created a whole new being just by waddling around feeling nauseous for 9 months.
Minibeasts and motherhood – both are just a little bit magical.
Jess
(Jess’s new book comes out in August and it looks AWESOME! You can follow her on Twitter)
