Explaining Dinosaurs to Kids

Seraph

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 5:15 am

Do you let your kids play with toy dinosaurs? Have dinosaur designs on clothing? Do puzzles with dinosaurs? Read books regarding dinosaurs? Take them to museums with dinosaur bones?

If you don't do any of the above, keeping your kids sheltered from the topic of dinosaurs, then this question isn't for you. Its for everyone else who doesn't hide the fact that there is a concept such as dinosaurs.

How do you explain dinosaurs/what they are to your kids? Do you just say "They're creatures that lived a long time ago" with no further explanation? Do you say "They're something non jews believe in, but Jews don't"?

I mean there are many, many, many explanations regarding how the concept of dinosaurs doesn't clash with Hashem creating the world in sefer breishis. I know at least 5 different explanations.
But how do you explain it to your kids? Do you not bother explaining to your kids?
From what age do you explain it to your kids, and how do you bring the concept down to their level, especially since there's no overwhelming "this is the right answer", but rather "All these are possible explanations"?

Ruchel

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 5:25 am

You have to know what you believe in, dinosaurs wise.

Some rabbanim say they existed, 7 days is symbolic.
Some rabbanim say they existed, but were killed in the mabul, and carbon datation isn't relevant for pre mabul datation as the world changed.
Some rabbanim say they existed but are remnants from animals who lived in a previous world that Hashem destroyed, hence the ultra old datation.
Etc...

When the kid is older, he can be told we don't really know which answer is right. And that non jews believe x and y but we don't. I would stay faaaar away from conspiracy theories from the scientists who made it up to turn people into atheists, as IMO it doesn't convince someone who looks into it. But I guess people who hold that way have convincing arguments to give for it.

I do think a small kid can be told they lived a long time ago and you leave it at that.

Seraph

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 5:30 am

Ruchel wrote:

Those three explanations are some of what I was referring to. Not sure which I believe, not sure I care, as long as I know there are answers. But how do you explain that to a kid?

Liba

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 5:37 am

We have a copy of Genesis and the Big Bang that I let my older kids read. We have discussed the fact that there are different opinions, and there is always the possibility that HKBH just put the bones there and made them look old.

For the younger ones, when we see them in museums or books we have explained that they are animals that didn't survive the mabul. On the other hand, if they see a dinosaur picture that looks like a lizard on a piece of clothing or the like I have on occasion told them it was a lizard...

It depends on the child, the circumstances, my mood, who else is around, and how much time I have. As they get older the answers get much more complex.

shabbatiscoming

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 5:45 am

DrMom wrote:

Ruchel wrote:

I do think a small kid can be told they lived a long time ago and you leave it at that.

Works for us. It doesn't have to be a deep philosophical discussion.

This. A young child wont really be asking anything deeper than that.

grin

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 5:49 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

DrMom wrote:

Ruchel wrote:

I do think a small kid can be told they lived a long time ago and you leave it at that.

Works for us. It doesn't have to be a deep philosophical discussion.

This. A young child wont really be asking anything deeper than that.

I say that some people think that these are enormously big creatures they lived a long time ago. They don't really think about it anything deep or significant.

poemmom

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 6:31 am

I would just like to mention for the information of those who may be reading the thread that there are very many totally frum Jews who believe that dinosaurs certainly lived and became extinct in the manner described by scientists, and that this in no way contradicts the Torah. Please note I am not trying start any argument here, just pointing out that there are differences of opinion.

chavs

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 6:45 am

I tell my kids (ds who is 6 mainly as dd at 3.5 isnt able to understand this when she is older she will be told the same thing) that we are not sure whether the died in the mabul or whether H-shem put their bones in the ground when he created the world so it would look like they existed(this is one of the explanations I learnt.

chavs

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 6:46 am

Seraph

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 7:15 am

poemmom wrote:

I know. There are explanations about how it doesn't contradict the torah. Regarding length of sheshes yimei breishis, for example.
And that is one of the examples I was actually talking about when I said there are many possible explanations.

thankyou

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 8:21 am

Depends on the kid. Some kids will be more than OK with "they lived long ago "sort of an explanation, others won't even ask about it, some will need more as they grow older and some may need more than that at a very early age (I didn't know that until I spent a lot a lot of time with a certain kid who (at two years old) had insanely philosophical questions...When you got a kid like that you have to dig a bit deeper so that they feel confident that there are answers).
Are there people who won't let their kids play with those toys or wear clothes like that because they want to avoid questions? That's news even to me..

grin

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 8:34 am

feo wrote:

well, actually, we try to avoid toys and clothes like that because of the tuma - the Lubavitcher Rebbe advised against hcilerne being exposed to fictional tuma such as cartoon dogs and cats. I think this comes under the same category.

thankyou

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 8:50 am

grin wrote:

feo wrote:

That is really interesting. How does it work? for example if there's an animal that is not 'tame' is it ok ? And what about cartoon which is not based on something real( like spunge bob- though it's a spunge,right?)? Do you buy regular toys? if yes- what do you do when there's a LEGO horse or a playmobile one?
Sorry for all the questions but Ive never heard of this, not even by very chassidish and litvish families that I know well, and it's truly fascinating.

jewels

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 9:06 am

My 2 boys are really interested in dinosaurs but my 5 year old is really fascinated by them. We've taken them to the Museum of Natural History and they just spend hours on the dinosaur floor, they read books about them, have dinosaur toys.

What we've answered them when questioned about them is similar to the answers from everyone else. We've told them that nobody really knows for sure what happened to them, and there are many different answers. Could be that they became extinct because of the mabul, could be that Hashem created the bones themselves looking like they were millions of years old, each day of creation couldve lasted millions of years and not the day that we understand.

They're pretty happy with the responses they get and they don't feel like we're dodging the question or that there's something wrong with playing with them or being interested in them. My son did once bring a dinosaur book into school and his teacher asked me not to send anything like it again because of the other kids in the class, that not everyone approves of them.

ewa-jo

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 10:01 am

poemmom wrote:

I can't imagine how a rational, curious kid pasta certain age could be placated with a response like 'Hashem put fossils in the ground to fool people" ... it's along the same lines as a man in a red suit bringing gifts down the chimney. Smile

Seriously though, I grew up in Canada near one of the most famous dinosaur museums in the world (the Royal Tyrell Museum) and I will tell you that dinosaur fossils are quite amazing in real life.

Chayalle

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 10:09 am

Seraph wrote:

Ruchel wrote:

Those three explanations are some of what I was referring to. Not sure which I believe, not sure I care, as long as I know there are answers. But how do you explain that to a kid?

This is how it was explained to me, more or less. I remember being in the Museum of Natural History with my family, I was maybe 6 years old, and my mother explaining to us that there may have been animals that we don't have today, before the mabul. These may the dinosaurs we are seeing. And they may or may not have looked like the models we are looking at.

It was all very puzzling, and the gist of the lesson (as I internalized it) is that we don't know everything.

That being said, my parents did NOT buy any dinosaur toys, pictures, and clothes in the house. (I don't have boys, so it's a mute issue....my girls prefer hello kitty and the like...)

ally

Fri, Sep 23 2011, 10:12 am

ewa-jo wrote:

poemmom wrote:

Seriously though, I grew up in Canada near one of the most famous dinosaur museums in the world (the Royal Tyrell Museum) and I will tell you that dinosaur fossils are quite amazing in real life.

Its infinitely more rational that the scientists-want-to-make-us-atheists conspiracy theory.