Is it ok to let her play with bee's?

[CrazyCatLady]

My daughter has no bee allergies (that I know of). Her favorite thing to do this summer has been to sit out in the garden and stare at bees up close. She also likes to trap them in cups, stare at them a while, and then let them go. She says she doesn't care if she gets stung.

Would you let your kids do this? I'm terrified of bee's, but I don't want to pass my issues on to her. I just don't know if this is normal/ok kid behavior or not.

Thanks

[amcal]

I'd let my kid but, I would let them know that getting stung hurts and that she should never try to touch one. I think it's great she has such an interest but, I'd encourage her to be a passive observer.

[Daffodil]

I wouldn't forbid my kid to catch bees if she really wanted to do it, but I would make sure she knew that being stung hurts a lot. If she says she doesn't care if she gets stung, it's probably because she doesn't imagine it hurts very much. The first time I was stung by a bee (as an adult) I was surprised by how much it hurt, and how long it kept on hurting. But there probably isn't that much chance she's going to get stung doing what she's doing, and if she does it won't be a disaster. If she's never been stung before, she can't have developed an allergy.

[pumpkin]

Dow she really understand that if she gets stung she could be very swollen and in pain for a week?
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[meemee]

yeah totally normal kid behaviour.

my dd has been stung by bees quite often. she would shout and scream - it is really painful but it went away pretty fast. so she has never really watched out for bees.

she too loves finding california bees. she finds them really cute because they are small and she loves that if the weather warms up they fall asleep wherever they are. so she keeps looking for sleeping bees.

however as an environmentalist i would point out to be kind and gentle with the bees. because pain = loss of life of the bee.

the first time she is stung, i would remove the stinger and then put ice packs on them. and watch for signs of allergy.

[THANKFULFORFIVE]

I actually had a teacher in grade school that took the whole class outside one day and showed us how to "pet" bees...perhaps because of this, I've never been afraid of bees...I actually still do it and have taught my kids. I've never been stung by a bee except by accidentally stepping on them out in the yard as a child. I wouldn't discourage her facination at all. If she gets stung, she can decide for herself how to continue her "relationship" with them.

[CrazyCatLady]

It's way later and she is still out there in the garden playing with "her bee's". She knows to be nice to them, she's really gentle like that. I've pounded the idea into her head that being stung = a lot of pain and I guess it's worth the risk to her? So I'll leave it alone. Thanks ladies.

She was attacked by a lot of hornets or wasps (not sure) when she was a toddler and didn't have any reactions. I know allergies can always pop up, but that's part of why I assume she's not allergic.