Had to evict a big ass spider from my room today and was reminded of this meme template. At least it's easier to evict spiders than cats, the latter don't fit in measuring cups.

Two panels in the "Hello, Human Resources?!" meme template. Work place setting. Title: Know the home rules. Upper Panel, entitled "appropriate": A cat overlayed on a person stands next to another person's cubicle and says "I domesticated myself and hunt pests.". The person in the cubicle is enamored and replies: "Awww, you're sweet.". Lower Panel, entitled "inappropriate": Same scenario as the upper panel. This time a spider is overlayed on the person instead. The person in the cubicle is frightened and on the phone, saying: "Hello, human resources?!"
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[–] 58 points 3 days ago (4 children)

I taught my kids early and often that spiders are friends, aside from a few dangerous ones we don't really encounter here. Mosquitos are scarier than spiders. One of my kids is still terrified of spiders though 😭

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  • [–] 40 points 3 days ago (3 children)

    I don't think arachnophobia is learned or a result of upbringing!

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  • [–] 11 points 2 days ago (1 child)

    Look at any 2 year old digging around in the dirt and notice how they will happily pick up and examine spiders and other "creepy crawlies" with their bare hands. They haven't learned from society as a whole that they're supposed to be weirded out or afraid of these things.

    We tried so hard to raise our kids to not be afraid of spiders, and to decide for themselves whether they had a preference for blue or pink, dolls or cars etc. But none of that effort survived contact with their extended family or starting school.

    At least for the spider thing we're having some success with unlearning that fear. When it's a choice between spiders in their room or mosquitoes, they're choosing the spiders.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 days ago

    I haven't been able to observe all two year olds. It's only a few percent of the population that has arachnophobia, and the fact that it doesn't always present in infancy doesn't mean it's learned.

    Though it's quite possible there's a combination of predisposition and learning.

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