ITA with Val.

Originally Posted by aquinas
Originally Posted by HowlerKarma
I still think that Val's point is well-made, however-- it will not be socially acceptable to point out to potential friends that air travel is many thousands of times LESS hazardous than a short trip in an automobile. Fear is inherently irrational much of the time, but you don't make many friends with others for minimizing their fears as "irrational." So I vehemently disagree with the idea of a "presentation" regarding risks. I think that most adults can see why this would (socially) be a disaster amongst peers in a professional setting, right? It's intrusive and presumptuous... Our risk assessment may well be skewed by previous personal trauma.

That's all and well if fear is the issue, but from moomn's OP, it isn't. Many of the girls feigned fear to fit in, and that groupthink is, in large part, what made his DD feel left out.

How does one know that the girls feigned fear? Having seen quite a few girls through the 6-year-old stage, my experience has been that there are quite a few kids out there who are scared of spiders. My own almost-13-year-old dd was just screaming today out of fear when I asked her to get rid of a cobweb. OTOH, I can count on my fingers the # of children I've known in my entire life who were afraid of dogs. Not saying either one is justified, makes sense, or whatever. Just noting that it's not all that uncommon to find kids around 6 years old who are genuinely scared of spiders.

polarbear