[blparent] Question about parenting with blind children

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Jo Elizabeth,

That's really cute about Sarah chasing the cat away, smile! We use to
have a Shiatsu poodle  mix, Bambi, who nested under the tree every year.
When we finally placed presents under the tree, she would get huffy
because her "cave" was gone for a time.

I appreciate your response and completely agree children, regardless of
a disability or not, should be allowed to use all their senses to
experience and explore. Being a neat freak and germaphobe (grin!) I find
myself always discouraging touch, but it's not bad to experience some
things tactily.

That's neat and interesting that Sarah uses other senses that her peers
might not use as much. I'm sure having a blind parent as a role-model
allows our kids to witness behavior not always present in households
with sighted parents. As a writer, I was taught to use sensory
descriptions, tapping into other senses other than visual to describe
things. In reality, we don't often do this, and when a child is party to
people using and relying on other senses, it makes complete sense to
them to do the same.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:16:45 -0700
From: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] Question about parenting with blind children
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Interesting subject.  I've been blind since birth, and I think the fact
that 
I couldn't see limited what I knew about all the zillions of things that
are 
available in stores.  When I was a teenager, some friends figured out
that I 
thought there were only a dozen or so kinds of candy bars, so they took
me 
to a supermarket and spent almost an hour reading candy packages, just
so I 
would have an idea of what all was out there.  Another day, a friend of
mine 
took me on a drive.  Her mom drove, and she spent the whole time reading

signs.  I never knew there were so many signs, and she said she couldn't

even read them all, with her mom at the wheel, because she didn't have
time 
to see every one of them before we were past.

I don't recall getting told not to touch the ornaments on the Christmas 
tree.  I was taught how to be careful with fragile things, and even at 
three, I've worked with Sarah a lot on that.  My reasoning is that she's

going to explore breakable things whether I try to keep her away from
them 
or not, so I'd rather teach her to be careful and hope for the best than

just pray she doesn't get into trouble.  I know kids shouldn't get to
touch 
every little thing, especially in a store or at someone else's house,
but I 
hear them getting told not to touch often when I think it's just 
inconvenient for the parents to take a moment and help them explore.  We
put 
a lot of unbreakable ornaments on the three this year, both because of
Sarah 
and because of the young cat we have, and we haven't discouraged Sarah
from 
touching.  She's a great guard for the tree, chasing the cat out when he

tries to crawl up inside the branches.

I do notice that Sarah seems to use her other senses more than other
kids. 
I've taught her to notice sounds around her, such as airplanes or birds
or 
sirens.  I've encouraged her to touch things instead of just looking, so

that she'll comment on how soft a leaf is or how a pine cone is prickly.
I 
want her to be aware of smells, which add so much to perception.  It was

interesting when we were grocery shopping a couple of weeks ago, and
Sarah 
asked for the "soft kind" of yogurt.  I had no idea what she was talking

about, but when her dad let her point out what she wanted, she showed
him 
the whipped type of yogurt, which is airy and fluffy.  It surprised me
that 
she applied the word "soft" to something she saw, but when I took a bite

later, the yogurt felt soft in my mouth.

Jo Elizabeth