Thanks to On Demand, C is now a big Yo Gabba Gabba fan, and she especially likes the show’s fabulous song/toddler chant, “I Like Bugs!” She’s been singing it over and over – with my encouragement, because I thought it was cute – for days.

Yesterday morning she was playing in our (fenced) front yard while I sat on the porch reading. I would glance up every moment or two to see what she was doing, but mostly she just seemed to be digging in the dirt with a small stick. I heard her singing “I Like Bugs” quietly to herself, and I was thinking how adorable she was, when I noticed it sounded like she was singing the song with a mouth full of…something. I rushed over and did the mother-patented finger-inside-small-child’s-mouth swipe. To my disgust, my finger emerged from her mouth with squished bug on it. Yes, C had decided that “I Like Bugs” really means “I Eat Bugs.” I realized she had been using the stick to dig for buggy protein, sort of like a chimp attacks an ant hill or a termite colony.

I scooped her up and rushed her indoors to clean out her mouth, all the while explaining that “bugs are for watching, not for eating!” I hoped she got the message, but I did watch her more carefully the rest of the day. But then, late in the afternoon, I let my guard down momentarily and discovered C teaching her cousin NC how to eat a bug. I’m pretty sure I intervened before an entire bug was consumed. I hope so, since NC’s parents are raising their children as vegetarians.

I am not sure what to do about C’s new bug-habit except keep a close eye on her. On the other hand, maybe I could hire her out as an environmentally friendly pest-relief service, allowing her to begin earning her keep, while teaching her a valuable work ethic…

Nah.

But for the moment, I’d say the bugs around our house and yard had better watch their backs.

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