Bindi

I can understand a childrens television show. What bothers me about this is the child's own statement, "Some people think that I would be afraid of them, but I'm never ever afraid of an animal."

In my humble opinion, I would think it would be a very good idea to be at least a little afraid when working with wild animals. Keeps one on their toes, wouldn't you think? Yes, yes, she has grown up with wild animals along with her dad (for all of 8 years!), but the children she will be talking to from the TV have not. Could it be possible that her fearlessness would cause "normal" children to handle spiders or snakes that are harmful?

I'm a bit skeptical about the whole thing.

Talk about jumping on the bandwagon, that is exploiting his name. At her age it is probabaly immoral to put her in a show like that, far too dangerous, wait until she is an adult then if she wants to do it then fine, but on her own merits.

Gotta agree - let the poor little girl have a normal life for a bit and then let her decide. I'm sure she readily jumped at the idea of doing a show but she's only eight, tragically lost her father so recently, she'd be feeling all sorts of pressure to be 'following in his footsteps'. She's a kid, let her be one.

He was getting footage for her show when he died. Not being afraid of something is not the same as not having a healthy respect.
Fear usually originates from ignorance.

Quote:

---

Could it be possible that her fearlessness would cause "normal" children to handle spiders or snakes that are harmful?

---

The whole idea is to educate.
Years ago it was normal for children to play outside and come across nature in a normal environment.

I can understand her family, and the public, wanting to continue her fathers legacy, and continue working towards a better environment for animals great and small, but i think her role should be of a much smaller one, at least until she has aged a few more years. There is no reason why Steve's colleagues, Terri, Bob Irwin (His father), and the public can't help continue the work that Steve did.

Perhaps if his wife did the show and Bindi assisted it would be more acceptable to the public. I agree about exploiting Steves name. How sad!

She is awfully young. Her father's death probably hasn't hit her yet, it may not hit her for many months/years. She has seen her Dad not afraid of animals so she doesn't seem to fear them either. She should be left to lead a normal life, let her choose what she wants to do when she is much older, I think.

If anyone has seen her in her home environment at their Zoo, they would realise she is doing exactly what she wants to do.
He also started as a child because of his passion of wild animals when the zoo was just a reptile park his parents set up.
It would be cruel to enforce someone else's idea of what is "normal" onto her.

With all due respect, how many 8 year old children actually KNOW what is in their own best interest?
They all know what they WANT to do but whether this is to the child's benefit or detriment remains a decision for the responsible adult/s in their lives.
It may well be that Bindi Irwin will prove more than capable of taking over her father's role, or even eclipsing him in terms of global awareness, however, personally, I would allow her more time to grieve & come to terms with her father's death, gain some maturity & wisdom and, THEN make a decision on where she wants to go with it all.

I don't think the issue is that the child not carry on her father's legacy and/or continue to indulge in her own environmental interests. It's how it's done that is questionable. She can be actively involved in the issues at hand WITHOUT being put in any sort of danger in the process. Keep in mind, her father was far more experienced than is she and it didn't bode so well for him in the end ~ nature is beautiful, but chronically unpredictable. Personally, I think there should be a more age-apropriate arena for this girl to follow her passions. Kind of like, as mentioned, one wouldn't want to stop a young girl from dancing, etc. Of course not - she ought to get every benefit of exploring it. Would one send someone that young on a grueling 30-country tour, complete with rigorous rehearsals and extreme pressures, though? Probably not.
Also, it might be a consideration to think ahead on this. The public is fickle. If, God forbid, Bindi does get injured in this project - somebody, everybody, is going to be crucified publicly for letting it happen. The public that liked the idea now will villify her mother later on if anything goes wrong calling it all flatly irresponsible. I'd agree with the rest that it'd just be best to let her become an adult at which time the decision to become an "adventuress/ecology advocate" is her very own. For now, wouldn't occasional educational visits to various schools (in her own age group) make more sense?

A couple of years back in France, they had a special on a kid whose parents lived in Africa. There was this cute girl riding on an elephants back and she was so perfectly at ease with the animals and showed no fear, that, I guess nothing ever happened to her. The parents were reproached for letting their kid hang out with the animals, but, I guess that was their decision.
I think they'd come back to France to live and the girl sounded wistful about her animal friends back in Africa.

I tried to look it up, but on the one hand, this kid was just naturally in tune with animals and it showed, but on the other hand, it seemed to me that enormous risks in the size of the animals and their child were taken.

If you think of the little kids horseback riding all over the world though, it's an activity that is sanctioned by most societies, yet, let's face it, horses are big animals and might be scared by other animals or cars and your kid might be endangered by that.

Beyond the animal world, mountain climbing, which a lot of folks in my family have done as well as me, is a dangerous sport if you're not brought up to respect things early. I was thirteen or so and caught a guy who weighed twice what I weighed because I was trained to respond to commands to catch him. It was in a climbing class setting...but, a split second would have been his injury or death. I'd been used to scampering up and down rocks since I was tiny, and yet, I needed guidance.
Swimming is also an activity that if a child doesn't have an innate respect for nature and the power of water, they won't survive.

I'm wondering if she'll have the prudence that comes with seeing so many different situations and predicting things, that her elders could teach her...she has the natural knack for it though.

I really don't like the idea of making money off of it. That's what makes me uncomfortable. But I guess there are many other activities that kids like her do that are just as bad. How about being a sitcom star? So many of those kids end up with major problems.

This TV show was in production well before her father died. He was actually filming footage for it when he died.

She seems to be an exceptionally bright, confident and articulate little girl. And also very well-loved. I can't see any sign in her demeanour that she's being put into a situation she's not comfortable with. And anyway - what would Iknow ...If I was Terri I'd be really fed up with total strangers making judgments on what is right or wrong for my daughter. She might not be having a 'normal' childhood but in my view normality is much over-rated anyway. I know a lot of kids in so-called normal families that I worry about a lot more than Bindi Irwin. Let her be extraordinary.

I think I'd have to agree with wajo and Ozfei on this one.
I also tend to think that Bindi would be in a lot less actual danger than it might seem. She is, after all, a child with lots of apparently competent people looking out for her, and I doubt that she would be allowed to be in the situations that her father was.
There are tons of kids who are in situations daily that many would consider "dangerous" and we don't say anything about their lives--kids who work with farm animals, kids who hunt, etc. My grandparents were caretakers at a Salvation Army camp in Michigan and my mom and uncle grew up with a lot of exposure to wildlife, including catching water moccasins (a poisonous snake) with their paddles while out canoeing.
I think Bindi will be just fine, and I don't think she would be forced to do anything if she wanted to stop.

pheeeeeeew! I was beginning to think I was the only one who had this perspective.

Quote:

---

I really don't like the idea of making money off of it. That's what makes me uncomfortable.

---

The money the Irwin family made with Steve's TV/movie productions and Bindi's appearances (which she started before her father died) are used to further the reclamation of land for wildlife and for the protection of wildlife. It is all about the animals.

Quote:

---

---

Let the child have a Normal Life

Quote:

---

---

The life she has now is the same as when her Father was alive, just minus her Father, so as far as i can see her life is still Normal, she is continuing on with everything She and Steve started, It is HER choice along with her Mother and Grandparents.

BTW--Describe the Average City Childs Normal Life

7AM - 830AM Wake Up and get ready for School

845AM Catch Bus

9AM to 4PM School

Most Kids i know have after school activities they do, Mostly thought up by their parents called - Practice -
Baseball, Football, Soccer, Basketball Etc, How many of these kids would Love to do what Bindi is doing rather than the above, Answer 90% of them.
These are the same Parents who believe that DARE works.

And then Homework till Bed Time

The Irwins let her Decide what she wanted to do, unlike most other parents who only see Dollar Signs in Sports Activities.

And to JAR

which Upsets you more,
The fact that Bindi says that she's NOT afraid of these animals or The fact that you think she should be??

It is a known FACT,
Most Animals Attack People when they sense Fear.
BTW, if you are walking around in the Forest, An Animals Home, and the Animal attacks you, it is because you are a Tresspasser, the same as it would be if it were your Home. Only it is the Animal who gets into more trouble for Protecting its Home against the Invader, usually by being Hunted Down.

When i was growing up there was a saying,

Being Different Is Being Great

But in todays world, The only time Being Different Is Being Great is when The Different you are trying to be is The Different that the rest of the world Approves of

So I Say To Bindi, Go For It

Azure, "most parents" don't force their kids to do sports activities they aren't interested in. That's ust a perception. If kids want to do different things, that should be fine, but there IS something called "age appropriate activities". If my young child wanted to learn guitar, I'd let her, but if she wanted to start going to concerts at age 7, the answer would be no.

Quote:

---

Most parents don't Force their kids to do Sports activities they're not interested in

---

Yeah, and DARE works.
You must be a Stepford Child

Most of the friends i knew as a kid were in somekind of Sports activity, Thanks to their parents, my mother tried to push me into Football and became upset when i said No.

The only difference with Bindi is that her Father is no longer in the picture.
if he were ,Everyone would be saying the same thing they did when he was alive--Oh how cool.

Don't forget about her Grandfather who, as he did with Steve, will show her the Ropes now as a kid, also the same as he did with Steve.

Somehow i feel that if Bindi were a Boy this wouldn't be as big an issue.

People seem to forget that this is not their child and it is none of their business.

Raise your children and not other peoples.


From an Article i read,

As The Irwin's Family and Friends grieved in front of the cameras, 8 year old Bindi seemed to handle the loss with great poise. Her demeanor caused many to wonder if her behavior was, in fact, Healthy, in the past several weeks, she has met with a psycologist. I, Terri, asked him, The Psycologist, if everything was ok, because Bindi had been so happy.
And he said, Why? Are you worried?
That's what you want, A Well-Adjusted Child who can handle Tragedy and see that LIFE GOES ON.
Last month it was announced that Bindi would begin writting a column on Wild Life for children for The Australian Womans Weekly.
Bindi doing this is (carrying on her fathers work), NOT, Exploiting his name as some have said, and I, Deborah Thomas, think that this will help her cope with her fathers death. She's, Bindi, an Amazing little girl. Bindi has also made 3 Fitness DVDs for overweight kids. (whos parents feed them Burger King and McDonalds 3 times a day.) ()-written by me.

I really doubt that Steve Irwin would want his Little Bindi to just Give Up on everything they did and were going to do, just because he Passed Away.

R.I.P. Steve Irwin and Go For It Bindi


I Believe That THe Fish and The Human Being can Co-exist in Peace. George W. Bush,,, I bet Bindi could Teach him a thing or 2 about that sentence.

Thank you, Azure1, for your personal insults.

Azure1, before you post again can you read some threads and get a feel for how we operate this set of forums.

We give our opinions, we NEVER attack or insult other members and are never rude. You can certainly disagree with the thoughts and opinions of others but you must do it in a way which doesn't cause offence. Most of all, you must not make personal attacks on other members.

I think it's a good thing for Bindi but not necessarily a good thing for the public. In this case, I think they are thinking more about Bindi then the relevance of doing such a show.

For a start off, I think that Bindi is one of the ugliest children to be born on this good Earth in quite some time. Poor child, look at the state of her. And secondly, what has she actually been given the show for? Because her father died at the tail or a pernickity fish? Now please, what discernible talent has the child shown the world? If she was an amazing singer or the next JonBenet (R.I.P) then I could understand it.

So, it's all about looks? Thought that was a message we shouldn't be so strongly sending out there. Give me a normal looking kid over a primped up princess like JonBenet Ramsey any day.

I just can't think what Bindi can bring to the television. I agree with Jar, I really don't think it's a very good idea to tell children that it's such a fantastic idea to encourage the under-eight set to go manhandling creatures. As is my understanding, creatures don't like it all that much. When I was eight, my parents were going over the fact that a: you shouldn't grab a salamander because they don't enjoy it, and b: that if you go near a large dog, they are rather likely to have a pop.

Good heavens, what can her looks possibly have to do with this? I agree with Lisa . The real issue is about her safety and possible exploitation.

[ But for the record - the little girl has a sort of apple - seed - eyed beauty that will be really show stopping in a few years -but that's quite beside the point.]