Kidtopia

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When you see a snail crossing a path and grab its shell to move it out of the way, you might be injuring it while thinking you're helping.

Here's what most people don't realize.

🐌 Why grabbing the shell is a problem

The mantle — the soft tissue that connects a snail's body to its shell — is delicate. The snail's foot creates a powerful adhesive seal against whatever surface it's on. That seal is intentional. It's how the snail stays anchored, stays moist, and stays safe.

When you yank a snail off the ground suddenly, you can tear the mantle or damage the connection between the body and the shell. These are injuries the snail can't recover from. From the outside it looks fine. Inside, the damage is already done.

✅ How to move a snail safely:

- Touch the shell gently first — let the snail know something is happening
- Wait about 30 seconds — it will retract into its shell and release its grip on the surface on its own
- Once it has let go, lift slowly and steadily
- Place it gently in the direction it was already heading — it chose that direction for a reason

It takes less than a minute. That's the difference between a rescue and an injury.

The snail was stuck to that surface on purpose. Work with its biology, not against it. 🌿

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“Look at the differences between a typical preschool child’s hand (left) and a typical 7 year old hand (right). Want to know why a preschool aged child isn’t able to write yet? This is why! Their hands are still developing and are not fully formed. So what should they be doing to support this? PLAY!! Play dough, coloring, cutting, gluing, playing outside, digging in dirt, sensory play, dress up play, science experiments, beading, puzzles, throwing balls, etc.

All of these things help their hands develop. When they are physically ready to write, they will! No need to rush them, they will show you when they are ready.” ❤️
via

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When she touches my face at the end 😭😭😭 We have a deeply feeling emotional child who is learning to navigate her feelings. I use this song to help regulate both of us and give us options for what we want to do. Sometimes, the problem is very big like a broken toy that cannot be fixed. Other times, the problem is small like a plate being the wrong color. This has been very helpful for our family sorting our reactions. Sometimes we are really impacted by small things, but it does bring us some comfort to know that they will pass or they can be "fixed". Both of my kids have different needs when they are dysregulated, they don't always want to be touched, sometimes they want space. Know that they can take time if they need it. We usually circle back around at night time before bed to revisit anything that didn't get talked through all the way. In instances where something can't necessarily be "fixed" we talked about what we need in order to feel better about the situation. This is much easier to do with my older child, but I like that my littlest one is paying attention for the conversations. THIS SONG IS AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE TO DOWNLOAD AND STREAM! It's called "Big feeling Emotional Regulation Song" by Tawnee Kendall Kids. Click through my profile to find it out search wherever you like to listen. I also have a nine-song children's album everywhere you download and stream. Please look for Tawnee Kendall Kids. I also have solo folk music under Tawnee Kendall. Give me a follow for more musical parenting hacks! What other songs are you needing to help your parenting journey? I have so many songs for a million different situations.

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