What Honey Badger Mamas Teach Us about Parenting

OK, OK, honey badger mamas probably won’t actually teach us much about parenting our human autistic children, but there are some things we need to pay attention to that the honey badger mama is doing right.

But first, here’s the inspiration for understanding how the honey badger can help us parent better: Honey Badger Narrates: The Precious Nastyass Baby Honey Badger Kit

Definitely watch the video.

There are swear words.

I think you will laugh out loud.

Honey Badger Mama Teaches Us . . .

1. That seriously, sometimes we just don’t have to give a shit. (Watch the video to see how she treats her kit. She knows her kit will most likely turn out just fine.)
2. That modeling works. We will have the best parenting results when we do and act the way we want our children to act.
3. That we should take our children everywhere. Well, there’s a HUGE caveat for our autistic children, but I’d say to take your children as many places as they can handle, and then definitely plan down time as needed (for everyone).
4. That us moms totally have to take care of ourselves. If we need food, we need food. Ya know.

There is something very real about allowing our children, especially our autistic children, to do things on their own. If you want to see how they can do things (even if your expectations are low and as awkward as it might be), let them be more free. Take them out of the bubble if that’s where they are. Help them to explore new places, new books, new people, and new experiences as they are able to.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night is an excellent read (I loved it so much I went to see the show in New York). And there are thousands more success stories for our autistic children.

And honey badger mama is joyful to watch (at least in this video). There is real truth in letting go of our expectations and just not giving a shit sometimes, just like her.

Everything works out . . . at least I believe it does 99 percent of the time. Take a deep breath.

Keep being awesome!

Mica

Randall’s popular video about the honey badger is here.

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I wanted to find out if there were documented cases of autism in animals (other than humans). This article by Temple Grandin titled Do Animals and People with Autism Have True Consciousness? has some interesting information I look forward to reading more thoroughly soon. You might want to check it out now!