Kids Toys: Butterfly Nets

Butterflies are a fascinating insect. From being a caterpillar to flying around the world, seeing a butterfly can make a child think the world is a magical place - it can certainly seem so in some cases. When you see a colorful butterfly, you may wonder where it came from, and how it came to be.

If your children are fascinated by butterflies, then a butterfly net is a great toy for them to have. They can often spend hours trying to catch a butterfly - running around the entire yard trying to get that butterfly to come down to their level. There will also be plenty of periods of sitting and waiting for butterflies to appear as well. You can teach your children that in order for a butterfly to appear, they must be quiet so as to not scare it away.

Children won’t sit and wait for butterflies to appear all day long, but you might be surprised how long they will wait for them to appear. Of course, if they are starting to get itchy, then going on a hunt for butterflies may be in order. This can be a great way to have an adventure by walking around in the yard, or at the local park.

In terms of what type of nets you need, just something basic will do. We bought these simple butterfly nets that extend out to get longer. They seem to work fine for the goal - catching butterflies. They don’t work well as swords or for other more nefarious purposes, but that’s probably a good thing.

Catching butterflies isn’t the only thing that you can do with these nets. Make sure to keep your younger kids away from the bees as they may not understand the danger of swinging a net at it. The kids like to pretend that they have caught themselves as well - place them on their own heads. They also like to catch other lightweight items as well. My son recently declared he had caught his bread after putting a slice of bread in the net. While most nets won’t hold anything of significant weight, they are still fairly sturdy.

In terms of actually catching butterflies, that will be pretty hit or miss. Butterflies don’t generally like to fly super close to humans. While there are definitely exceptions to this rule, catching a butterfly is not a simple task by any means. I’ve caught one so far, and my son has caught one.

The fact that you can’t catch butterflies easily is actually a great way to teach kids about being persistent in their goals, and patience in waiting. While your kids may get upset for having not caught a butterfly, you can work through those emotions with them and help channel them to actually catching butterflies.

Get out and chase some butterflies this summer. They may not cooperate with you, but your kids can still have fun running around after them. As usual, make sure you join them in the adventures as well.