What's Ducks Got to Do With It?

The weather was gorgeous Sunday evening when my husband and I decided to get our exercise at the local park. It was Labor Day weekend, so many families surrounded the lake with their fishing poles, picnic baskets, and family dogs. Squirrels scuttled down hundred year old oaks, and babies squealed from their strollers as we breathed in the changing early autumn air! Our youngest, Sophie, rode in her stroller, happy to be out and about, observing the active scene along with us. As we walked and talked, she began to get restless, so we decided to stop and let her run off some energy near the water.

She immediately ran up to the edge of the water, as a group of ducks was busy scrounging through some algae, gulping it down as if it was their last meal. I squatted down near them, as Sophie chattered to them, trying to get close enough to pet them.

It was then that I noticed that there was a larger duck, quacking out orders to a group of about a half dozen medium-size ducks. “Oh, Babe,” I called to Juan, “It’s a mama duck and her teenagers!!!” He laughed, as we realized I was right, and then we really started watching the young family. The mother duck paddled off towards the center of the lake, commanding her “kids” to follow her. Only two of her young ones followed closely, while four of them continued to scrounge frantically at the lake’s edge, muttering quacks out to her. I narrated their duck language for Juan. “Look Babe,” I told him, “They’re telling her, ‘We’re coming, we’re coming mom! Just gimme a minute’!”

We laughed at the ducks, as they treated their mother’s concerns as annoying and unnecessary, much like my pre-teen son sometimes does! It occurred to me that animals in nature are often similar in behavior to us humans. We’ve seen the same ducks, as tiny hatchlings, stay constantly close to their mother, tumbling after her at all times, desperate for her reassurance and approval! Then, as they grow, they slowly gain confidence in themselves and their own capabilities. I noticed that the mother duck didn’t insist on the “teenagers” coming with her at wing’s distance, instead, she gave them their necessary freedom. Soon, due to her innate mothering skills, those “teens” would be ready to take complete care of themselves, and eventually, their own “kids!”

We walked away from the ducks feeling that we had learned a real lesson from a good mom. We must let our children grow, giving them enough discipline to help them choose wisely, but yet knowing when to give them that necessary freedom. Oh, and by the way, I don’t think that duck mama was hung up on any past regrets or mistakes, either!