No New “Evolution Toys”—Yeah!

Last year I blogged about a website that sells evolution-themed toys and apparel for children. I decided to revisit the site this year and see if they were offering anything new. To my surprise and happiness, they weren’t! I’m not sure if that’s due to lack of sales of their current products or some other reason. They do however continue to update their blog, book reviews, and links.

Being the mother of a seven-year-old, I was intrigued by a blog post entitled, “Kids just *get* natural selection (Chapter II).” The poster retells a dialog that took place between her and her young sons. One son asked why their cat sharpened its claws, and she led him in a mini question-and-answer session, concluding that cats with sharp claws can get more mice and thus are likely to live longer. When asked what the cats can do if they live longer and are healthier, her other son replied that they can have kittens and they will have sharp claws [like the mom] and they’ll get more mice and be healthier too. To which she replied, “Right.”

Huh?! The example she gave them describes a form of Lamarckian evolution which has been proven false! Just because the mother cat sharpens her claws does not mean that the kittens will be born with sharp claws. There is no genetic component involved with the sharp claws that can be passed from mother to offspring. It’s equivalent to saying if I cut off my thumb then my children will be born without a thumb. The post should have been titled, “Mom doesn’t get natural selection, so kids don’t either!” I hope all the moms (and dads) out there will take the time to read the chapter I wrote on natural selection so you can correctly explain to your children what natural selection is and is not.

How are you equipping your children to give an answer for the hope that they have (1 Peter 3:15)? Can I suggest this Christmas, instead of buying them yet another toy that will just end up broken or discarded in a few months, that you give them something of more lasting value? I’m giving my daughter the book Charlie and Trike’s Grand Canyon Adventure (shh—don’t tell her!) Please take the time to check out our resources for children and give a gift that will make a real difference to help keep them from being Already Gone.