Young human and nonhuman animals possess less experience and, as a result, possess less data in their subconscious data bases. Or nonhuman animals do if you believe they have a subconscious mind which means believing that they also posses conscious one. Some people do, some don’t. But regardless which side of this philosophical debate we come down on, most of us do accept that youngsters of any species posses a view of reality that’s more limited than those with more experience.
This explains why I’m way more leery of the teenagers who barrel down my road while using various electronic devices, handheld or not. They simply haven’t driven the road long enough to recognize the slight change in color just before the bridge that signals black ice rather than just wet. Nor do they realize that on certain kinds of days at certain times of the year, they may come around a certain corner and encounter a flock of wild turkeys crossing the road. Worse, these changes are so subtle and subjective that only observing a skilled driver plus experience (or a LOT more experience if such a role model isn’t available) can result in the kind of repository required to succeed in a certain environment while focusing on something else.
Similarly, I’m much more watchful of my young animals outdoors until I’m comfortable they know about the idiosyncrasies of my property. Mother Nature nicely handles this by keeping wild youngsters with their parents or other environmentally savvy adult animals just long enough for this transfer of information to occur. Companion animals, on the other hand, may need to rely on us for the kind of input that will enable them to feel comfortable enough in their surroundings that they can negotiate them safely while doing something else. The challenge is to provide it, but then to stop fussing and back off so they can internalize the data.
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