Young Children Like Sharks, but Fear Grows with Age

Most young children like sharks, with almost seven in 10 describing them in a positive light, but a new study has found that associations between sharks and fear become more common as children get older.

Researchers from Adelaide University surveyed the parents of 374 children aged between two and 12 years, from 17 countries and regions, to explore how children perceived and described sharks.

The study, published in Human Dimensions of Wildlife, is the first to include toddlers’ perceptions of sharks and found that 69% of children said they liked sharks.

Children commonly described sharks as “cool”, good swimmers or visually appealing. When asked what sharks looked like, the most common features they identified were teeth (44%), being big (33%) and fins (31%).

But 13.9% of children explicitly associated sharks with being scary or said they were afraid of them – and the proportion increased significantly with age.

Lead researcher Dr Brianna Le Busque, an environmental psychology scientist from the School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences at Adelaide University, said the findings provided an important insight into how perceptions of sharks can develop during childhood.

“What's really interesting is that most of the children in our study actually liked sharks, and many were fascinated by them,” Dr Le Busque said.

“But as children got older, we saw an increase in associations between sharks and fear. That raises important questions about what children are learning about sharks as they grow up and the role that society, media and other influences might play.”

The research found most children encountered sharks through books (65%) and aquariums (59%), followed by television programs (38%). Almost a quarter had watched films featuring sharks, including Finding Nemo and Jaws.

While the study did not directly measure the impact of media exposure on children’s attitudes, the researchers say it warrants further investigation.

“Sharks are often portrayed in very dramatic and sensational ways, particularly when there is a shark bite or in popular films,” Dr Le Busque said.

“We need to understand more about what children are seeing and hearing about sharks, because those messages could potentially influence how they perceive these animals.”

The study also found that children’s fear associations did not vary significantly according to their gender, country of residence or how frequently they visited the ocean.

Nor was there a significant association between parents’ reported fear of sharks and their children’s fear associations. Nearly half of parents reported low fear of sharks, while 30% reported high fear.

The researchers suggest that positive experiences and education may help challenge perceptions of sharks as simply dangerous predators.

Previous research has linked greater knowledge of sharks with lower levels of fear, while firsthand experiences with sharks have been associated with greater willingness to tolerate and care for them.

Dr Le Busque said the findings highlighted an opportunity to encourage a more balanced understanding of sharks from an early age.

“Children are clearly capable of seeing sharks as fascinating, interesting animals, rather than simply something to be afraid of,” she said.

“Education and positive experiences could be really important in helping children understand sharks as diverse marine animals and appreciate the important role they play in our oceans.”