do you think all pets are the responsability of the parents

coliel

hi
in my house their is me,my partner,our 3 year old little girl and our 2 sons aged 7 and 9.
what ever pet my kids want i feel it is my responsability to look after it and so i would not have a cat because i dont like them and would not take responsability of it.
this also means that if my 9 year old boy asked for girbils . i would still check on them every day my self to make sure they had food and watwer i would also remind him to clean them out etc how ever if he got sick of them i would take them over - do you think i am right, or do you think now that my son is 9 if he chooses to have say girbils should i refuse to care for them and rehome them if nesasary?
to be honest what ever you say wont make any diffrence because i cant help but believe that a pet is for life and its the parents that truly make the desition to have pets or not but i wunded what you all think?
also would any of you alow your kids a pet that you dont like?
my last question is how do you instill the responsability of animals in the young if they know you will do it any way!!!???
thanks coliel
ps this all stems from my outher son wanting a rat!! and he says it isnt fare that they only get pets that i like.
my answer like the strait forward mum i am is that "what i say goes"
but i am still intrested in your oppinions.

Hcollie85

If i was a mother, which i dont want to be, id say if you want a pet you look after it, but id make sure he/she does it right, but i id say no and wait till the kid is older, by then that young person would be a bit more responceable.

Heather
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Twig

I fully agree that it should be first and foremost the parents responsibilty, because kids can't look after themselves let alone another living being, and at the end of the day, its the parent who pays for it.

Too many animals end up in rescues, such as rabbits, because the 'kid grows bored of it' which should be expected as kids are kids and don't get the concept of a pet being for life nor giving up their time to do things they don't want, ie cleaning cages etc.

GerbilPunk

I think kids can look after their own pets, i'm living proof Razz

i technically still count as a kid, and my pets are perfectly happy. I look after them fine, and we can look after ourselves pretty good, Twig, you'd be surprised. Wink

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PIRATE.♥

Lisa_Ianniello

my little brother at 6years old makes sure all the pets are fed watered cleaned and excersised everyday and i think its great. he shouts on me when he is going to feed them so i can keep an eye on him. he plays out the back garden with Rosie so no cats will come. and he asks can he take Calvin out and i go with him as he loves Calvin chasing him on his bike Smile

he has been looking after our pets for years lol sounds silly but he always looks out for them. i know he will never get bored of our animals.
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Lisa Ianniello

I Love You Calvin, My Big Silly Pups.

GerbilPunk

although i do understand what they're saying after some though. I suppose it depends on the child and the environment they are brought up in....
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coliel

hi
i know im changing the subject but calvin do you think that its ok for your dog to be chasing your 6 year old brother on the bike when your dog has it in him to bite him!!!!
any tipe of game like that can become out of controle , i dont mean to preach but i realy think you need to think on what is safe for your brother and dog to play persanaly i wouldnt alow even merlin who is the kindist pup in the world to chase my kids ever!!!
its just not worth the risk!!!
love coliel
back to what we are talking about and i do think that it is great when kids do look after their pets but i just think that the pet should always be cared for by an adult as well and that it is the addults responsability to carry on careing if the child looses intrest.

GerbilPunk

i see what you are saying. If you are worried that your son would loose interest in gerbils and you would have to take over, then don't get them. Although you'd be a fab owner, I still don't think you should get them if you son will not care for them for the whole of thier lives.
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coliel

hi
i know what you mean girbil punk but you can never realy know how your child will be after a few months.
this is the case even when your child is older take twig for example she has a dog, rabbits etc now im sure she loves them but next year or when ever she may leave home to go to university and she will have to leave her animals because you cant take animals with you in the halls of residents. or she may fall in love with a man and moove out only she has to rent and their isnt many private rents that pets are welcome, now i would say twig was responsable enough to have her pets but her parents i feel should still be responsable untill she does moove out.
obviosly i dont know twigs set up at all im just using her as an example!

clareabella

As you know i have a son and laods of pets so there would be no need for him to ask for one. Saying that, if he was to want a pet and i was to agree then i would ensure that he learns how to care for it but if he lost interest then i would always make sure the animal was looked after. If he was to lose interest then he wouldnt be allowed another pet until he proved to me that he could commit to looking after it. Very Happy

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GerbilPunk

does he get bored of the pets you already have?
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clareabella

no definatley not! Hes only 2 and he finds them all amazing. Everytime he come in the bedroom he runs round shouting " oh yey stumpy"
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GerbilPunk

aww bless him Very Happy

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clareabella

The only one he seems to get annoyed with is diesel but thats because he always licks his face as soon as he gets up in the morning (ew!) Laughing

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coliel

hi
to be honest all my children love our animals and spend lots of time with them and if they wanted a pet for them selvs like a girbil i wouldnt mind but because i have told my youngist boy we could look into getting a slowworm my eldist has said he wants a rat well he has wanted one since he was realy little but i dont like them so the answere has all ways been no but i feel mean!!!