what would you do if you allowed your child to have a pet, with the understanding that they 'promised' to care for the animal, and, well...you probably know the rest... they didn't follow through on their end of the bargain, even with frequent reminders...what do you do? do you get rid of the pet?
If, by getting rid of, you mean finding another home, yes, that is what I'd do. And most ricky-tick. In fact, I'd have already made provisions for that eventuality, and I'd have told the kid exactly what was going to happen if.
I don't even know any kids, but I think I'd lay it out for them, that when they're responsible, then they have to act responsibly.
I could not make that threat, because I would have already fallen in love with the pet we brought in and I feel that would be punishing the pet and myself. If I would bring a pet into the house, it would be because I wanted the pet. I would get my child involved with the feeding and care of the pet and I would be right there while the pet was being cared for. What I would be doing, would be teaching my child how to care and love a pet, without threating to take the pet away, if the child did not want to face this responsibility.
I have been there before with my children and I took care of the pet because by then I was in love with the pet. I would remind my children that the pet was theirs and to feed, water, and take the pet for a walk. If they were not at home I would take on the duties. My children are now adults and they are responsible pet owners. Janayscat, we are both softies:-)
I agree...I would be to attached and in love with the animal to get rid of it (and Wurd, yes, I do mean finding it another home!) I would definately get after the kids and remind them of their responsibility. (and yes, been there, done that!). Plus, uprooting the animal from it'shome is stressful and I think it would be selfish of me to give away a pet, under those circumstances...but, would definately file this for later....when they want another pet!
Linda and Jeanne, there is no way I could ever get rid of any animal, even if my children were suppose to take care of them...So you are right...We are all softies when it comes to our animals.
And it's kind of a double edged sword...you are holding to what you told your child, yet what message are you sending, to just uproot a pet, because your child didn't follow thru on his/her promises...they are part of the family....I make it a point to never say anything to a child that I am not willing to follow thru on!!
NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS! First of all I would never get a pet for a child. I would get a pet because I wanted it and my child would benefit and learn through me. children don't know what they want anyway and teaching responsibility is one thing but expecting it from a child.. especially when it concerns an animal, or any life form.. is nonsense.
You know, and i may be wrong, but I'm thinking that if someone felt that they had to make that threat when allowing pet ownership to a child, the person already had a sense that the child would not be up to that responsibility. I guess, and mind you I don't have children, if I felt that I needed that threat, and If I didn't want to take the responsibility myself for the care of the animal in case the child did mess up, I would not bring a pet into the house.
If the pet is already there, I think I would announce to the child that I was taking over responsibility and ownership of the pet and that the pet was now a family pet, and then I would take one petcare task (poop scooping the yard or cleaning litterboxes, for example), preferably not a life or death task, and assign it to the child, and monitor that the task is done (maybe not daily, but several times a week and randomly). This, along with including the child in the other tasks as a teaching tool, doesn't let them off fee, but also doesn't punish the animal.
A child cannot adopt an animal. If you adopted it for the child, you still adopted it and are responsible for its care. Again, just my opinion. I just don't think it is a good thing to teach the child that animals are throw-away things. They have feelings and do get damaged when they lose their homes.
In the first place, as a mother of three, I would not and never have gotten a pet for my children, with that stipulation. We have had all kinds of pets from hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, fish, you name it, we have had it. Most of the time they were pretty good about taking care of them, but I always checked behind them to make sure the pets had food, water or needed a cage cleaned. When we got Patti, our first Basset, it was for two reasons. 1) I wanted a dog and 2) help my oldest daughter get over her fear of dogs. My husband and I decided when and what kind of dog and he picked her out. Bringing home a little puppy was just what the doctor ordered. She was a beloved "family" pet. I don't think you should get a pet for your children unless YOU are going to be responsible too.
If you have to threaten them, you didn't really want to get the pet in the first place, IMO.
My two daughters have helped me on many occasions when I went to work for a while. I had puppies and baby birds and the girls fed them for me when they got home from school. I didn't require them to clean up after them, just feed up. My youngest was only about 10, but she took on the task of hand feeding baby parakeets and cockatiels and was very good at it. My oldest daughter, prepared the food for the puppies, and saw to it that everyone got plenty.
My son (and oldest) though he did well as a child, didn't do as good a job of caring for a dog when he got married, (they lived next door). I ended up feeding their dog, Animal, and giving him his shots, worming and heartworm preventative. It was his wife's dog and when she left him, I told them the dog STAYED!
