Keeping Animals
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I can only assume that letting my child have an animal is part of this
unschooling thing. Zak told me last week he would like to have 2 rabbits
"real ones" he said that we could keep in the garden. So we are going to
look at animals today, including rabbits. Went to our 2nd hand bookstore and
found books on caring for rabbits, which lots of pictures in them (sort of DK
type books), which are are going to give him this morning before our trip.
I'm sort of nervous about the whole rabbit thing as I don't want to end up
being the one who looks after them the majority of the time.
When getting animals in the past has been something your kids request how
have you handled them taking the responsibility? What kind of research to
they (the kids) do before having and animal? Some feedback would be helpful.
Dawn F
unschooling thing. Zak told me last week he would like to have 2 rabbits
"real ones" he said that we could keep in the garden. So we are going to
look at animals today, including rabbits. Went to our 2nd hand bookstore and
found books on caring for rabbits, which lots of pictures in them (sort of DK
type books), which are are going to give him this morning before our trip.
I'm sort of nervous about the whole rabbit thing as I don't want to end up
being the one who looks after them the majority of the time.
When getting animals in the past has been something your kids request how
have you handled them taking the responsibility? What kind of research to
they (the kids) do before having and animal? Some feedback would be helpful.
Dawn F
metta
on 7/17/00 6:33 AM, NumoAstro@... wrote:
When he was three he wanted to get a parakeet. I thought I was doing the
responsible parent thing by telling him I wanted him to wait until he could
take care of it... I thought that would be about age 8. Over several years
he never gave up on the idea of getting a parakeet, and he spent his money
on bird toys and a cage. When he was 7 we bought a book about parakeets and
I sat down to discuss with him the daily chores involved in caring for a
bird. Well, the chapter on cleaning the cage did him in. He decided he
didn't want a bird after all.
In a way, I regret not getting the bird when he was 3 and eager. I wouldn't
have minded helping to take care of it and I know he would have done most of
the work. OTOH, it was good for him to weigh the responsibilities and decide
he didn't want to take them on. He, however, has no regrets with this ending
and still does not want a bird. A while ago, we even went to visit a friend
of a friend who breeds parakeets (and we talked about why buying an animal
from a petstore is not a good idea.) He enjoyed looking at the birds but
still didn't want to bring one home.
We do have animals in the house... 3 dogs and 2 cats... but they're my
responsibility because I the one who brought them all home. ;-)
--
Thea
metta@...
> When getting animals in the past has been something your kids request howMy oldest son has loved all manner of flying things since he was an infant.
> have you handled them taking the responsibility? What kind of research to
> they (the kids) do before having and animal? Some feedback would be helpful.
When he was three he wanted to get a parakeet. I thought I was doing the
responsible parent thing by telling him I wanted him to wait until he could
take care of it... I thought that would be about age 8. Over several years
he never gave up on the idea of getting a parakeet, and he spent his money
on bird toys and a cage. When he was 7 we bought a book about parakeets and
I sat down to discuss with him the daily chores involved in caring for a
bird. Well, the chapter on cleaning the cage did him in. He decided he
didn't want a bird after all.
In a way, I regret not getting the bird when he was 3 and eager. I wouldn't
have minded helping to take care of it and I know he would have done most of
the work. OTOH, it was good for him to weigh the responsibilities and decide
he didn't want to take them on. He, however, has no regrets with this ending
and still does not want a bird. A while ago, we even went to visit a friend
of a friend who breeds parakeets (and we talked about why buying an animal
from a petstore is not a good idea.) He enjoyed looking at the birds but
still didn't want to bring one home.
We do have animals in the house... 3 dogs and 2 cats... but they're my
responsibility because I the one who brought them all home. ;-)
--
Thea
metta@...