Pets & Kids are they worth it?

[AnandaHya]

My mom never let me have a pet when I was a kid because she said she didn't like taking care of them but truthfully I think it is because she cried for hours whenever any of them died.

My son's parakeet just passed away and a couple years ago his hamster died and he's heart broken by both deaths, though I haven't told him about his bird yet. He went to bed before the vet called with the news.

I don't know its so sad, is it worth keeping pets just to see them die.

I"m feeling kind of down. anyway I guess I'll read the Bible and maybe find someone in the chatroom to talk to but if you have thoughts on pets and whether we should or should not keep them, I'd love to hear your thoughts. we still have my daughter's parakeet, my son's beta fish and our family dog. I think I'll start putting them in our nightly prayers.

this was the Bible verse in my email today. it made me cry:

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

~ John 15:13, NLT

I always wonder how can you sacrifice animals you spend so much time raising to pay for YOUR sins?

How could God sacrifice His son for us?

I'm not very good with dealing with death, it just sorrows my heart.

 

[Liz01]

Im sorry about your lost of your parakeets son. I have had a lot of pets since i was a child, 2 dogs, then 2 cats, another 2 dogs and 3 cats and when they died (each one in different years) i felt very sad and it felt as if they were friends.

But i learned too that they helped me to develop my emotions in a better way, to be patience, to learn about death and life, to learn about to be responsible for someone so i think that the benefits of having a pet are more than not having one.

The moments in which they were not there anymore were hard but i keep in my heart the beautiful or funny things that they did, hope you can pass this sad moment soon.

God bless

 

[Jullianna]

I'm sorry for the losses your family has suffered. It's so easy to become attached to them. They become part of our families, don't they? It's great that you have other pets for your son to love and help him through this loss.

All of my pets, except for the K9 I had when I was a cop, have been rescues. Seems mutually beneficial. The animals have a safe, healthy place to live and I get to love on them and play with them. I can't begin to tell you how helpful my dogs were to me during the loss of my husband and my mom.

Praying for your son and his precious little heart tonight.

 

[leelee]

I have to say, my hamster died a couple months ago and I cried. Didn't think I would as it was just a hamster but they do become part of the family. I hate it when pets die and tbh don't know what I will do when one of my ponies dies but I think they are worth it, the oldest of my ponies is 14 this year and I will have had her for 13 years, she has brought me joy for every one of them so yeh, when she does go (hopefully not for another 10-15 years) I will be heart broken but I wouldn't not have her. xx

 

[keep_on_smiling]

Praying for you and your family. I hope all has gone well in telling your son. I know that the loss of a pet can be hard. My family and I are kind of caught in the situation where my dog (14.5 years old) is in a lot of pain. We are praying about the situation, but may have to put her down. It is hard losing something that is so close to you. I certainly think having pets are worth it. They are great friends. When children are young it's hard for them to understand death (many adults can't even), but losing a pet can in some ways prepare them for the future. God has a plan and His plan does include our pets. God bless!

 

[AnandaHya]

my son seems to be taking it better then my daughter is right now. his hamster died a couple years ago before we got his bird. my daughter doesn't remember the hamster, she's turning 4 on sunday.

She drew a picture yesterday and this is how she described it.

"Mommy this is me when I turn four and this is Rayan when he turns 7. You are driving home from the doctor and this is our birds right next to you ALL better"

(my son turns 7 in September)

she keeps saying she want to see BLUE and to tell God to send him back so she can see him again.

its so pitifully sad and heartbreaking.

 

[CC_Bride]

I think its healthy for children to learn how to grieve properly for pets they cared about. And as much as I hate to say it, if a close relative dies, they will know the process and will know there is a light at the end of the grieving tunnel and after you've healed you can learn to enjoy thinking about them and their impact on your life and looking at photos etc.

 

[answers]

The experience while they are alive is what makes them worth having.
The memories the kids will have makes them worth having.
The way the kids learn to love and care for something other than themselves is worth it.
The learned responsibility is worth having the chance to learn it.
The knowledge of another species is worth putting to use.
The empathy and sympathy is better to have and learn how to deal than not at all

There are many reasons why it is worth gifting your children with this type of luxury. We had a stray sick kitty show up and we took it in, with the risk of infecting our other animals, and the knowing the kids would witness the cats departure. We named it kitty and took care of it for about three days until it died. My kids showed more interest in the cat knowing it was going to die, than any other animal. They wanted to make sure kitty felt loved before it left. We tried to nurse it back to health. Shortly after kitty's death my dad died. They related that kitty was not in pain or ill anymore to my dad dying.

Of course, I am not implying that a death of a family member is the same, but I am saying death is a part of everything around us. Teaching the kids how to deal with it and making death an "okay thing" that we share and lean on others for, equipts the kids for the world around them. My kids have gone through five family members deaths and have come out without anger, little confusion, and an understanding that God has plans and we are all part of them, some of us are to be on earth longer than others.
Animals are worth having, for many reasons. We cannot be afraid to love because something is going to die, we will continue to love even when we are forced to miss, but not having the chance to love is worse and not worth it!

 

[AnandaHya]

thanks girls your words have really encouraged me.

My daughter said today. "mom I still miss Blue" as we were driving to her preschool but she didn't burst into uncontrollable tears this time.

Maybe she's learning to cope.

 

[tribesman]

Of course they are worth it.

 

[CC_Bride]

The experience while they are alive is what makes them worth having.
The memories the kids will have makes them worth having.
The way the kids learn to love and care for something other than themselves is worth it.
The learned responsibility is worth having the chance to learn it.
The knowledge of another species is worth putting to use.
The empathy and sympathy is better to have and learn how to deal than not at all

Excellent words. Totally agree. Some of the best lessons I learnt in responsibility and humility was caring for a pet of my own. It helps kids to think beyond themselves and to develop a lovely afinity with nature and animals.

When I was growing up, before we were put in charge of a pet my mother gave us the task of caring for a plant or plants. If we could grow something from seed, maintain it, look after it, feed it etc and if it survived and the family could benefit from the plant in some way after one or two years then we were given responsibilities over one of the pets (we had 3) since we had proven that we could look after something smaller to graduate to something bigger.
Reminds me of what Jesus said, He who can be trusted with little can be trusted with more

 

[answers]

Thank you CC Bride!

My kids rabbit died Saturday night. We burried him yesterday. I picked flowers for them to place over the area. We actually burried him with my dad. The kids felt better that Grandpa could watch over the bunny.

The story behind his death...well he was our rabbit years ago, and in January of 2010 we gave him to a family member who was 7, because her dad passed away. Everything seemed to be going well until about November of last year, when the rabbit started to loose weight. We live about 2 hours away, so we did not see the bunny much.

The next time we came was December, and he had lost a lot of weight. I kept asking if he was eating, and so on. I arranged it with them that I would take him back the next time we came, and gave them directions to follow to try to nurse back to health. We came in Feb. to pick him up and found that he could not stand on his legs enough to get his food.

After bringing him home I realized he could not barely walk. I removed the nesting box and laid cloth material across his cage, so he could walk better.I put a dish on the floor of the cage and he was eating and drinking just fine. He started getting his strength back for about two-three weeks. He gained weight and started to be more alert. The fourth week he began to fall over and not get back up. Vet said something neuro. possible old age. He began to eat less and loose weight again. This time I knew this was it. The kids watched this, and prayed for him, and cared for him. This would seem tramatic, but it was not because I explained the science behind it and God's will during it.

After his death, my kids cried and expressed their pain, and regrets, and longing for him.
My son (71/2), even before bed last night says, "Mom, do you feel sad when you hear Jaden's name?" (bunny is Jaden) I responded with, "of course I do, don't you?" He said, "yes, and I miss him a lot too. I wish I could see him again." I resonded with, "me too, but I do feel much better knowing he is burried, and off to heaven and not sick anymore" He said, "me too, I am glad we burried him with Grandpa"
This pretty much ended the painful part and he went to bed without any tears. He is already processing that it is okay to be sad and miss something or someone we love.
Thought I would share, since your family freshly lost your pet.

 

[AnandaHya]

Thanks for sharing Answers.

I think my daughter is doing better.

She told me the other day "Jesus wants us to be happy"

 

[answers]

That is great!

 

[Belteshazzar]

pets.. yes ... kids.. not so much.

 

[RedTent]

I had three children in four years. I sure loved them, but they took over my life. They took my time, my money, everything. Now I am old, I need them like they needed me, but I don’t get so much as a phone call.

They are all productive, they all know the Lord, I am proud of them. But I would like a birthday card at least.

 

[Relena7]

Pets, I think they are definitely worth it! It's been proven that they help lower your blood pressure and stress levels. ^_^ And they bring joy to your life.

I have had many pets, and lost many pets. It is always sad to see them go, and part of me will always miss them. But the happiness they bring while they are here far exceeds the pain of loosing them. We don't own their time here with us forever, we borrow it.

And if you are still feeling sad of their death, look at it this way, a dog, cat, rabbit, whatever pet you have will have already had a much longer lifespan in your cozy home with your care then they would have in the wild had they not had owners or been domesticated.


As for having kids....pass...I'll leave that job to the people who want kids.

 

[Canadian36]

I think pets are great for kids and also adults. They're by far way more well adjusted people than most because they know what love is. Some people actually go through life with no concept of what love is.