Come time to actually care for the pet and responsibility falls on the parents shoulders no matter what they think they previously arranged with the children.
Sound familiar? Does to me. I hear it all the time. Parents complaining about how they got their child a pet, told their child they have to take care of that pet and now the parent is doing all the work.
These parents say things like 'Now I have to feed it all the time' or 'I'm the one having to empty the litter tray' or 'I have to walk the dog because they won't do it'. When I tell them they don't have to do any of it they start making up excuses as to why they do. The pet will starve, the child always forgets, the child just won't do it.
Excuses are just that. Excuses. It's the parents way of hiding their inability to give their children responsibility and direction. If you're going to tell your child the pet is their responsibility only to end up doing it yourself, and complaining about it while refusing to stand up for yourself, then you shall reap what you sew. Or maybe those parents are pretending it bothers them while really they don't want to give their child responsibility.
If, on the other hand, you really do want your child to take care of their own pet you need to stand your ground. Giving your child a pet and leaving them to take care of it is a good way to teach them responsibility. Responsibility is a good trait to have as it prepares them for later on in life.
One friend of mine, with two children who have quite a handful of pets between them, set some very clear rules. Like most parents she has her work, her children and her house to take care of. Adding pets to her list of responsibilities gives her too much to take care of so she makes sure her children help out and take care of the animals. After all they wanted the animals - rabbits, chooks, guinie pigs.
This friends refuses to feed or water the pets or clean up after them. REFUSES!
One morning one child got up and began making their own breakfast and my friend told her child they need to go and feed their animals first. The child had a bit of a whinge saying they'll run out of time to get ready for school if they have to do all those things for the animals. 'Too bad', the mum told them, 'And if you go without breakfast you'll be hungry for the rest of the day which is exactly how your animals feel. They're hungry first thing in the morning just like you and they're relying on you to give them food. Now go and do it'.
She talked to her children about how the animals cannot get their own food or water and cannot take care of themselves. Like babies they need someone to look after them. If the children forget to feed or give them water they die. If they don't clean up after the pets they will live in filth, get sick and die. Those pets rely on the child to live. If they cannot look after their pets they will be given away.
And that is how to get your child to take care of their own pets. You put your foot down and tell it like it is and stand up for yourself and those pets when your child gets lazy and no longer wants the responsibility.
Done!
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