Pets???

[charliegirl]

This guy must use the clumping, scoopable kind.

[katiekat]

What about a house plant?

[bugsmom]

I have to agree with the others when it comes to pets. My son has a dog, a cat, and a lop rabbit. Although he loves them all dearly, its the dog that takes the cake. He will do anything for her, pick up the poop, play catch, and walk her. Just like Misty's daughter, our Lilly has chosen Josh to love. She is sooooo protective of him, hates to see him cry, cuddles with him all the time, and just gives him unconditional love. The cat he loves too, but dosen't take care of him like he does his baby girl dog. We've had the rabbit for about 3 months now and he's only cleaned the cage once. It needs to be cleaned every three days and guess who does it? Me.

Although a hamster would be nice, you really can't (IMO) connect with them. I think a child really needs to connect to an animal to really care for it. But you never know...it may turn out ok. I never let Josh have a hamster because they bite and they can die quickly and I didn't want to deal with it.

I think pets are great for any kid, you just really need to research on what you think will be best for your child.

Good luck!

[jfla]

We've had a variety of pets over the years and finally started saying no to pets in cages because they can't let you know what their needs are as easily as one running around the house whining or crying.

The only pet my adhd son had or wanted was a goldfish that lived for a few years. He cried a lot when it died and never wanted another pet after that. He doesn't feel he is responsible enough and frankly he he has never shown that much interest in our pets like my other kids. He has been driving us nuts for the last year with his constant comments about squirrels (thinks they're cute) but says he doesn't want one. We now have a dog and a cat which race around the house.

Oh yeah we also have a pair of mallard ducks that return each spring. They imprinted on us and I continue to feed them when they show up even though my son yells at me that they are wild and I shouldn't feed them. Unfortunately, thugh, they are completely maladjusted, but have somehow survived. Mr. Mallard was laying in the middle of a main road in our suburban neighborhood this morning. I stopped my car next to him and he didn't get out of the road until I got out and chased him out of the road. I don't know how they manage to survive without getting killed. I've seen him land on my roof a few times before coming into the yard.

[misty]

katiekat said:

What about a house plant?

[meli]

Well sorry to say but I am severly allergic to cats! Dogs I think Its only the long haired ones! We live in a duplex so not much room for a dog! And my hubby wants a puppy to train. And he won'T get on till we have a house! Which we are looking for in the next two years!

So I think we will be passing on the hampster for now!

Actually the plant Idea is not such a bad one! LOL
Maybe we can plant something out side! Some veggies or some thing! Any suggestions?

[charliegirl]

Leaf lettuce and onions come up fairly quickly, which would be good to keep him interested and excited.

Maybe if you have the room, you could put a few different things in that mature at different times. You wouldn't need to put a lot of any one thing in, just enough so he could harvest his crop and share it with the family.

Actually, that is a good idea. Maybe I'll help my son put a few things in.

[katiekat]

A little garden is a good idea. Not as much work as an animal but some work and responsibility. Whether or not it thrives could be up to your son. Veggies are a great idea-I'm sure a boy would enjoy them more than flowers. You could stake out a little area just for him and get some tomato and pepper plants-they seem pretty hearty to me. Maybe even some pumpkins for the fall. Sean actually really enjoys planting things.

[charliegirl]

You could plant a few flowers in between them if you like. I grew up on a farm and my father always did that. Not only does it make the garden prettier, many plants are natural pesticides.

[puzzled]

A garden is a great idea! Not only will it teach some resposibility, but children are much more likely to eat the veggies that they grew and harvested, so he will be eating healthy too! (Not that he doesn't now, but who among us couldn't use more veggies in our diet?)