Kids are pet magnets. I suppose that everyone knows this. A vital part of parenting is knowing when to say, “No, we don’t need that pet.” Now don’t get me wrong, pets can greatly enrich your life. Studies have supported the idea that they can help lower your blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and provide a wide range of benefits in addition to companionship.
Our family has two dogs. One is a shepherd mix named Odin. That is correct. He is named after the father of Thor, “god” of thunder. Sadly, he does not shoot lightning or anything cool like that, but he’s a good dog…sometimes at least.
We also have a dog named Tiara. She’s been with us since she was a puppy and likely believes herself to be human.
We have a cat named Midnight and a couple kittens that adopted us named Pickles and Freckles. I don’t have pictures of them to share at the moment, because you know, cats are nasty. This, however, is the story of our first family pet. We named him Aflac. I’ll let young Robbie tell you about him…
Aflac the Duck
A couple days ago we found a duck. We didn’t know what to name a duck, so our friend Aaron recommended “Aflac” after the newly rolled out insurance commercial. Josh walks around yelling “Aflac!” at the top of his lungs. Josh and Miranda begged to keep him until we reluctantly agreed.
Now, we aren’t allowed to have pets in our cottage, but we thought, “Hey, how hard can a duck be to take care of and to keep hidden?” Wow. Harder than you think! He’s messy. He’s loud. He’s irritating. He does not want to live inside the house. Oh yeah, he’s adorable and the kids love him!
Today, Anna May and I agreed that Aflac could no longer live with us and needed to go to the pond. Josh and Miranda are not happy! Evidently, when you name a duck, kids think you’re keeping it forever. I’m certain someone could have told me this. We had a conversation with the kids about how much happier Aflac would be on the pond. Once they finally bought into it, the four of us walked him down to the pond and put him in. As we stood there, waiting to cheer about his newfound home…he sank! I did not see that coming! Nonetheless, what happened next surprised me even more. Anna May suddenly jumped into the pond to save Aflac the duck! My seemingly sane, twenty-year-old wife who is terrified of snakes and everything else that might be in a pond was now swimming across it to save our family friend, Aflac. The kids cheered, and the duck survived. I have no doubt that Anna May will be a great mom someday. After all, she jumped in a pond to save a duck. What more proof could I need?
Life Lesson
You do not need a pet duck. You think you need a pet duck, but you do not need a pet duck.
Life Lesson #2
It’s unwise to make commitments that you aren’t really prepared to keep, no matter how badly your kids, or your nephew and niece, want you to make them. Every parent faces the temptation to want to be the cool person that always says yes. That’s not actually great parenting. Our job is to help prepare kids for life, helping them make sound decisions. This doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t be fun and do things mainly because your kids want you to, but it does mean you should apply a certain amount of logic, especially when deciding to take another life under your care. Be fun, but don’t be dumb. Again, you probably don’t need a pet duck, unless you live on a farm. In that case, enjoy your pet duck.
Baby Duck Tip
Baby ducks can sink.