by Charlie Brooks posted in Parenting

Before this weekend, our family?s only pet has been a cat who doesn?t even bother to conceal his murderous desires. He repeatedly jumped into our daughter?s crib while she was sleeping in it, and we had to put tinfoil in it during the day to break him of that habit.
Despite our cat?s attempted homicides, he?s a member of the family and we love him. And since one pet is okay, why not try another" Especially something cheap and easy to care for like a goldfish. Those can?t possibly become headaches, right"
The Surprise Pets
Well, strike one was that the goldfish weren?t exactly planned. They were giveaways from a cousin?s birthday party and, although I had my reservations about them, they seemed like a good idea. The cat is a family pet ? these could be pets for which the kids hold more responsibility. So we went home with a small bowl of goldfish, but the aforementioned murderous feline had to be stopped from making the new pets a midnight snack. That required a run out to the store, where we bought a slightly larger tank with a secure lid. A small investment, but worth it in the end.
One of the problems with parenting, though, is that your experience of kids? matters is filtered through 20-30 years of time. I had goldfish as a kid, and I fed them and enjoyed them company until they died in a few weeks or months. As it turns out, I probably made their lives miserable.

The Issue of Awareness
Time has passed and now we have mo...