Children vs Pets!

Children and pets are alike in many ways. When they are little, you love their animal instincts, as they grow, you train them to make it easier for you, and just when you begin to enjoy life with them, they’re gone - either to build their own life or to another world! I mean, think about it….both need to be vaccinated at regular intervals or rushed to a doctor when sick; both need to be toilet trained; both have their pictures taken to be displayed at work; both need to taken outdoors although on this front children are less onerous as they can always settle for “Thomas and Friends” on TV! There is not much difference between a parent and a pet owner – both of them just cannot stop bragging about their little ones! In fact, the local library encourages reading to one’s pets just as one would read to children. The library also has a story time where kids read to dogs every week and last week I helped Abhay read a book to a dog named “Oscar”! So ….who do you think is better….kids or pets?

A crazy thought like this is a byproduct of reading a book to Abhay, titled “Children make terrible pets” by Peter Brown. Rated as one of the best children’s books of 2010, you are sure to be in splits reading this. Lucy, the bear comes across a little boy lost in woods and she finds him cute enough to want him as a pet. Lucy’s mother agrees albeit with a warning that children aren’t exactly the best pets to have. Lucy however is overjoyed and loves spending every second of the day with her pet, “Squeaker”. Soon the bubble bursts and Lucy discovers how trying children can be – how they resist potty training, how they ruin furniture and how they go berserk outside home! Suddenly one day, the annoying pet vanishes and Lucy goes in search of Squeaker all over the woods. When at last she spots Squeaker, he doesn’t seem like a pet anymore and is seen with his kind of people whom Lucy recognizes as his family. Lucy misses her Squeaker but realizes at the same time that some beings aren’t meant to be pets and sees the truth in her mother’s wise words – ‘Children make terrible pets’ So coming back to the same question – who’s more difficult – animal pets or human pets?