kids

Working For It

For months, wait no it’s been years, Logan has been pestering me for a reptile. He aimed BIG at first with the request of an alligator. “But they’re so cute mom.” It took some explaining…they’re ginormous reptiles that do not belong in our home. They might eat your little brother. We have no room for an alligator, nor the means to take care of one. Mommy is petrified of alligators, sharks, and birds! So he brought it down a notch and asked for the $600.00 parrot that “took a liking” to him at the pet store is how he put it. Again, Mommy + Birds…NO! Watching Hitchcock’s The Birds while on Nantucket island…not such a good idea.

I’ve been contemplating what to do. Snake? No. I have horrifying dreams of snakes. I used to be okay with them until my friend’s boyfriend’s boa nearly took his arm off. It didn’t help that I entered their apartment during feeding time. Poor Mr. Rabbit. I’ve never been the same. During high school we had a Water Dragon…all I can say is “damn crickets!” We’re definitely not getting anything that requires live crickets. Iguana…live too long, not ready for that type of commitment.

I really pushed for a California Firebelly Newt because I’m partial to newts. My friend got me one for my 11th birthday and I had it until my senior year of high school. Easy to take care of. I couldn’t make the sale. He doesn’t want a newt. I kept researching and I think we might just settle for a little anole. We discussed, we agreed, but there needed to be a catch. He’s 6 now and he needs to be responsible for this little creature. The deal…he feeds it, cleans its tank, uses his money to buy meal worms, AND we don’t get it until after kindergarten graduation. He’s set. Thrilled with the deal. So what is the first thing I told him he needed to do? Clean the tank.

I don’t think I have ever seen him so happy doing a chore. He even made sure to tell me how much fun it was. He also did quite a good job, meticulous like his mom. He is over-the-moon excited. I just hope he can keep on his good behavior, keep up with his chores, and do great in school so we can go get the darn little green thing.

15 thoughts on “Working For It

  1. Sheri….I had to smile reading this….I remember your little newt…many times going to your mom’s and seeing him in his little tank! Good memories! 🙂 Anna

  2. Good parenting!
    Responsibility. With the rise in high school drop outs, I return to this subject regularly. If, every parent taught children responsibility both through modeling and parenting, we could reduce the current rate. Parents would tell me at a parent / teacher conference that the only thing they expected from their child was schoolwork. So that means, up to the point that I had given him this chore their child had never been taught responsibility. They are amazed when I offer chores as a concept to overcoming not doing homework.
    Thank you for teaching him early through both parenting and modeling, what a work ethic looks and feels like. I can see the pride he feels in Job well done!

  3. Look at that smile!!! 🙂 RISPCA gets all sorts of critters too – possibly what you are looking for! Good luck to Logan!

  4. I wonder if he’ll grow up like my brother-in-law. When I first met him, he had a 16 foot Anaconda, a 10-foot long Caiman (a SMALL member of the alligator family), a monkey that hated his wife, two kinkajous (adorable long-tailed, big-eyed critters like a dark-brown opossums), a five-foot long iguana and a variety of fish. He now breeds yellow rat snakes and tarantulas. Needless to say, I don’t go down into his basement often!

    Good luck with the anole. Letting a child have a pet does make them more responsible. We started with mice and hamsters. When my daughter said she wanted a cat, I told her she’d have to wait until her hamster died. The hamster must have overheard the conversation and stubbornly held on until she was almost four years old, which is pretty old for a hamster! 🙂

    1. Oh my goodness!! Logan already told me he is going to build a house with a large alligator area, and a house connected to his house for me and my husband. His house will also have jungle like room for parrots! eek

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