"considering getting a bird a child"

[MrsKay]

In this case the answer should have been NO!
I was in a mom & pop pet store recently and saw a beautiful Pineapple Conure.
The employee told me that his name was Elliot and he is four years old. He was perfectly tame. Gorgeous bird. The owner is heading off to college and her parents are unwilling to care for the bird. The store purchased the beautiful bird from them and is selling it.
I left the store somewhat irked and could not stop thinking of the poor bird.
If ONE person reads this and is considering getting their child a pet, PLEASE CONSIDER THE ANIMALS LONG-TERM INTEREST FIRST and not the whim of the child. "but mom, dad, I will take care of it myself" "but mom, dad, I love it and..." etc. etc.
In this case the bird got lucky. The child dearly loved this bird and took excellent care of it, however, it is irresponsible for a parent to give in to a child's desire for a pet unless the parent is willing to accept full long-term responsibility themselves FIRST! In this case the parents knew their child would be going away to college in a few years.
These people did not think this through ahead of time.

Did they teach their child responsibility in it's fullness by getting her this bird, knowing they were unwilling to take the responsibility themselves?
The answer is NO.

A LIVING ANIMAL IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS DISPOSABLE OR EASILY RE-HOMED LATER.

 

[Kiwibird]

I agree 150%.

The summer before I started FIRST GRADE was when my parents got me Leo (a little leopard gecko they figured would live 5/6 years). August 8th marked 19 years I have had Leo. He could live up to 30:52:! Fortunately, my family puts an emphasis on providing the lifetime care of your animals, so I've never dreamed of rehoming Leo (or Mr. Newt or Kiwi, or Tiffany before she passed). Kiwi is the ONLY pet I've had who was well researched and whom I fully understood the long term commitment required.

If we ever have children, they can enjoy the family pets, or volunteer at a shelter but no pets for kids. They aren't ready for the commitment. Family pets are wonderful, and a great opportunity for children to learn responsibility, but pets FOR children- NO NO NO (and did I mention NO?!).

 

[RavensGryf]

I completely agree! It frustrates me as well.
I believe that because the parents in this type of (all too common) scenario are not "bird people", they just don't care much about the life of a bird. They have the "it's only a bird" attitude.

If a child wants a dog, I think more parents typically will think it through a little more, as dogs aren't typically thought of as disposable in the way that birds are
...then again, there are an awful lot of 'throw away' dogs at the shelters too

 

[MrsKay]

Perhaps I should have titled this 'Pet Responsibility'
I realize this is a world-wide problem. The shelters are FULL of unwanted animals.
I hope more people chime in here with their thoughts, ideas and support.

 

[DallyTsuka]

i think the blame is more on the parents' shoulders. its not likely the kid expected his parents to back out on him for his college course. maybe at the time he didnt know he'd be going away to college, maybe he figured he'd be at home instead and go to a closer one. we dont know everything thats going to happen in the future. things dont go as planned or as thought. so in my opinion, i think its unfair to call the kid irresponsible without knowing all of the factors.

 

[thekarens]

I think they OP clarified that it was the parents that were irresponsible. The fact is the majority of kids aren't ready for the long term commitment of a parrot anymore than they are ready for the life time commitment of marriage. There are exceptions to the rules, but generally they aren't ready. Kids should never be given any pet unless the parents are willing to take responsibility for it.

 

[DallyTsuka]

ah, i misread it! i apologize! in which case, i do agree its irresponsible of the parents.

(shhhhh im really not stupid. just blind when i havent slept)

 

[SunnyGirl]

I would never buy a pet (well its not like this only with parrots is it?) for my child if I werent prepared to take care of it if the child couldn't/wouldn't anymore... Why buy a pet if you don't want to have it yourself??

It's been 7 years since I started University and had to move out for 4 years, only comming home for the weekends (maybe) and at the time we had two budgies... I was so happy when my mum had taken care of them when I couldn't, as my grandparents couldn't care less for taking care of the birds (they were ok with the birds being there and would only give them some fruit occasionally, but that was all)... I was really worried, but it turned out ok
Even now with Sunny, it's the same... I could never count on my grandpa, as he only gives her bits ofbanana every now and then, but luckily my muma takes care of her when I'm away... Because of Sunny we can't even plan a vacation together, as we can't leave the bird at home alone and can't always take her with us... but it works and Sunny likes the times when she is alone with my mum or only with me I would have never bought her if I werent sure that my mum would help me with her, yay mum

 

[Mekaisto]

The pet shops where I live don't sell kittens or puppies (which tend to be the 'impulse' purchases for children), and don't sell any animals at all before Christmas. I really like this, as it prevents a lot of impulse buys from silly people.

Of course, there are still pets going to bad or unprepared homes. It's just how humans are.

 

[jasper19]

Perhaps I should have titled this 'Pet Responsibility'
I realize this is a world-wide problem. The shelters are FULL of unwanted animals.
I hope more people chime in here with their thoughts, ideas and support.

I actually read the title to the thread as...your getting your pet bird...a child! lol...like a pet child to entertain your bird. Maybe consider an adoption so your bird has a friend haha

 

[thekarens]

Perhaps I should have titled this 'Pet Responsibility'
I realize this is a world-wide problem. The shelters are FULL of unwanted animals.
I hope more people chime in here with their thoughts, ideas and support.

I actually read the title to the thread as...your getting your pet bird...a child! lol...like a pet child to entertain your bird. Maybe consider an adoption so your bird has a friend haha

Ditto! thought it might be a good idea.

 

[Jayyj]

The one that really gets my heckles up is when some poor kid comes on here say 'Help, my bird's sick and I don’t know what to do - my parents won't pay to take it to the vet'. Desperately cruel to the bird, an appalling message for the parent to send to the child. There was one last year that really got to me, someone in their early teens with a conure she obviously loved and cared for: 'they said it was a waste of money because it would probably die anyway'. Never mind eh, we can always pop down to Petsmart and get another one.

 

[weco]

I agree that the parents have the primary responsibility for any animal they allow their child/children acquire, but it's really a problem of the parents acquiescing to whiny children rather than being a parent.....

 

[Selestine]

I actually read the title to the thread as...your getting your pet bird...a child! lol...like a pet child to entertain your bird. Maybe consider an adoption so your bird has a friend haha

That's actually how I read this, too. Before I read the thread, I thought it was going to be a cute way to announce you were having a baby or something

As to the actual content of the thread.. I guess I have mixed feelings. Obviously I think that getting a pet for your child and basically throwing it away when they go off to school / refusing to get it vet care / etc.. is just... despicable..

But I also don't agree that you should never get pets for a child. Or maybe I'm just wording it wrong =/ I don't know. My children both have pets. They each have a bird of their own who is their own responsibility. I take care of cooking (and paying for) food because that is just.. too major for a child of 10/11, but they do do all of the cleaning. They buy and make toys, make sure their birds have enough time out, train them, etc.

And I do hope (oh god please, especially the sun conure!) that when they grow up and move out, their birds will go with them. And I believe this will be the case. If it isn't, then the birds will be with me, not rehomed.

So I guess my thinking is more that.. children who don't have parents who are willing to assume ALL responsibility should it become necessary.. shouldn't have pets. It doesn't mean I consider Loki and Blaze -mine- though.

 

[Dopey]

You asked for comments here are mine. We probably don't know the whole story about how the bird got to the family. Years ago when someone I knew passed away they left my 13 year old son their dog. I was not asked if they could do it. Nor did my son want to take care of the dog. I was not physically able to take care of the dog. So, the dog went to another family member. Did I feel horrible because I wasn't able to care for the dog, yes, but I couldn't and people were mad at me. Seriously?!?!?!

These people did at least find a place that would sell the bird and not leave the bird neglected in their own home. Don't we encourage people to make the best decision for the animals?

Just my way of thinking.

 

[riddick07]

I do agree that the parent should be willing to take on the bird if the child no longer wants it but lets be honest this is always going to happen. I prefer the parents give the bird up then try to keep it. We have had two recent separate surrenders where parents kept the bird while the child went to college or some such. They kept forgetting to feed the bird so by the point they decided to get rid of the birds they were days away from starving to death. We actually had to put one of them down because it just would not accept food and wasn't strong enough to be force fed at this point. The other spent days face planted in the food bowl before coming up for air. So yeah I might not agree with parents who don't take responsibility and in a perfect world they would but for the reality I much prefer re-homing or taking them to a shelter to some of the alternative options people go with sometimes. And I would say the parents in the case you mentioned were much more responsible then some of the other people in the same situation. The bird sounded like it was healthy overall and I personally would be ecstatic if all our surrenders came in that condition.