My children want equal rights!

spitspot · **Joined:** Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:26 pm **Posts:** 734

My youngest, nine yr old Jessica, said to me the other morning - "mummy, why is it when we do anything wrong you shout at us and when Oscar does anything wrong, you laugh, give him a cuddle and tell him how cute he is" . Am speechless for a minute and get to thinking............. I can't say "well Jess, it's because Oscar is so cute and furry and he can do no wrong!!" Jess laid out her case in very eloquent terms.........Oscar does not have to get up in the morning, he can stay up as late as he likes; if he wants on your lap when you are on the computer he can, whereas you tell us to go away! He comes into the bathroom with you when you are having a bath, whereas you tell us to go away! He gets whatever new toys he wants when we have to wait for Christmas or Birthdays .......AND YOU DO NOT MAKE HIM TIDY HIS ROOM OR DO HOMEWORK "(raised voice) The list of my crimes was endless (she is so going to be a lawyer) The only answer I could come up with was........"well darling, Oscar does not answer me back!!!!!! Think my kids have a bad case of Bengal envy!

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

Oh Melissa, you have a problem. LOL. Your daughter is absolutely correct! We do treat our kitties different than our children! But then children supposedly UNDERSTAND what we are saying and kitties don't. The whole bathroom thing is funny! I allow Raiden in there when I'm showering or on the toilet ... but not sure the kids would be allowed in there. I guess because Raiden would never tell everyone, "gosh, my mommy looks fat and ugly naked." Ha ha! Sounds like you need to pick up a toy for your kids -- something really inexpensive. I love that your daughter has a great sense of humor -- or was she dead serious????? LOL Looks like you'll be cuddling more with the kids now as well. This was a "wake up call" for you, wasn't it? Out of the mouths of babes! Thank you for sharing this story with us.

spitspot · **Joined:** Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:26 pm **Posts:** 734

Well Sherry the last time I had Annabel (12) in the bath with me was when she was two or three and making such a fuss I relented. After two minutes of sharing a bath with a toddler I baled out. I got out of the bath and Annabel looked around in amazement and said
"mummy, where has all the water gone" Now I'm no beanpole but not huge either...... Cheeky little creature. We still laugh about it to this day and when she was doing displacement of liquids in Science lessons, she told the whole class the story!!! Embarrassing or what!

Donna741 · **Joined:** Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:03 pm **Posts:** 1048

that is too funny!

CMYKjill · **Joined:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 6:38 pm **Posts:** 1838

brianj12 · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2015 5:54 pm

Yea, kind of cute in the "kids say the darnedest things" kind of way. But it could also be a bit concerning. One would hope that she would be learning to have some empathy for the cat, and other animals, and that we need to treat animals with different rules since they are not just little humans. If you indulge her in this, I dunno, I think that could potentially be really bad. To me this is actually a good opportunity to disavow her of the notion that there is equality between how we treat people and how we treat animals. Animals are "special".

spitspot · **Joined:** Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:26 pm **Posts:** 734

Don't worry Brian, she was joking around! My kids have been brought up from birth to respect all animals no matter how small....they frequently rescue me from spiders without harming them! I guess the real tell if they are behaving appropriately is that Oscar actively chooses to be with them in their playroom if I'm working. They make special beds for him and have far more energy for da bird play than me! I agree that kids need to be taught to have empathy for all animals and so many parents let their kids terrorise pets and then wonder why the pets have behavioural issues. Jess, bless her, volunteered her bathroom for one of Oscar's many litter trays when he was having pee issues and she also held our elderly black cat Harry on her lap while he was put to sleep as she said he needed ALL his family with him. I was so proud of her for staying with him.

brianj12 · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2015 8:58 pm

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

Melissa, your kids play a huge role in Oscar's life. The stories posted here are so funny! I don't have one to share, sorry! It sounds like you have a great household and wonderful kids! If your daughter were truly serious, I'm sure she'd ignore Oscar because he was the "favored" child. LOL. Everyone has to live happily in one home -- and you've got a great family.

spitspot · **Joined:** Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:26 pm **Posts:** 734

Thanks Sherry for your kind words. We are a bit ridiculous about animals in this family, including my husband (he pretends he is tough). We recently lost our dear little hamster - Honeypie. Honeypie was in the girls playroom but had to move into the study after Oscar arrived. We quickly realised that Honeypie was not safe from Oscar and he would do whatever necessary to kill her and eat her - a sturdy cage was not going to get in his way! When Honeypie died at 2 yrs old my husband insisted she was cremated like all of our pets. It cost £100 (hamster cost £9). I asked the vet nurse if she thought we were ridiculous for doing this for a hamster. She said its quite common and loads of people do it. It's heartwarming to find out there are lots of pet owners out there as soppy as us and most of the people on this forum :lol:

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

How sweet you were willing to cremate a hamster. I don't know too many people who would do that. Burying the hamster in a box in the backyard would be good enough for most people. Sad thing is hamsters and guinea pigs don't have long lives and the children's hearts are usually broken in two over losing them. They are easily replaced for not much money.

I enjoy hearing about your family!

DaAdorableOne · **Joined:** Wed Jun 03, 2015 4:35 am **Posts:** 14

I have no human kidbits but I would like to think I wouldn't expect anything different from my kids as I do my cats. At least not when they are little.

Maybe trying explaining that your kitty is forever mentally a toddler?

My children want equal rights!

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