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| Yes | 6% | 12 votes | Total: 194 votes | |
| No | 94% | 182 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesI voted yes not that I neccesarily agree that a pet should be intentionally killed to teach a moral lesson. But we all have to accept the fact of death and children don't always properly care for a pet and sometimes the pet may die. If this happens then yes the parent should explain what happened and why and help the child to understand that it isn't ok and should then take steps to assist the child in the grieving process. There are certain facts of life that are not always candy topped; sometimes the sour parts will bite us and leave an impression on us. And when a death occurs in the family at a later age it will make it a little easier for the child to accept having dealt with it in the past. A death in the family is easier for a child to deal with if they already know what basically happens in death from dealing with a pet's death.
Not only do pets teach about death, they do teach responsibility and I think when a child reaches a certain age they can accept the responsibility that comes with pets. If children neglect to care for the pet and the pet dies, it can be a hard lesson for the child to learn but it is a lesson that the child probably won't forget. I am not saying that should be ok for the kid to neglect the animal and if it does happen the parent should sit down and talk to the child about responsibility. Pets can teach many lessons and responsibility and having pets goes hand-in-hand. Taking care of a pet means that the child has to be responsible and feed it, water it and whatever else needs done.
Death should not be demonized by the parent but the child needs to realize that it is a possibility and the child should be aware of it. When I was a young kid I was taught that for every action there is a reaction. Whether it is positive or negative is a variable that is dependent on what the action is that caused it to begin it's descent or ascent. If a child learns about death it may help to instill a belief in responsibility and a desire to succeed the next time but I believe this depends on how the death is put in the child's eyes by the parent. If it is thrust at them with anger and negative emotion from the parent then the child may give up and never try again. If the child learns about death in a structured environment and with love and compasssion then the child may get that drive to succeded. This is a crucial element in which the parent or authority figure has full and total control.
Learn more about this author, Amanda Ballard.
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No
It's hard to imagine what kind of responsibility parents could think they are teaching their children if they allow another living being in their care to die when they could prevent it. Ultimately, whoever in a family is "responsible" for a pet, the parents are ultimately responsible for the wellbeing of all members of their family.
You may very well teach a child that once she is assigned a responsibility, no one else will step in to help her if she neglects her duties. This may be a valuable lesson to prepare her for adult life. But what are you telling her about your own sense of responsibility for the animal you brought into the home? What are you teaching her about the value you put on that animal's life? Or about the limits of human compassion?
A pet is much more than an object lesson for a child. For many children, the bonds they form with a childhood pet is a deep emotional experience that they will carry into their adult lives. The life of any pet has intrinsic value, and children who are responsible for their pets need to learn not just the mechanics of feeding, walking and grooming them, but also to care for, protect, and love them. Do we want our children to learn that once an adult delegates responsibility for something to an child - or in the workplace, to a subordinate - he no longer has any responsibility for the outcome? I think we have too much of that kind of thinking in government and business today.
For many kids growing up, babysitting is an important step toward taking on adult responsibilities. Obviously, no parent would consider leaving their children in the care of an irresponsible sitter, and certainly would never be willing to put their children's lives at risk to help the sitter gain a sense of responsibility. Of course, I'm not suggesting people do or should value the lives of their pets in the same way as they value their children, and clearly the legal consequences of the death of a child due to negligence is far more serious than the death of pet. The issue, I think, is we don't risk the lives of our children to provide a learning opportunity for other children because our children are not expandable. We wouldn't consider risking their lives no matter how valuable the learning experience was to the sitter.
Most people wouldn't even turn over the keys to the family car to an adolescent child until they were reasonably sure the youngster was a competent driver and wouldn't act recklessly. Yet some parents will leave the care of a living, dependent animal to a child too young to fully understand the consequences of his losing interest in the pet and forgetting to feed her for a few days. When we put the lives of our pets at risk in this way, we are clearly telling our children we put little value on an animal's life.
The most valuable lesson we can teach our children about responsibility, I believe, is to demonstrate how seriously we take our own responsibilities for the welfare of not only our children but the nonhuman members of our family as well. If we teach them this, they will grow up respecting the lives of all creatures and accepting their responsibility to care for and value the lives of all those beings that depend on us.
Learn more about this author, Dorothy Hoffman.
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