There's one thing about Tyne getting older that I'm really not looking forward to.
The day that he announces he wants a pet.
I doubt there's ever been a child who hasn't, at some point, been desperate for a family pet.
I was no different - I remember bugging my mom & dad to let us have a dog or a cat, a rabbit, a hamster...anything at all.
We went through stages of having them but my sister & I were bored of them within hours, and it was left to my Dad to look after the animal.
My mom always used to tell us when we grew up and had our own house we could have all the pets we wanted.....and I remember thinking "Well I will! I'll have LOTS of pets".
Until I grew up.....and realised that actually, I hate the idea of animal hair, vets bills, fleas, worms, paying for pet food and all of the other horrible and expensive things that go hand in hand with owning a pet.
I realize that for a lot of people owning a pet has plus points that far outweigh the negative, but I'm just not much of an animal person!
So I know that, sadly for Tyne, there is no way we'll be introducing any dogs or cats into the family home under my watch!
But I don't want to completely deny him a pet.
So that means comprising.....
So what kinds of pet would I consider?
Lizards or Iguanas
Weirdly, considering my personal distaste for furry friends, I do actually really love the scaly kind!
I find iguanas, lizards, geckos etc to be really beautiful and so interesting to watch. I'd happily sit and watch them for hours, and would love to own one.
Unfortunately they are quite expensive, and with iguanas outgrowing their tanks often the cost can be ongoing.
And the main sore point for me is the need to keep disgusting insects in my kitchen to feed them with....No thank you. No matter how cool the creatures are, I will feed insects to nothing!
Rabbits
I like rabbits. They are so sweet to look at, and they seem pretty low maintenance as far as pets go.
There could certainly be worse things to own as pets.
But the hutches can be pricey these days, and not all rabbits are too cuddly....my sister recently introduced a bunny to her family and it is pretty vicious! Infact the kids are terrified of it as it hisses and nips at them a lot!
I also worry that a child would quickly get bored of a rabbit as, lets face it, they're not exactly entertaining!
Guinea Pigs & Hamsters
I loved owning hamsters as a child, and they seem pretty win/win from a parent perspective too.They are so low cost, they don't need expensive treatments and vaccinations and they don't eat a great deal of expensive food.
Plus at least they DO something - hamster runs and balls are pretty fun, and would certainly make the pet appealing to a child.
The only thing that puts me off.....the fact that they remind me of mice. I hate mice.
Hedgehogs
A woman I know had a pet hedgehog, and oh my goodness it was just about the cutest thing I had ever seen!
I would be so tempted to go down the hedgehog route when it comes time to buy Tyne a pet.
The only thing putting me off is that they can be quite pricey and high maintenance.
Fish
And then there is the option of fish.I think fish are the perfect jumping off point when it comes to introducing children to a first pet.
You can go the simple route of a goldfish or two, or you can invest in an aquarium which doubles up your childs first pet experience with a beautiful and relaxing feature for your home.
I think fish are what we'll be going with when Tyne starts enquiring about pets.
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