Merging Pets and Kids
I’ll start out by saying that I’m not a huge animal lover. I don’t have anything against animals, but if I never have another pet in my life, I will be perfectly happy. But I know that I’m in the minority, and a major issue for many new parents is meshing life with a pet and life with a baby.To me (a non-pet owner), the task seems daunting. Pets, especially dogs, require so much attention themselves that it’s almost like the owners already have a child. But it may be even harder to manage a pet and a baby rather than two children. After all, pets carry lots of germs and allergens with them, which can create an unhealthy environment for the baby. I know families who have had to board their dogs for months until their baby grew out of the delicate newborn stage.Despite the (seeming) challenges, many couples get a pet before a baby as a sort of “practice baby” before getting pregnant. To me, it sounds like they are making the eventual job of being a parent much more difficult (of course, that’s the non-animal-lover in me talking)! I personally can’t imagine running around the house changing baby diapers and cleaning up pet droppings on a regular basis. That’s just too much poop for me!So, how do you pet owners do it? Did you get a pet before you had a baby as practice, so to speak? Is it difficult to manage pet care and baby care simultaneously? I’m already bracing myself for the day that the Pudgster asks for a puppy…
