Don’t get a pet, get a Tamagotchi

[Tech Admin]

Found this article about using a Tamagotchi as a good measure of seeing how ready somebody is to take on the responsibility of having a pet… I have to say, I could not agree more!

https://gametruth.com/editorials/dont-get-a-pet-get-a-tamagotchi/

Have you all seen any relationship between caring for a virtual pet and how that relates to caring for a real one?

 

[paranoka]

I mean, I want to get a dog in the next few years after I graduate college and all I have right now is Tamagotchi,  so can I let you know my thoughts in a few years? lol

 

[TamaMum]

I think owning and caring for a tamagotchi taught my kids that virtual pets were a lot easier than real pets and they understood that if they could keep their tamagotchi alive it definitely didn't mean they were capable of looking after a real pet.

They've both had tamas, hamsters, fish/aquarium and dogs (the dogs were family pets so they got to share carer responsibility).

Now they're both adults but as far as dogs are concerned, both of them love and want their own one; but they know that it's just not practical if they're away from home at work or at university lectures during the day, so reluctantly they have to wait (and regularly try to persuade me that we need another dog in the house...) 

I'm not saying that owning a dog can't be done if you're out of the house for much of the day, but both of them know that a dog's quality of life and happiness is signifcant if they're around their humans for much of the day and they get enough exercise.

On reflection, owning and running a clean, healthy aquarium for fish is pretty time consuming and does teach a reasonable level of responsibility about care and maintenance of living creatures.

 

[Tech Admin]

Sounds like you did a good job of teaching them responsibility.  I still think there is some validity in using a virtual pet as a test for being prepared for the responsibility of having a real pet.

My kids are still very young.  We aren't doing the pet thing until they are old enough to handle some of the responsibility and care (this also buys us some time to be able to afford caring for pets after the caring for  young child expenses like daycare and diapers are gone). 

 

[Jhud]

I am personally against letting children take care of pets until they are over the age of 13 and really do a lot of research regarding the pet (though parents should also do that to not let the children "experiment" with the experience), unless said pet is large enough to be the whole family's responsibility like a cat or dog. A lot of pets that are considered "entry level" for kids are actually not all that easy to take care of and require a lot of care to be happy. For example, hamsters actually need quite HUGE cages, a "perfect" cage for a golden hamster (just one! They are solitary animals!) is a whooping 100x100cm. A bare minimum is one that's at least 100cm wide on one side. The hamster wheel needs to be quite large to prevent back injuries, the food has to be good quality (no budget food!), proper diet has to be mantained (mostly grain, fruits and vegetables only as an occassional treat since they're not healthy for hamsters, also since hamsters are omnivores they need some bug protein from time to time). Then there's daily cleaning, understanding that a hamster can bite you, etc. I'm speaking from my own experience as I've had pets since I was a young child and when I realized that a lot of my first pets have been vastly mistreated still eats at me to this day. Goldfish are a whole another story too - aquarium keeping is NOT an easy task! 

But at the same time I know that children are not stupid and know a difference between a Tamagotchi and an actual pet, and just because a child can take care of a Tamagotchi doesn't necessarily mean they'd be a good pet caretaker, and even vice versa. But if there's no other way, it's definitely better to offer them a Tamagotchi rather than an actual pet.

Though I personally think that parents should never 100% give children full responsibility of an animal, unless they are sure the child is doing a good job at it, they should be responsible too.

 

[kuchikid]

I'm not sure I support the message of this article. It doesn't address one of the biggest issues with children receiving pets: getting bored of them. By recommending kids take ownership of a Tamagotchi (a literal toy designed not to get boring), it feeds into the commoditization of pets, which is the very issue many kids face.

 

[leogames2012]

I Agree or disagree.  I take care of a Dog. which Is rootweiler.  But why Theses pets that is Called  Tamagotchi Are easier than real pets?

Edit:

Learned it!  Just I am Not against that  it.