My children begged and pleaded for hamsters after we moved and, since we were uprooting them from daily contact with animals (our collective family has a ranch), we agreed to it as long as they were taken care of well.
And the hamsters have been coddled and much loved, maybe just a little aggressively. The kids kept the cages clean and made sure they got their exercise on the little wheel.
But yesterday, I was in the kitchen canning while the children were doing their lessons in the next room. They were very quiet... a little too quiet. I heard a couple giggles, but that was it.
That's when I heard a lot of water running in the bathroom. I pounded on the door and when DD finally opened it, the sink was practically overflowing and DS was standing there holding one of the hamsters underwater!
"We're blessing Mr. Fluffy!" they said enthusiastically. I'd gotten there just in time to make sure Mr. Fluffy survived his christening, but barely. The poor little thing was shivering and coughing out water.
When I asked them why they did it, they explained that they were working on trying to raise the dead, like Jesus, and that "It didn't work on Snuffles because he hadn't been blessed."
I went running into the playroom and found Snuffles dead on the floor. They put him in their little catapult (they're very into medieval history right now) and catapulted him against the wall.
I'm just in shock. My children have never been mean to animals before and I don't think they meant to kill the hamster on purpose. At least the first one. I don't know how they ever got it into their head that they can raise the dead.
I can't even begin to think of a punishment dire enough for this. They went to bed without supper and lost TV but I just don't think they understand that dead means dead.
Blessings,
Blackbird
And the hamsters have been coddled and much loved, maybe just a little aggressively. The kids kept the cages clean and made sure they got their exercise on the little wheel.
But yesterday, I was in the kitchen canning while the children were doing their lessons in the next room. They were very quiet... a little too quiet. I heard a couple giggles, but that was it.
That's when I heard a lot of water running in the bathroom. I pounded on the door and when DD finally opened it, the sink was practically overflowing and DS was standing there holding one of the hamsters underwater!
"We're blessing Mr. Fluffy!" they said enthusiastically. I'd gotten there just in time to make sure Mr. Fluffy survived his christening, but barely. The poor little thing was shivering and coughing out water.
When I asked them why they did it, they explained that they were working on trying to raise the dead, like Jesus, and that "It didn't work on Snuffles because he hadn't been blessed."
I went running into the playroom and found Snuffles dead on the floor. They put him in their little catapult (they're very into medieval history right now) and catapulted him against the wall.
I'm just in shock. My children have never been mean to animals before and I don't think they meant to kill the hamster on purpose. At least the first one. I don't know how they ever got it into their head that they can raise the dead.
I can't even begin to think of a punishment dire enough for this. They went to bed without supper and lost TV but I just don't think they understand that dead means dead.
Blessings,
Blackbird
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: ok I promise not to respond to any more old threads.....
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