My very first pet was a dead caterpillar on a stick. I'm not sure if it was dead when I found it or if it passed away soon after, but I was very, very small so I didn't even realize it was dead. Today, the closest things I have to a pet are my matryoshka Unazukin and my bread starter, and they don't do much. Perhaps a high-tech pet is the perfect thing for very small children and very easily-distracted girls who travel a lot...
How old were you when you got your first pet? Was it a temporary pet like a firefly you caught or a rescued bird, or a proper pet like a dog or goat? How old were your children when you let them get a pet, and how did it go? How can you tell a kid is ready for a pet? Would you indulge in a little pet-subterfuge? I'm not recommending a dead caterpillar on a stick, but how about an electronic butterfly in a jar?
As ThinkGeek describes it, "When we were kids, we liked putting butterflies in jars so we could keep them forever and ever. But sometimes they always died." So true. Maybe the electronic butterfly in a jar could teach your kid both that real animals can't live in jars, and that tech can be cool and beautiful. (There's no age recommendation given, but keep in mind it is a glass jar full of high-techery, so children should be supervised, of course.)
(Image: ThinkGeek)
Sean & Sara's Minimal Americana 
The World's Ugliest Condo: Follow The Money Budget Breakdown 
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Mini & Large Wood P...
14 Simple, Delicious Recipes with Just 6 Ingredients (Plus Salt)
Restaurant Copycat Recipe: Homemade Wendy's Chocolate Frosty 
Comments (16)
We gave my three year old niece on of these 'butterflies in a jar' for Christmas and she LOVED it. My own 10 year olds thought it was pretty cool too!
I should add, as mentioned, this is a glass jar so I wouldn't have given this to any three year old (my own son as a three year old, for example...no way) However, my niece does very well with it and loves to keep it on her dresser.
Hm. I find watching a butterfly trapped in a jar sad - even if it's a mechanical butterfly.
I bought the butterfly in a jar for myself this Christmas (9 bucks on think geeks black Friday sale!)
I work at a high school and keep it in my office. Students are always asking me if its real and they see it moving and never believe me when I say its fake.
I got the monarch and I think its cute. fun stuff!
My two year old thought it was interesting too but he insisted on holding it and was a little too rough with it. I wouldn't let him play with it on his own
My husband gave me one this Valentine's Day:)
I've had pets all my life - my earliest memory was feeling sorry for the male guinea pig, and putting him back in with the females. Pets are an important part of my life, and I believe they teach children many important lessons.
2 kids, 1 husband, 1 dog, 4 chicken, and 1 hedgehog.
*in my opinion*
Keeping pets is a very shelfish act and hardly ever in the best interest of the animal. :o(
There are better ways of teaching children life values/lessons.
@Lorelski - Ditto. They're very clever mechanical devices, but I wouldn't want to decorate my living space with depictions of other living things struggling in futility to escape their confines, so this is no exception.
We always had pets around. Over the course of my childhood, we had 3 cats, 2 fish, 2 dogs, 2 guinea pigs, and 1 rabbit. George was my favorite a basset hound that I would pull around in my wagon and build him houses.
I have this butterfly in a jar, and I LOVE it. I also have a firefly version with a glowing pink firefly. Both were purchased at Walmart of all places!
Children LOVE this little gadget. Of course, I keep it up on a shelf, and sit with them while they hold it and tap on the lid (which activates it's fluttering).
The firefly is beautiful in the dark, and I bring it into bed with my 19 month old daughter to play with in the dark (again, supervised). It's magical!
Note: You can buy this SAME item for much cheaper at Amazon and it is a "prime" item, so you can get free 2 day shipping with a prime account.
My cat LOVES this toy. I put it on the ground and tap it, and he tries his best to knock out the butterfly. Hours of entertainment.
haaaaaaahahahahhah dead catapillar on a stick. im cracking up. totally something i would do. my first "real" pet was a weenie dog. i wanted to name him Batman Bart Simpson but but of course my mom wouldn't allow that ... so his name was Dash. i still miss him :(
I was intrigued by these after seeing them for sale at Michaels, but did find that watching something (even mechanical) struggle to escape made me sad.
ChristineRogers- Considering how many animals are in shelters and euthanized every day, it seems unrealistic to consider keeping pets a selfish thing to do. Opening your home to an animal in need and giving it a better life is a generous thing to do, if anything.
As a Rescue Dog Mommy for over 20 years, I do not find what I do to be selfish. Well stated, Emilytherese!
A nice ACTUAL starter pet is an ecosphere -- the same one from Viva Terra sells for almost half the price on Target or Amazon. It's a totally self-contained environment that only needs a bit of sunlight to flourish, and the little live shrimpies in a backdrop of actual coral encased in glass are more polished looking than, say, a plastic Sea Monkeys set.