Recommendations for a pet?

[Donuthole]

Do the right thing and get him a pet. A giga pet.

[Sizzle]

I'd vote for the Chia Pet! Plus when they're bored, think of the gnarly decoration! For the cost of a DS and two games, you could have a Chia-Jungle.

Seems like a no-brainer.

Serious though, go with the DS.

[The_Tick]

Stay away from the Red Ear Slider turtles. We had 4 in a 55 gallon tank. Stinks to high hell no matter what type of media you end up using. And the media is heavy heavy maintainance.

[FN Phat]

German Sheppard. They will protect your family from lawyers.

[New Mexican Disaster]

Rats are the greatest pets ever. They have low upkeep, low cost and kids love to play with them. Also, many people are afraid of them which is funny. The only problem with them is that they don't live very long.

Much better than a stupid DS. How boring could you possibly get? Whatever you do don't get him that.

[creekster]

Rats are the greatest pets ever. They have low upkeep, low cost and kids love to play with them. Also, many people are afraid of them which is funny. The only problem with them is that they don't live very long.

Much better than a stupid DS. How boring could you possibly get? Whatever you do don't get him that.

They do not smell good.

[falafel]

We've been avoiding getting our son a DS, waiting instead until he's baptized to get it for him. All his friends have one already, even those who's parents had similar baptismal requirements. I don't feel too bad, though, because by the time we get it for him, he'll be getting the 3DS and all of his friends will be insanely jealous.

I don't know what kind of pet you should get, but I agree that you'd want to avoid a stinky one. I had a hamster when I was a kid and my room reeked because of it.

[Coach McGuirk]

Kung zhu. Look it up.

[New Mexican Disaster]

They do not smell good.

Clean their cage and give them a bath occasionally. They won't smell bad.

[creekster]

Clean their cage and give them a bath occasionally. They won't smell bad.

The opet store told us it was a natural female thing. some sort of glands. The rats were not as bad as the mice (they were awful) but they were bad enough. We cleaned the cage every day and they got baths. To be honest, I am very grateful they don't live very long.

[New Mexican Disaster]

The opet store told us it was a natural female thing. some sort of glands. The rats were not as bad as the mice (they were awful) but they were bad enough. We cleaned the cage every day and they got baths. To be honest, I am very grateful they don't live very long.

We never had that problem and we have had about a dozen rats. Maybe you got NOrthern California hippie rats. We got Red State rats that have respect for the real America and american values.

[creekster]

We never had that problem and we have had about a dozen rats. Maybe you got NOrthern California hippie rats. We got Red State rats that have respect for the real America and american values.

You may be right. I did notice that they never shaved their armpits.

[Soccermom]

We've been avoiding getting our son a DS, waiting instead until he's baptized to get it for him. All his friends have one already, even those who's parents had similar baptismal requirements. I don't feel too bad, though, because by the time we get it for him, he'll be getting the 3DS and all of his friends will be insanely jealous.

I don't know what kind of pet you should get, but I agree that you'd want to avoid a stinky one. I had a hamster when I was a kid and my room reeked because of it.

My oldest son had to wait until he was 10 and his brother then got his at age 8. I can't imagine letting them have that device at a younger age. When they whined that their friends already had it, I just told them one of my friends had my dream car too, but I wasn't going to go out and prematurely buy my dream car just to keep up. Good things come to those who wait. And when they got their DS, it was the newer (at the time) DSlite version.

We have a 6 month video game ban at my house right now because I felt like my kids were forming an addiction. I would catch my son trying to sneak his DS to bed or try and play it before school in the mornings. We are closing in on the second month and they really don't miss not playing video games. I agree that having a DS can be good leverage, but it is also a pain in the derriere. My kids moods can change for the worst when they play their wii or DS.

As for the pet, I don't see any good options on your list. Just get a bunch of zhu zhu pets. :-P

[Levin]

I understand this board is full of a bunch of middle-aged video game addicts, but I don't understand the near unanimous sentiment to buy a 6-year old a handheld video game system. The only reasons given have been (1) leverage and (2) b/c other kids are doing it. Lame.

I feel lucky b/c my 7 year old and 5 year old boys have no idea what a Nintendo DS is. And their friends don't have them either. And so it hasn't been an issue yet. I'm sure it will arise at some point.

We got a Wii last Christmas -- mainly because I wanted one. We've played it a grand total of two times. Now that is lame, I agree. especially as we bought extra stuff for Mario Kart. But my wife and I are just not into it, and neither are our boys. They just didn't catch the bug.

I don't get the lazy sentiment to just give in and get it. If you guys were saying, "it's awesome! it's so fun! my kids still ride bikes and don't have pasty gross skin! Their brains are getting larger as a result! Their social interactions are more meaningful! They have a stronger sense of self because of it!" then maybe I'd understand.

But for something that apparently would occupy a large chunk of their wakeful hours, I need better justifications than leverage or that the other kids are doing it.

[Surfah]

I understand this board is full of a bunch of middle-aged video game addicts, but I don't understand the near unanimous sentiment to buy a 6-year old a handheld video game system. The only reasons given have been (1) leverage and (2) b/c other kids are doing it. Lame.

I feel lucky b/c my 7 year old and 5 year old boys have no idea what a Nintendo DS is. And their friends don't have them either. And so it hasn't been an issue yet. I'm sure it will arise at some point.

We got a Wii last Christmas -- mainly because I wanted one. We've played it a grand total of two times. Now that is lame, I agree. especially as we bought extra stuff for Mario Kart. But my wife and I are just not into it, and neither are our boys. They just didn't catch the bug.

I don't get the lazy sentiment to just give in and get it. If you guys were saying, "it's awesome! it's so fun! my kids still ride bikes and don't have pasty gross skin! Their brains are getting larger as a result! Their social interactions are more meaningful! They have a stronger sense of self because of it!" then maybe I'd understand.

But for something that apparently would occupy a large chunk of their wakeful hours, I need better justifications than leverage or that the other kids are doing it.

Those 2 reasons are secondary to #1. Taking care of animals sucks.