Young son's special interest - BONES

So my young son who is almost six and is yet to receive his diagnoses, wants to keep our recently departed hamster so he can watch how the body decomposes and collect the bones  Open mouth

I said no.

He loves dinosaurs, fossils, minerals. Always bringing home sticks, stones and the occasional dead worm from school. But it isn't the first time he has asked if he can keep the body of a deceased pet. Last time was early October when our bunny died and a year before that with a different pet.

How far do you or would you go to support your child's special interest?

After watching the Chris Packham show, I am leaning towards maybe I should let him explore his interests in a similar way. What do you think? 

Parents
  • Hi, my son went through a dinosaur/bones interest and still asks if we can dig up the pets in the garden to see how they are decomposing.  I have said no to that but I do let him have a good look at any pets dead animals we see/find.  We live on a farm so there is often a dead animal to see, from pet bunnies and dogs, to chickens, sheep, some cows. 

    I think If you have the means to indulge your sons interest then why not?  It seam very educational and scientific to me! 

Reply
  • Hi, my son went through a dinosaur/bones interest and still asks if we can dig up the pets in the garden to see how they are decomposing.  I have said no to that but I do let him have a good look at any pets dead animals we see/find.  We live on a farm so there is often a dead animal to see, from pet bunnies and dogs, to chickens, sheep, some cows. 

    I think If you have the means to indulge your sons interest then why not?  It seam very educational and scientific to me! 

Children
  • We have an allotment so we do have the space to do it, but do I want to dig up Bugsy who we had for 12yrs? No. The hamster we had for 11mths, maybe.

    When I raise it with the school mum's they are horrified, but I too think it's education and therefore it could only be a good thing... Maybe we'll start off on a smaller scale to see how he gets on.