April 28, 2016

I won't compare your baby to my dog...

...because I understand that babies and dogs are different types of mammals.

(This is written with an air of satire, but not really...take it how you will.)

Jett wouldn't pose for me. Scout did, though.

Articles like this one are confusing.  By reading the comments, I can tell that people are genuinely wondering if it's a satire. I don't think it is. I think it's just a mom writing about how she feels. But the fact that many assume it to be a satire is pretty telling.

I came across it because one of my Facebook friends "liked" it and also liked the HuffPost.  I generally don't take much that they say seriously. They'll hire anyone.

Most of the comments on the "article" are along the lines of So people without kids aren't allowed to be tired? Aren't allowed to feel/be broke? Aren't allowed to be busy? 

But I'll tell you why I won't compare your baby to my dog: I'm a learned individual and I understand that dogs and babies are, in fact, different species. Both living things are choices that we decide to care for, but that's where the similarities might have to end. They both require an extreme amount of care, but in different ways. For example, you can leave a dog alone most of the day and you can't do that with a child. You can also take a child with you places that a puppy cannot go. You can't leave your kid in the car, you can leave your dog in the car (temperature permitting), and so on.

There are some similarities. I've taken sick days to take dogs to the vet or take care of them in case of emergencies. I hear you can do that with kids too (note the satirical tone).

**This is written to the plural "you". There is no one in my mind as I write this (childless, yet still tired) at 10pm on a weeknight.**

However, I won't tell you I "know how you feel" when you mention your baby/child/children, because I don't have a child to talk about. But because you talk about your child a lot, I draw on the only comparison I know: taking care of a puppy.

It's ALL I have to add to the conversation.

If you don't want to hear the occasional puppy tale (tail...ha ha), don't trap me in a childcare conversation. Because puppy talk is all you can possibly get out of me. I'm just trying to relate and keep conversation flowing. But I've never said "I know how you feel", because I don't.

The next thing that will happen though comes with the territory of my job...if you have a child and you want to talk about your kid/kids all the time, please don't hate me if I talk about the 30 kids I spend all day with. I don't want to talk about my job all the time. I really don't. I spend enough time there and I rarely talk about it at home. But if you're talking about your kids, it's (again) ALL I have to add to the conversation.

Unless you want me to talk about my dogs.

9 comments:

  1. Well, as someone who has neither children, pets nor a job involving children I have literally nothing to contribute to parenting discussions! Ha! Obviously I'm happy to listen and empathise, but I have no point of reference and articles like that just make me fearful to open my mouth in fear of offending the all knowing Parent.

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  2. As someone who has both a child and a dog, I find the whole argument ridiculous. Yes, there are obvious differences. But it boils down to loving someone totally dependent on you for their care, who loves you back and is overjoyed to see you when you get home.

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  3. I don't mind hearing about puppies because those can be hard, for sure! I did get annoyed with one lady once who was hardcore comparing her cat to having a kid. I just had to laugh her off ;)

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  4. I automatically don't like articles which are lists of annoying things to say.
    I fall on the side of pets =/= children...because it's simply not the same thing. And yet there are moments of hilarious similarities, like how Angel never slept soundly when we had cats and regularly went all the way outdoors in the middle of the night (they were barn cats/mousers, not actually housepets), to go check on them and make sure they were all right. And now our relatives post photos of our cats on Facebook for Angel to see them because he misses them. ahahaha....

    In any conversation about little kids I totally bring in stories of my much younger siblings, cousins, or my students. There's a ton of kids in my life and I can relate to a lot about kids, although I've yet to actually be a mom.

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  5. I'm with Rachel. Lists of "what not to say" to this person or that person are one of my biggest pet peeves. Also, I can't stand it when people say "YOU'RE tired!? Wait til you have a kid, THEN you'll know what tired is!" It just feels like everything has to be a competition these days and it's annoying...plus having to walk on eggshells so as not to say something "offensive" to people with kids gets really old after a while. One of my main goals when we have kids is to not act like those parents who have a baby and it's like one of the Men in Black came in and wiped their memory clean and they completely forget what it's like to be the one in the group without a kid.

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  6. I can't stand articles like that one. Drive me absolutely nuts. I'll talk about puppies all day with you though.

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  7. I agree with you! I certainly can't compare having pets to having kids, so I get why people with kids would think that was annoying. But it's true that people without kids can still be tired. They can still be broke. If people are going to get offended when I talk about "my kids" (aka my students) to fill in a conversation that I can't completely relate to (yet), then I don't have time for those people!
    Why do people feel the need to make everything a competition? (As in, you don't have kids so you can't possibly be as tired/broke/etc. as me!)

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  8. that article was annoying.
    the other morning my friend and i met at body pump and i said i was tired (it was like 6am) and she said she was too, i asked which baby woke up and she said both. i said you win, and she said no one wins when it comes to lack of sleep. preach lol. i know i don't have kids and i know i don't know what i will be like when i do have them.. but i sure hope it's not all important better than everyone without kids like other people seem to act. why does one have to be harder than the other? we all make our own choices, deal with it. rage.

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  9. I might be one of few moms who thinks my dog might be harder to care for (some days) than my child. Oh, Ruby!

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