Guinea pig or DS….what is the best birthday present for a 7 year old?

Being an old-fashioned-values woman living in a fast paced modern world makes for some interesting choices sometimes. Like recently when my daughter asked me for a DS for her birthday. At first I was all for it, after all she enjoys using the computer and I thought it would give her something to occupy herself with other than tormenting her brothers and pestering me. But when I asked around my female friends who have children with DS’s the general consensus was that they were more of a curse than a blessing. One friend pointed out that every time she asked her daughter to do something she was always met with resistence along the lines of “I’ll do it when I get to the next level/after I beat my high score etc” and when getting jobs done required forcible removal of the DS from said childs pincer grip, it was only through sheer size advantage that my friend was able to stave off full blown mutiny!

Another friend of mine who has twin 9 year olds said that while her son was able to take reasonable care of his and use it fairly frequently her daughters devil-may-care attitude towards material possessions had meant that her pale pink DS was looking like it had taken a ride back up the proverbial sooty chimney to Santas sack from whence it came.

So after giving it some thought I decided to give my daughter a variation on another gift she has been hankering after for ages. She wanted a small fluffy white dog that she could carry around in a handbag a la Paris Hilton style. So I got her a guinea pig....not just any guinea pig mind you, this one is special, it has long luxurious blonde hair that my daughter can brush and style to her little hearts content. The rest of it however looks like an overstuffed sausage! I figured this will play to her strangths - she loves animals and is very nurturing and caring, she is learning all about responsibility and consequences, and her business-savvy is possibly going to get a boost too, as she has already asked me if she can breed babies and sell them!

When I told members of my family about this decision it was met with a collective groan and reminders of the other small animals that didn't make it out alive (several siamese fighting fish, a budgie and 2 finches). But I think that Guinny the guinea pig looks robust enough, and even though a few of them even suggested buying her "robotic pets" I refuse to believe that that is a healthy way for a child to learn how to care for something/one that is dependent on her (ie me in my declining years- I can see it now "I'm going away for a few days Mum, I'll just switch off your life support and pop you in a cupboard till I get back").

Stay tuned for Life Lessons from Guinny the guinea pig!