We've had love birds, hamsters, goldfish, and every kind of cute living thing you can stick in an enclosure hoping that one of them would be Miro's beloved first pet. No such luck. Miro's a tech kid. He'd much rather commune with an SD card than a live animal.
But just as the wand chooses the wizard in Harry Potter... so did the duck choose Miro.
My husband brought home this little waddler one fiesta, and it immediately enslaved Miro's heart. Dropping his Wiimote and Mac keyboard, he started caring for the duck
(which he named Duckie. You didn't see that coming, huh?). Feeding it. Bathing it. His responsibility quotient skyrocketed as he made it an every-minute habit to pick up duck poop from the floor.
Duckie, in turn, helps him with his homework. Miro reads and discusses math problems with Duckie. It may sound strange but a pet can actually boost a child's academic confidence. Pets love to listen. And they don't talk back nor judge.
Our neighbors find it weird that a duck is allowed to walk freely in our house. I expect them to shriek if they found out that he's even allowed on the bed. But this duck is what made my then technology-attached boy into the more compassionate and dependable young man he is now. So, the duck stays.
If you have a kid who may just be constantly glued to the TV, the computer, or the game console --get him a pet. You'll be amazed how something so cute can topple down decades of technological advancement in one soft bark, purr, or quack.
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