Parenting Australia

Joy of the Humble Tadpole

Animals have always been a big part of my life and over time, brought me a lot of joy, companionship and taught me important lessons about commitment. Having a comfortable affinity and healthy respect for animals is something that I also want for my children.

It wasn’t until our Mr 2 had a complete melt down because I was giving some of his beloved tadpoles away that I realised the positive effect animals really do have and that a task like raising tadpoles has been effective in teach some positive lessons. Ok, so some of you may say that he is 2 and that alone is enough to explain him having a melt-down, but in fact he got so highly emotional as we had taken the tadpoles out of their bowl and he thought that was going to hurt them.

Tanya Duncan

This whole story really started a couple of weeks ago whilst the kids were doing a spot of pretend fishing in their grandparent’s billabong. Whilst playing with filling and emptying buckets of water we stumbled onto some tadpole eggs. Initially I was going to put them back, but with much enthusiasm from the kids (though they had no idea what they were really being enthusiastic about) we decided to take the eggs home and see how they grow.

Three weeks and about 50 tadpoles later my kids have become very attached to the squirmy little tadpoles that are zooming around their new home (otherwise known as a plastic container). Our initial plan was to release the eggs straight into our fishpond, but we would probably never see the development from egg to tadpole to frog as I am sure the goldfish would have had a feast. Instead the eggs are at home, in the largest plastic container I could find, on our kitchen bench. We feed them boiled lettuce every couple of days, and generally marvel at the speed with which they are developing. Soon they will have to go out into the pond just so that I avoid finding a frog jumping around my kitchen.

It has been fantastic to see the enthusiasm that the boys have for the tadpoles. The spend time each day watching them and are keen to feed them and give them fresh water as often as required. Also giving the sleepy ones a little push; ‘just to make sure he is not dead!’ Seeing the reason behind Mr 2’s melt down this morning is actually a good thing – he has grown attached and feels responsible for and protective over these little wrigglers. The thought of harm coming to them was devastating for him.

I think our kids are lucky to have a number of animals as permanent features in their lives - dogs, cats, horses, cows, fish and now tadpoles. They also feed the wild birds and have watched a family of baby ducks grown from ducklings to fully grown ducks over the last couple of months. I like our kids to have lots of exposure to animals and the positive aspects that are associated with the responsibility of looking after and loving these animals as well as learning the respect that all animals need to be shown.

What kinds of pets do you have at home and what roles do your children play in looking after them? Share your experiences in the comments box below.

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Tanya Duncan is the Mum of 2 year old Fletcher and 3 year old Hugh. She runs a boutique marketing firm Infokus Marketing and has developed Mums Card which combines her professional and Mum experiences to make a product that all Mums would find useful. Tanya has a keen interest in women’s lifestyles, creating a health balance in a seemingly pressure packed life to try and enjoy her life with her partner and give her boys the best possible start for their lives.

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