Does it bother you when people refer to animals as their children?

Animal mothers and all those women who claim to love their daughters or sons in law or nephews and neices as their own children bug me. Thats because its so unnatural and impossible. This is extremism and true happiness for humans will always be found WITHIN the boundaries of normality, not idealism

My father and his wife are "Animal Parents. Before my sister and I moved out of state, they taught our kid to refer to their dog as "Uncle Max". When they refer to the dog to my sister and me they say "your brother". We laugh at them hysterically. My sister and our husbands all have dogs we love, but none of us refer to them as family members. An occassional "Hi Baby" or something may come out of our mouths but that is it. My fathers wife is really psyco and we just accept it and move on. She is coo-coo and she and her dog will be fine. We really hate that dog. They drove two days to purchase this dog. I feel bad because I hate the dog because of their obsession. They don't buy our kids Christmas gifts because they claim they can't sfford to buy so many gifts. But guess what, "Uncle Max" gets loaded on Christmas morn. So YES!!! Animal "mothers" bug me!!!

no, i dont bother me at all.my dad was the same way with his dog. he would even go get kfc for his dog everyday .he would say thats his son an talk to him it he was human.but he didnt give advice like your friend dose.i think it just a way to keep someone company an fill loved an have someone to talk to.i dont do this to my cats.they are my buddys an i dont mother them..

I wouldn't say that it "bothers" me, but I find it kind of stupid.

My neighbor calls his little dog his "grandson" -- haha -- isn't that a new one! So I guess that's the same as saying he is a parent... he has a daughter that doesn't have kids and I think that is why he has chosen to say "grandson". As far as the woman that gives you the advice of a 'mother' because she feels that she has mothered her animal, sorry, but no... big difference in animal 'children' than human ones, right?

my friend was having a dogi as a best friend, but his dog diead few month back, he was so much upset. then he bought new one, i think he have forgotton the last one, and now he says this one is one of his best friend, lolz i dont have any pet. but i want small pet like a cat.

Nah, it doesn't bother me. Oh, wait. It can't bother me because I used to jokingly refer to my cats as my kids before my kids were my kids. lol So I guess I'd have no room to talk if I wanted to criticize. I think it can be taken too far like when a person becomes so wrapped up in the pet that they seem to forget it isn't a human being. But I think it's perfectly fine for a person to be attached to an animal. Sometimes they really are better companionship than people. And best of all, they can't talk back or disagree with you.

yes i've known lots of friends who are treating their pets as their childre. i have no problem with that, because there comes a time that i have no baby yet, i am calling my dog as baby and i am treating him also like my own baby. pets are so dear to us, like human,they feel and they love us so much. so there's no wrong of treating them like the same.

Nah, I don't get bothered by animal 'mothers.' I would rather see this extreme than animal abusers. Many people do substitute pets for children. Those who are unable to have children have long been known to do this. Many elderly people who are lonely and whose children have left the nest often treat their pets as 'children.' I really don't see a problem with it. Now, if someone was 'mothering' a pet and ignoring their actual child, then I would have a problem with the behavior!

I know someone exactly like this! She goes nowhere without her dog. Her Christmas cards are pics of her and the dog. I own animals also, but I agree with you that some women with no children go a little beyond. I don't mind it at all though. Animals do become like your children --women are naturally nurturing, and if they were not blessed with children of their own and this makes them happy, then I say go for it. They probably have no idea they are coming off like this, lol.

I do thimk people can take it too far, but I do refer to may own cat as my baby. I have a wife and child but i would be lost wthout my cat because she is a great companion.

Well I am not disturbed by this. My aunt is also treating her pets as baies aside from her children. Well maybe that's how they feel in caring for their pets since they don't have anybody to care about. Their pets are their only companion and that's why they are treating them like humans. It is how they feel and we can do nothing about it since they do know what they are doing and they are not hurting anybody in loving their pets. I also thinks that itis also good since it shows caring and loving.

My animals were my children before I had my son. I still call them my fur-babies...How do I explain this...I never felt the love I feel for my son before. I thought I loved my pets like children, but after I had my son that definition changed. Does that make sense?

I completely understand why people would find such an attachment to their animals especially if they don't children of their own. Every person desires companionship, whether it be a dog, a cat, a fish, etc. I've noticed that particularly people love animals because they provide you with a unconditional love that humans usually can not provide. An animal does not hold grudges or stay angry for a long period. In the end, the dog/cat or other animal will come back to you with those loving eyes.

I feel sad for people such as this; that they can't or choose not to have kids. And now they are lonely and decided to take on a dog. Who else is there to call your baby?

I don't think that i would ever be able to consider an animal as my child, but then I've never felt that driven to have a child. I don't yet have children at 31 years old, and unless I marry a man who passionately wants children, I doubt that I ever will. So even though I would love a pet with all of my heart, I wouldn't think that I would call it my child, or think of it that way. But I do love dogs, I think that they are the most loving creatures on Earth. They are by far my favorite animal, and I can see why some people relate to animals better than humans, lol. I can sort of relate to canines in ways that I can't to other people, too, but I couldn't live without people. Anyway, people who think of animals as their babies don't bother me at all. I figure if it fulfills that need in them to have a child when they don't have one, if it makes them happy, then why not? I'm happy for them if it helps to make them feel better.

Hi , it is very wrong 4 people to refere to animals as their children .some people do it and this bother me so much. i dont think that this people have children if they do they wont do such a thing

That she gives opinions for parenting based on her relationship with the dog would drive me nuts. I had a friend when my son was younger, not a parent herself but an aunt. She would constantly say "well my niece always...." to whatever was going on with my son at the moment. It drove me NUTS. If it had been a dog or a cat 'child' it would have been worse.

It doesn't bother me. My brother and his girlfriend call each other Daddy and Mommy and their babies are their 2 chow chows. They talk to their babies as if they're real children. I think it's cute.

It dosen't really bother me I just kinda feel sorry for them as they oviously are missing the parent child bond.