How pets have become the new children and plants have become the new pets

What it means to be a family and a parent has changed as a result of a willingness to challenge old norms.

A increasing trend of pet owners has named themselves as parents to their fur kids, straying away from the narrative of what is traditionally portrayed as a family.

Dayna MacDens is a post-secondary student and the proud mother of Byron, her black cat.

I feed him, I take care of him, and I love him. His nails are trimmed by me. Taking care of him necessitates a great deal of attention.

When it comes to caring for her cat on a daily basis, MacDens has had some opposition when she refers to herself as a mother.

I can kind of get some pushback on the Mom part. I don't have to go through the ordeal of childbirth, and I imagine he's a little less high-maintenance than a real child. If I'm busy, I can ignore him for five hours, but a screaming toddler is impossible to ignore. But I believe it's a little silly that I'm not a caretaker.

While some say that using the term "parent" when referring to household animals reduces the role of a child's parent, Kassaundra Wlazlinski, a new mother, weighs in on the differences.

Being a parent is substantially more stressful since I am responsible for ensuring that my daughter develops into a competent member of society. She'll need to know how to get things done when she leaves. It's a lot more responsibility than simply ensuring the happiness of my dogs. That's a lot less difficult than making someone happy and capable of surviving on their own.

Wlazlinski, as a new mother, must make decisions that are best for her kid and family. I'm not thinking about what kind of school I'm going to enroll my dog in. I need to sit down and think about what my child's digital privacy entails. What does it mean to them in the long run, and should I be photographing them? When you have a human in front of you, it's just a lot more complicated.

The standard of what it means to be a parent and what constitutes the foundation of a family is rapidly shifting away from taking care of a human being. Beth Mink is not just a mother, but she also proudly looks after more than just her toddler at home.

Beth Mink provided this information.

I am the mother of a wonderful three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, as well as a 12-year-old cat and two tiny baby twin rats.

Mink hears the extremists' perspectives from only child parents and only pet parents while participating as a parent without children.

When it comes to raising a living being, each one is unique. It doesn't matter if it's an animal or a human. My cat, on the other hand, has been incapacitated for the past eight or nine years. And I have to give her water every day using a baby bottle. She wants to drink water at all times. My youngster is perfectly capable of drinking water on her own. In any event, I'd say my cat isn't any more attentive than my child, but she does require my undivided attention. I believe that there are people out there that truly love and care for their dogs and deserve to be dubbed pet parents.

Plants have now replaced pets as the family pet, in addition to pets being the new kids.

Because many people are trapped inside their homes due to the epidemic and may be unable to care for a child or animal, Wlazlinski has noticed an increase in the number of people bringing in plants to care for as a new pet.

I believe that having plants as pets ties back to our need to nurture and care for something that will grow and flourish. With the economy how it is, I can see folks who cannot afford a pet, but all I need is some earth and seeds, and this small plant will fill the void. It's bringing something to the table. I believe it has the potential to fill that vacuum that individuals have.

The ability to identify as a family and parent has expanded beyond traditional boundaries, but the message of treating all living things with respect and love has remained universal.

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