Let's just take a moment to remember Honey Bunny. She was a gentle little rabbit with a spring in her step. And even though she ate her own poo (very common in rabbits apparently), we loved her very much.
But after Honey Bunny was put to sleep I scaled new parenting heights. I really surpassed myself.
👆🏼That is a lie, I did a shocking job of trying to break the news to my little boy that Honey Bunny had passed away.
So being a reflective type here is my parental wisdom on what not to do when your family pet dies!
1)Tell your child whilst you're putting teething gel in their mouth.
I was advised by a friend to tell him whilst he was busy doing something else.
I don't think she meant whilst I was putting teething gel in his mouth, but I was so nervous about telling him that it just came out.
2)Compare your pet to chicken or any other meat you may eat.
I can only think that I was trying to normalise the experience by saying, "chickens die and they're animals - but we eat them so we're not that bothered but we love our pets".
3)Use the phrase "put to sleep".
I only said it once and regretted it. I quickly then said that she'd died, then tried to over compensate by saying a few more times that she'd died which I truly believe prompted the following conversation:
Granny: Honey's gone to a better place now
Big Pig: no she hasn't, she's died
4)Failing to read the leaflets that the vet gives you before telling your child.
They're actually quite informative and probably would of stopped me from carrying out any of the above!
5)Plan the memorial a little better.
The receptionist at the vets suggested that we send a balloon up to the sky in memory of Honey Bunny. I told Big Pig and he wanted to do it straight away.
He chose an orange balloon because Honey liked carrots, he drew a picture of himself and a carrot and I wrote how much we all loved her.
We then went to a hill just a short distance from our home. He wanted to say a few words, it was so cute. Then we let the balloon go and it popped!! He burst in to tears and the utter ridiculousness of the whole day sent me in to a state of hysteria - resulting in a fit of the giggles which I had to turn in to a rather over dramatic fake sob!
So there you go.
I really did try to do my best, but my best sucked. I can only blame loving him so much that I didn't want to upset him. So as per usual I over thought everything I was going to say and do, when in fact I should have just read the bloody leaflets and kept it simple!