1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff Mom Never Told You from housetop works 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Caroline 3 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: and I'm Kristin Kristen. People talk about pitt parents and 4 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: there's a general kind of like negative assessment that goes 5 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: along with that, and I can offer a nebative assessment. 6 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: I was at the mall one day eating lunch and 7 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: a woman in case you're not sure what a stereotypical 8 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:40,200 Speaker 1: pet parent looks like, is it different from a cat lady? Uh? Typical? Yeah, well, 9 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: we'll see. I don't know. Let me know. I was 10 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: enjoying my sandwich on my lunch break at the mall 11 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: and a woman approximately around the age of seventy in 12 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: uh like a long, long wig and a hot pink jumpsuit. 13 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: I like her already sweatsuit perhaps, and had a word 14 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: on the butt. She walked by pushing a stroller and 15 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 1: I thought, isn't that adorable that lady is is taking 16 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: her grandchild out for a lunchtime stroll. And when I 17 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: looked down, there was a dog in the stroller. Oh 18 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: and uh, that is the image that I had in 19 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: my mind when we started researching and reading about pet 20 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:27,400 Speaker 1: parenting and the perceptions thereof Yes, someone wrote in with 21 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: the suggestion about pet parenting because I feel like culturally 22 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: it's on the one end of the spectrum. There is 23 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:42,320 Speaker 1: the person who might think to put their miniature dog 24 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: in a stroller and take it out in public, and 25 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: that that's normal and that that is and that that's 26 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: typical animal caring behavior. Um TLC not surprisingly made a 27 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: show called I'm Obsessed with My Pet, all about extreme 28 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: pet parents who have for babies and for children. And 29 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: I mean, the thing is, though, it's like, all right, 30 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: that that's one kind of spectacle where you do have 31 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 1: people who are spending exorbitant amounts of money on animals, 32 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: and but then there's also just the fact that if 33 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: you are an adult and you don't have kids, maybe 34 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: you don't want kids, and you have dogs or cats, 35 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: and maybe partially because you don't have kids and you 36 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: have more time to invest, like they are part of 37 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: the family, whether you have kids or not. You know, 38 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: because I know um that growing up, for instance, I 39 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: had cats and they were like members of the family. 40 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: I as much as I would have liked to have 41 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: put my cat Smudge in a carriage and taking them around. 42 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: I never did, but you know I did feed in 43 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,959 Speaker 1: pancakes so as I would a child these days these days, 44 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: if you had one around, that's right. Yeah, I mean 45 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: I feel like there are different variations on the pet 46 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: parenting idea. I mean, you have people like that woman 47 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: I saw at them all. But you also, like you 48 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: were talking about, you have uh, you know, singles or 49 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: just childless couples who for whatever reason do not have 50 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: kids who have pets. And but I feel like there's 51 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: a division there even in that there's like a subset 52 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: because you have the people who just have pets, and 53 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,839 Speaker 1: people assume the worst about them, that like, oh, you're 54 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: a cat lady, or you're obsessed with your pet and 55 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: you're treating like a child and you're substituting it for 56 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,839 Speaker 1: a child, or the people who really say, and I've 57 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: I've known some folks who have said this that you know, 58 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: my pet is nicer and gives me more love than 59 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: any human ever could. Sure, And there's also been a 60 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: backlash and sort of fearmongering about this notion of pet parenting, 61 00:03:56,320 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: particularly directed at the millennial generation who was delaying marriage, 62 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: delaying having kids overall, and might be more invested in 63 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: having a pet first, and some say this is just 64 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: a sign of how, you know, the traditional family dynamic 65 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: is breaking down and all of a sudden we have 66 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: animals instead of children. What's going on? So we're gonna 67 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: touch on all of this to get more of a 68 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 1: bird's eye view. It's a animal pun of this pet 69 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: parenting thing. And look at briefly at the history of 70 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: pet ownership in the United States, because obviously it's not 71 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: new that we have animals in our home who we 72 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: love very much. But first of all, let's start off, though, 73 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: with some industry numbers, because one thing that is absolutely 74 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: true is that we spend more on our pets than 75 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,599 Speaker 1: ever before. Yeah, and it is doubling and tripling in 76 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: quadrillion opening. That's a word that I just made up 77 00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 1: to indicate to you how fast the pet industry is growing. 78 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: This actually should probably be a premium podcast for for dogs, Caroline, 79 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: so that we can we can retire early. But anyway, 80 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: that's right, um. According to a report called US Pet 81 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: Market Outlook, for the year, US pet industry sales reached 82 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: more than fifty six billion in up for more than 83 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: fifty four billion the year before. Why Why is this happening. 84 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: A lot of it does have to do with a 85 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: degree of marketing. A lot of stores are saying, Okay, 86 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: people are spending more on their pets these days. We're 87 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 1: going to try to be specialty stores and fill that niche. 88 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: And then it's just like an endless cycle of spending 89 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: on studded rhinestone collars and strollers for your pet. Right 90 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: and also high end dog foods or cat foods, doggie daycare, 91 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: setting up doggie play dates depending on where you are, 92 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: and this can also I'm using dog a lot as 93 00:05:57,600 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: the example, it can go for other kinds of animals 94 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: as well. And on top of that, we own more 95 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: pets than ever before. According to a survey from the 96 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, it found that two thirds 97 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: of American homes have pets, and that's about seventy one 98 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: million homes that have pets, and of those have more 99 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: than one pet, which is up from in night when 100 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:26,799 Speaker 1: just around a fifty five percent of households had pets. 101 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,679 Speaker 1: And if you're speaking of pet parenting and the question 102 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: of whether or not we're you know, having pets and 103 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: set of kids, we do have more pets than children 104 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 1: just forty six percent of US households have kids under eighteen. 105 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,840 Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean there there are more pets than kids. 106 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: And so whereas you know, years and years and years ago, 107 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: Spot and Fido would not have required much money to 108 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: be spent on them. What you get them food, You 109 00:06:55,400 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: get them like a doghouse, and that's pretty much it. Uh. 110 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: Stores and retailers like pet Smart, for instance, have figured 111 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: out how to capitalize on pet ownership. For instance, Ken Hall, 112 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: who's the chief marketing officer over at pet Smart, which 113 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:15,240 Speaker 1: they had this whole branding campaign to change from pets 114 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: Smart to pet Smart, which I just like to point 115 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: out I always thought it was anyway. Ken Hall, the 116 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: chief marketing officer, says, the whole emotional connection of being 117 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 1: a parent when the child is no longer in the 118 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: house is being replaced by a pet, for good or 119 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 1: for bad. A pet provides unconditional love, you come home 120 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: from work and the pet is not mad. And so 121 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: they really are playing off of this trend of people, um, 122 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: you know, loving on their pets instead of children at 123 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: the moment. Well, in addition to perhaps showering your pet 124 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: with higher end goods like fancy toys, and treats. I mean, 125 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: the technology around pet ownership has also up to the 126 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: potential price of having a pet, because I mean, today 127 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: the i've span of a dogger a cat can be 128 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: extended a lot longer than it used to be because 129 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: of the availability of medical procedures like chemotherapy, m r 130 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: s and hip replacements happening at your veterinarian's office, and 131 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: to help the pet live a healthier life. In the meantime, 132 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: there are things like supplements that you can give them, 133 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 1: so they're all these different additives that are almost making 134 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: a pet's life more like a kid's life in terms 135 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: of having to clothe it, feed it, and also provide healthcare. 136 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 1: And just like any good parent would do, we also 137 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: give our pets Christmas presents and Haneker presents and Quansa presents. 138 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: We give them holiday presents. Should I say uh? CNBC 139 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: in November twelve reported that Americans spent an average of 140 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: five billion dollars on their pets during the holidays. Fifty 141 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: percent of dogs and thirty eight percent of cats got 142 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:03,680 Speaker 1: a gift. And I think it's funny because somebody they 143 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:05,959 Speaker 1: quoted in the story said that cat owners are more 144 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: value sensitive you know, like dot dot dot. Like even 145 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: though we have the stereotype of people being like crazy 146 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: cat ladies, they're probably not actually as crazy as dog people, 147 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: who you know, parade their pets outside and so they 148 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: need pet accessories. Well, and I think it's just the 149 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: difference between the feline and the canine nature, because whereas 150 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 1: I was, giving a cat a toy is really fun, 151 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:33,839 Speaker 1: but it's a little bit it's a little bit different. 152 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 1: A lot of cats kind of just don't need it, 153 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: you know, that's too good for for your silly little toys. Um. 154 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:45,440 Speaker 1: But when did pets really become a part of American families? Um? 155 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: This is something that Katherine C. Greer looked into. She 156 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: wrote a book about it called Pets in America, a 157 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:57,319 Speaker 1: History and just for some notable pet owners over the years. 158 00:09:57,360 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: Mark Twain, by the way, we talked about crazy cat ladies, 159 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,720 Speaker 1: while Burnt Twain apparently was a crazy cat gent and 160 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 1: going way back in history, in ancient Rome, women would 161 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: tote around small bejeweled dogs, and small lap dogs have 162 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: also been popular for centuries. If you look in Renaissance 163 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: art and images of the wealthier families and the noble people, 164 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: a lot of times they'll have these little lap dogs 165 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: hanging out. Yeah. And in the seventeen hundreds, Frederick the 166 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: Great of Prussia is a great example of a crazy 167 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: dog person. He was so devoted to his dogs, and 168 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 1: when his greyhound died, he wrote of his heartache, it 169 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: is best to be too sensitive then too hard. And 170 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: there was playwright Eugene O'Neill who may not have gotten 171 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: along with his human children, but he loved his dalmatian 172 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: so much that he gave the dog an air ma's 173 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 1: raincoat and a four pistor bed. Oh to be that dalmatian. 174 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: Wow Um. And then something interesting happens in the mid 175 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds where this idea of keeping a pet becomes 176 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: part of the concept of the ideal family. And Grew 177 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 1: talks about how this goes along with a rise in 178 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: the domestic ethic, as she calls it of kindness to animals, 179 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: to where say a cat, for instance, would go from 180 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: just being a mouse catcher to really being part of 181 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 1: a family that you would want to make sure it's 182 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: happy and healthy. And the cat's going, what are you doing? 183 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: Stop petting me? Yeah, I just want to catch some mice. 184 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: And I've catched some mice. Well, so in the nineteen fifties, 185 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: post World War Two, we have a large rise in 186 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: pet ownership thanks to disposable income, but also thanks to 187 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: things like comic books and other pop culture items that 188 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: really featured families, the nuclear family as having a pet, 189 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 1: you know, two kids and a dog. So we also 190 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: have at this time the rise in pet store so 191 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,440 Speaker 1: you can actually go to a store and shop for 192 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: your animal. And you also have the development of something 193 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 1: I've never thought about, the evolution of you have the 194 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: development of the cat litter box because it used to 195 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,839 Speaker 1: literally just be a box with sand. Yes, so it's 196 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 1: becoming easier in other words, for cats and dogs to 197 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: live alongside families. They really become integrated. And it reminds 198 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: me you're talking about pop culture, reminds me of you know, 199 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,440 Speaker 1: you have a show like Lassie coming on. I'm not 200 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:20,840 Speaker 1: sure when. Yeah, Lassie, Old Yeller. All of these different 201 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: kids books and things um coming out featuring that such 202 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 1: important relationship, especially between like a child and a dog. Mr. 203 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: Ed Mr. Talking Horse, And that's why I got my 204 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: first talking horse when I was three. Her name was Belinda. 205 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: I wish um so today though moving from the nineteen 206 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: fifties to today. What's going on with this idea of 207 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 1: pet parenting where we've transitioned from the typical you know, 208 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: Lassie hanging out showing us where the dead body is 209 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: at the bottom of the river, to this idea of 210 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: some one who is using a pet, or investing in 211 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: a pet to maybe fill an emotional void, or or 212 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: having them almost as a stand in for a human. 213 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:11,839 Speaker 1: It's just that intense. I don't even like to call 214 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:16,680 Speaker 1: it a stand in, because devalues the relationship in my opinion. Um, 215 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: but where this intense companionship seems to have taken on 216 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 1: more of a significance for a greater number of people, 217 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: or maybe we're just we just have a name for 218 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: it now called pet parenting. Yeah, and when you look 219 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:33,239 Speaker 1: at who does it, it's it's pretty self explanatory. Psychologist 220 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 1: Julia Becker talked about how it's pet parenting or just 221 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:42,160 Speaker 1: the stereotype of pet parenting is pretty pervasive among empty nesters, singles, 222 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 1: and or the childless and the home bound. You know, 223 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: we are living longer where we are delaying marriage as 224 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: you talked about, so we are again I agree with you. 225 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: I don't want to say, filling the whole with these pets. 226 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 1: But we are opting to have sort of a low 227 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,840 Speaker 1: maintenance companion in our lives where here that means we 228 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: are doing it as some people do to kind of 229 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 1: prepare for having a kid later in life, or whether 230 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 1: we just have opted completely to have pets instead of kids, right, 231 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: And that reminds me with the empty nesters, for instance, 232 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 1: it reminds me of when a few years ago, all 233 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 1: of the kids obviously had moved out of my parents house, 234 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 1: and my mom had a cat, and when that cat 235 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: ended up dying, it was so hard for her because 236 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: he had really taken on a role in the house 237 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: of greeting her, of interacting, you know, like just providing 238 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 1: that sort of interaction that might not have been as 239 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 1: available without having kids at home all of the time. 240 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: So I can totally understand that. Um. And there was 241 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,400 Speaker 1: a recent analysis that I found on gender differences and 242 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:54,720 Speaker 1: human animal interactions, and it found that men and women 243 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: both closely aligned in terms of how many have a 244 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: compen an animal I eat a pet, and both have 245 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: high pet attachment. I mean, even though there's that stereotype 246 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 1: of uh, you know, crazy cat ladies and maybe dogs 247 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: being men's best friends or something that I think there's 248 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: more of an idea that that women would be more 249 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: prone to pet parenting if they can't have a child, 250 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: right instead of a baby exactly. But statistically it's it's 251 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: both men and women. Who you know, we all form 252 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: these these kinds A lot of us, at least, I 253 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: should say, we are equally prone to form these deep 254 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 1: relationships with animals. Yeah, and there was account and research 255 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: survey that showed that fifty eight percent of respondents called 256 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: themselves their pets mommy or daddy, and eight percent of 257 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: respondents consider their pets to be full members of the family. 258 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: And this really drives with a Packaged Facts pet owner 259 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: survey where that showed nine out of ten pet owners 260 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 1: agree with the statement I consider my pets to be 261 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 1: part of the family, and two thirds view their pet 262 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: as their best friend and enjoy purchasing products that pamper 263 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,760 Speaker 1: the pet. It's understandable. I've started living with a dog 264 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 1: for the very first time, and I get way too 265 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: much joy now out of bringing home a treat from 266 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: the grocery store. Where your parents okay with you moving 267 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 1: in with a dog if you talk to them about 268 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: it beforehand. They had to meet the dogs a couple 269 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: of times. The dog came over for some barbecues. But no, 270 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: it's like I get it reading about this stuff now, 271 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: I totally get it. And there was also a recent 272 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 1: study that came out in the journal called Anthrozoos by 273 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: psychologist Richard to Paul Sky, and it was fascinating. He 274 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: posts this hypothetical in which participants had to choose between 275 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: saving a person or a dog from being hit by 276 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: a runaway bus and the results. He tinkered with the 277 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: results by changing whether the person was a foreign tourist 278 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: or or a distant cousin or a friend of theirs obviously, 279 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:04,919 Speaker 1: you know, getting the relationship closer and closer to the person. 280 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: And then with the animal, whether it was just a 281 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: random dog or say a pet. And he found that 282 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:18,359 Speaker 1: forty of the subject said that under the circumstance of 283 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: a foreign stranger versus a dog, they would save the animal. 284 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 1: And he said that when he asked the participants why 285 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: they would choose to save the dog over a foreign stranger, 286 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: it was the issue of kinship, because they consider their 287 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: pets family. And for one gender difference, women were a 288 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 1: lot more likely to choose a pet over a person. Yeah, 289 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,239 Speaker 1: it's funny. And the people who provided the people who 290 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: said they would save the person over the dog were 291 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: a lot more likely to provide logical responses. The people 292 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: who said that they would save a dog over a person, 293 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: whether it was in this study about the train tracks 294 00:17:57,640 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: are saving a dog versus a baby in a burning 295 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: billing I think was another one um. But the people 296 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: who said they would save the pet over the human 297 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:11,199 Speaker 1: provided very emotionally laden responses, whether whether they were men 298 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: or women who said it. And I was thinking about it, 299 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: and it's like, well, maybe people would think to save 300 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 1: the jog because the human should be able to propel 301 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: himself out from in front of the train right well 302 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,159 Speaker 1: into pulse. He said that, yes, this is a hypothetical situation. 303 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:31,920 Speaker 1: It's not meant to precisely predict human behavior, because if 304 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: you're actually in a situation where you had to choose 305 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 1: between a dog or animal and a buses coming through 306 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:42,400 Speaker 1: h being driven by Kiana Reeves Um, then who knows 307 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: what would happen. But he said that it's such a 308 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: it's still a good example of that close kind of kinship. 309 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: In his words, that we do form and how once 310 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: you start moving the metric on the relationship of the 311 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,920 Speaker 1: person versus the pet, if you get that relationship with 312 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,880 Speaker 1: a pet close enough and yeah, we want to save it. 313 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:06,200 Speaker 1: And those poor foreign tour I'm sure they were wearing 314 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:10,399 Speaker 1: socks with sandals. It's fine, let them go. Um. But 315 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: there has been though a recent panic over this notion 316 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: of pet parenting, and not just complaints from people saying 317 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:21,399 Speaker 1: like oh, you know, dogs don't belong in strollers, but 318 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: actually projecting it out to be this sign that there 319 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 1: is something wrong with the world, and it's tied a 320 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: lot to lowering fertility rates, concerns about millennials like you 321 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:37,400 Speaker 1: and meet Caroline just being too selfish, and a stigma 322 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,520 Speaker 1: against child free by choice people. Yeah, well, let's look 323 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:45,040 Speaker 1: at fertility rate panic first. There was an article in 324 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 1: The Guardian in June talking about Japan and how folks 325 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: are starting to prefer pets to parenthood and frankly pets 326 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: to sex. Also, they are currently panicking over their plummeting 327 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 1: birth rates in Japan and where there is now there 328 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: are now more pets than children. So when you look 329 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 1: at population estimates, they estimate there are twenty two million 330 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:12,360 Speaker 1: pets in Japan versus sixteen point six million children under fifteen, 331 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: which is crazy. Sure, I mean, we we saw that 332 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: there was that unbalanced number in our country too. We 333 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,200 Speaker 1: have a wider gap in the United States. But what's 334 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: funny is uh. In the article they mentioned that like 335 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: okay uh, purchase and use of birth control is down. 336 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:34,720 Speaker 1: Abortions are down, but so were births. So that means 337 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,680 Speaker 1: that like people in Japan are just like not doing 338 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:41,840 Speaker 1: it and adapting pets in instead. Yeah, there have been 339 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: definitely lots of concerns over adults, younger adults seeming disinterest 340 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: in even having sex, and so with a trend story 341 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:58,640 Speaker 1: like this, they present evidence such as people buying spending 342 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:03,000 Speaker 1: their you know, disposable income on pet clothing from designer 343 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: labels like Gucci, Chanel and Dior, rather than using that 344 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:11,879 Speaker 1: money to either pursue a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, or 345 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 1: have a child. Um and the Guardian says, in many 346 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,160 Speaker 1: parts of Tokyo it's easier to buy clothes for dogs 347 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 1: than for children. And you know, if you want to 348 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 1: get that deluxe Buddhist funeral for your pet, a cremation 349 00:21:25,359 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: ceremony can cost eight thousand dollars. But I do think 350 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: though I'm sure this is going on, but I sometimes 351 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,480 Speaker 1: I wonder about trend stories like this, like are we 352 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:43,440 Speaker 1: actually seeing the what's going on population wide or they're 353 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,119 Speaker 1: taking a snapshot of a specific segment of people. What 354 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: I like to imagine is the journalist's face the day 355 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,679 Speaker 1: that story was assigned to him or her, because I 356 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,760 Speaker 1: know I'd be like, yes, yes, yes, I will write 357 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:01,199 Speaker 1: about Japanese people, sex and small dogs. Hey, yeah, that 358 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: doesn't sound bad, and you get a free trip to Tokyo. Um. 359 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: But now moving on to the millennials issue, there was 360 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: a lot of fallout over survey results. They're all these surveys, oh, surveys. Um. 361 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 1: There were these survey results from this organization called flex 362 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 1: and International, which helps find older dogs homes hooray, and 363 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,919 Speaker 1: I found that among the year old pet owners that 364 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,360 Speaker 1: flex and talked to, sixty percent preferred an older dog. 365 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: And why, Caroline did they prefer an older dog? Well 366 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,359 Speaker 1: said they didn't have time to house break or deal 367 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:44,359 Speaker 1: with puppies. Understandable. And then this is where the panic 368 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 1: really ignited. Fifty of those pet owners said that they 369 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,199 Speaker 1: would prefer a dog to a child. Which led people 370 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:58,879 Speaker 1: like Wired's geek Dad blogger Curtis Silver to say very 371 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: unkind thing about us. Yeah, he was. It kind of 372 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 1: started out the tone, the tone shifted, I should say, 373 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:09,879 Speaker 1: it kind of started out reading like, hey, I know 374 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: you're scared about having kids, young person, but it's really 375 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: not as bad or as expensive as you think. And 376 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: you're like, oh, you're easing me into this. This is 377 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,359 Speaker 1: nice of you, dad of three children. And then it 378 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,120 Speaker 1: quickly turns into like, seriously, are you an idiot? Are 379 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: you so selfish? What's wrong with you? Yeah? And there 380 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 1: was we We could cite a number of examples across 381 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: the Internet of bloggers. In particular, there was I I 382 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,960 Speaker 1: she will go a name, but there was one doctor 383 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 1: blogger who who fears for the future of the human 384 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: race no joke, right, because some people would prefer to 385 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 1: have a dog than have a child. I think we 386 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: can we can stand. Well, it's just I don't understand 387 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:54,919 Speaker 1: that level of panic over it. And honestly, I think 388 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: the more that I read about it, and the tone 389 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:03,600 Speaker 1: that critics the sharp pist and the rudest. I'll go 390 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:07,640 Speaker 1: ahead and say critics usually, I think that it boils 391 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 1: down to a bit of a stigma that still persists 392 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:15,920 Speaker 1: over people who do not want to have children. We 393 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,959 Speaker 1: did a podcast a long time ago about people who 394 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,720 Speaker 1: are child free by choice or like, you know what, 395 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,679 Speaker 1: I just don't want a kid. I'm fine, And it 396 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that they hate children, they just don't want children. 397 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,480 Speaker 1: And um, so there's this idea that you know, two 398 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,400 Speaker 1: career couples with the norm people are marrying later, we're 399 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:38,920 Speaker 1: divorcing more frequently, We're working where we have longer commutes, 400 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:41,800 Speaker 1: and so all this is adding up to us maybe 401 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:47,000 Speaker 1: just having pets instead. I mean maybe, because if you 402 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,359 Speaker 1: are working those longer hours, you know, you do have 403 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,800 Speaker 1: to look up or look down at those big eyes 404 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:54,960 Speaker 1: of a human child and be like, I'm sorry, mommy, 405 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: this to recital. Whereas a pet, it's just like, here's 406 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,880 Speaker 1: a milk bone. But it's like, why can't aunt why 407 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: can't we just have a pet? Well yeah, well yeah exactly. 408 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:06,959 Speaker 1: And and reading a lot of this stuff online, really 409 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: I can't say that it offended me because I was like, 410 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:12,840 Speaker 1: your argument is so ridiculous and backwards. But a lot 411 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,520 Speaker 1: of these people on the internet who are arguing that 412 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,639 Speaker 1: we whether we are millennials or whether we're older or whatever, 413 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,199 Speaker 1: who are saying that we're selfish and awful people for 414 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,560 Speaker 1: not having children. It's like their argument is almost hysterical, 415 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 1: because I read one that was like, Oh, you just 416 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:30,719 Speaker 1: want to not have kids so that you can go 417 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: take your Tahiti beach vacation. And I was like, Uh, 418 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,240 Speaker 1: you're freaking right, I want to take a compete vacation 419 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:39,600 Speaker 1: to Tahiti. But it's it's kind of like you're you're 420 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:43,560 Speaker 1: not really understanding that not everybody wants to make the 421 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:49,719 Speaker 1: same choice exactly. And Laura Carroll, who blogs over at Technorati, 422 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:52,439 Speaker 1: summed it up well, I thought. She writes, why do 423 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,640 Speaker 1: people think pets serve the role of children for so many? 424 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,880 Speaker 1: Child for adults in part because our value system tells 425 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 1: us we should all want kids. So there is the 426 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,159 Speaker 1: perception that child free people just haven't gotten with a 427 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: program with regard to parenthood and remediately have pets instead. 428 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:13,720 Speaker 1: And and that's such a good point. I'm just saying that, 429 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: you know, like it's yeah, I mean, you can't equate 430 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:20,399 Speaker 1: the two, right, and also too for you know, before 431 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: you start to insult a couple who maybe just has 432 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,960 Speaker 1: pets instead of kids, Like it reminded me of LGBT 433 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:32,119 Speaker 1: couples who, yeah, maybe having a child is either like 434 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,159 Speaker 1: an insane amount of paperwork to go through if they 435 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: have to go through an adoptive process, or for a 436 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,640 Speaker 1: lesbian couple going through in vitro treatments and things like that, 437 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,480 Speaker 1: if they want to, you know, have a child more 438 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: naturally um or just if it's just not an option, 439 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,439 Speaker 1: you know why it's even for that matter alone, I 440 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,840 Speaker 1: feel like we should open up our mind a little 441 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 1: bit and not be so pan the idea. But also, 442 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: what are you so worried about people who are so 443 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 1: angry about people having pets? Like what? What? What makes 444 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 1: you so angry that some people opt or you know, 445 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:11,879 Speaker 1: decide to have pets. Well, there was an article in 446 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,239 Speaker 1: the New York Times it's more New York specific that 447 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:19,879 Speaker 1: did get a ton of reader comments because it was 448 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:24,640 Speaker 1: an article about pets in public, And I scrolled through 449 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:28,239 Speaker 1: a number of those comments, and the arguments that some 450 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: people made were very valid in terms of basically, if 451 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 1: you're going to take your pet in public, clean up 452 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: after it, make sure that it is a pet friendly space. 453 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:41,879 Speaker 1: I don't necessarily want to be sitting eating dinner next 454 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,919 Speaker 1: to your dog. Um, I get all that. You know, 455 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:46,680 Speaker 1: if you're gonna be a pet parent in the same 456 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: way if you're going to be a parent of a 457 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 1: human child, clean up after your child, make sure it 458 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 1: is a kid friendly space. It's all the same kinds 459 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,160 Speaker 1: of courtesies. I mean, I honestly like, I don't want 460 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:01,320 Speaker 1: a dog running around barking and bothering me at dinner 461 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:04,359 Speaker 1: anymore than I want a child running around screaming bothering me. 462 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,160 Speaker 1: But we should point out though that you know, well, 463 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 1: obviously you and I are more on the stance of saying, hey, 464 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 1: give give pet parents a break, or just you know, 465 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:19,159 Speaker 1: just call us people. Um. Pet obsession can definitely become 466 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 1: just that, an obsession. It can have an unhealthy edge 467 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 1: to it where it might not be end up being 468 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,480 Speaker 1: a healthy thing for for the pet. Yeah. I mean, 469 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 1: if you are doing things like putting your dog in 470 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 1: a stroller and never walking it, your pets quality of 471 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,159 Speaker 1: life is going to suffer. Your pet will not be 472 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:39,959 Speaker 1: as healthy if you're pushing it around all day because 473 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: it's not what it was designed to do. I mean, yes, 474 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,000 Speaker 1: you might have one of those tiny dogs that just 475 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:48,320 Speaker 1: quivers all the time and is afraid of the outside. 476 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,000 Speaker 1: But but but just take care of your dog like 477 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 1: it's a dog. I mean. One one interest, a couple 478 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 1: of interesting things that I learned we're reading about this 479 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:00,800 Speaker 1: is that you know, for instance, when dog get scared 480 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,800 Speaker 1: during thunderstorms or loud noises or things like that, the 481 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:05,960 Speaker 1: last thing you should do is comforted, the way you 482 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: would run to a child to comfort the child if 483 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: the child is scared. Because dogs are looking at you 484 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:13,320 Speaker 1: as the pack leader and they want you to be 485 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: strong and you know, set boundaries and rules. So it's 486 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: more like when a pet is scared during a thunderstorm, 487 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: you should be like, no, Fluffy, shut up and go 488 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: to your bed, versus a child, where you're like, no, 489 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: mommy's here, It's okay. You're like, no to me, shut 490 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 1: not to bed, mommy, neither wine um and well and 491 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:36,520 Speaker 1: the thing to there. One of the downsides of developing 492 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: such close relationships with pets is that when it is 493 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: time for a pet to die, it can be so 494 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: much harder. One of the most common situations that becomes 495 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,040 Speaker 1: really unhealthy for the pet is if it has a 496 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: terminal condition and the owner just doesn't want to consider 497 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 1: euthanasia or doesn't want to to even take it to 498 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:58,640 Speaker 1: the vet because they know that it's going to be 499 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:01,840 Speaker 1: bad news. So something to watch out for. And also, 500 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,959 Speaker 1: I mean animal hoarding. Obviously it's a major form of abuse. 501 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:09,560 Speaker 1: And women we are more likely to do this than 502 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:12,280 Speaker 1: men are. Yeah, that that is awful. And and like 503 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:14,520 Speaker 1: we we talked about in our Cat Lady episode about 504 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:19,240 Speaker 1: people who um kind of quote unquote adopt fueral animals 505 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 1: and stuff under the assumption that like, no, I'm I'm 506 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,320 Speaker 1: saving it and I'm helping it. But really it's it's 507 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:29,080 Speaker 1: not healthy for the animal either. But Christine Pelicano had 508 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: an interesting perspective. She's a cat sitter, dogwalker, and pet 509 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,600 Speaker 1: artist slash photographer in New York City. Says she has 510 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:41,160 Speaker 1: seen pet parent trends mirror child parent trends. She said 511 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 1: that she has seen people achieving their own sense of 512 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:47,400 Speaker 1: achievement and stardom through their pets. There are people who 513 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:50,920 Speaker 1: force their pets into uncomfortable settings, environments and situations, even 514 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:53,240 Speaker 1: when a pet is shutting down and not enjoying the limelight. 515 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: So it's kind of like she's comparing you know, pageant 516 00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 1: moms and pet parents well, and I've also seen articles 517 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:06,280 Speaker 1: about permissive pet parenting, for instance, not wanting to uh 518 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:10,320 Speaker 1: be punitive with your pet in the same way that 519 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:15,040 Speaker 1: you'll see articles about permissive child human child parenting. And 520 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,120 Speaker 1: bottom line to one thing that we want to emphasize 521 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 1: is that if you are going to take a pet 522 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,360 Speaker 1: into your home, you know it's not a temporary thing either. 523 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: It's not like a trial for size. You want to 524 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: be you want to be if you're gonna take a pet, 525 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,080 Speaker 1: and you do want to be prepped to be a 526 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:29,680 Speaker 1: good parent in the same way that you want to 527 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,240 Speaker 1: be a good parent for a human child. Because the 528 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:35,200 Speaker 1: saddest thing and one of the most disappointing things to 529 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:38,719 Speaker 1: see is someone taken a dog, for instance, who has 530 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:40,880 Speaker 1: no business taking in a dog, and they don't have 531 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:42,480 Speaker 1: time to walk it, and they don't have time to 532 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,320 Speaker 1: give it the care that it needs, and the dog 533 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 1: ends up suffering. Sure, now, I knew a guy who 534 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,120 Speaker 1: um he had wanted to adapt a dog, and he 535 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,719 Speaker 1: hadn't started, you know, researching it or anything like that. 536 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: He really wasn't ready. But a friend of his found 537 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:00,680 Speaker 1: a dog on the side out of the road and 538 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:02,640 Speaker 1: was like, you know, do you want it? I've saved 539 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:05,000 Speaker 1: this dog. You know she needs a home. So he 540 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 1: adopts this dog, but he has no time to trainer, 541 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,240 Speaker 1: no time to be home with her and spend quality 542 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:13,240 Speaker 1: time because he works such long hours. So this dog 543 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,479 Speaker 1: ends up having free reign of everything. He doesn't discipline her. 544 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:20,080 Speaker 1: And to a dog, that's really scary because they need 545 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:22,000 Speaker 1: boundaries and rules. They need to know that you're a 546 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,920 Speaker 1: strong leader who will protect them and and and help them. 547 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,959 Speaker 1: And so this dog ended up just tearing his house apart. 548 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:33,360 Speaker 1: She was very poorly behaved. As adorable as she was 549 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,200 Speaker 1: in case he's listening, she's very adorable, But I mean, 550 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:39,800 Speaker 1: come on, don't if you honestly can't take care of 551 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 1: an animal of any kind, please please please don't get one. 552 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:48,160 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, um. And for for couples, though there is 553 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,720 Speaker 1: more of I think it's a more recent conundrum that 554 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:53,560 Speaker 1: has come up. This is one. This is one valid 555 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 1: point that you hear about people wagging their finger about 556 00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 1: pet parenting. If you are with someone and you have 557 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:04,440 Speaker 1: a pet, and that's kind of your shared custody, your 558 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:10,920 Speaker 1: child together, what happens during the breakup I have personal 559 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:14,360 Speaker 1: story moment I have been with. I I dated two 560 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:18,120 Speaker 1: guys actually who had shared custody of dogs with their 561 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 1: ex girlfriends. Really, I feel like we are at a 562 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: young age for that to be happening. I don't know. 563 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,760 Speaker 1: I mean they were probably in their you know, mid 564 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:31,080 Speaker 1: twenties when they were dating and what they do and 565 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,880 Speaker 1: getting shared dogs with girlfriends. Yeah, that is another thing. 566 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,760 Speaker 1: Make make sure you're ready to get a shared animal 567 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: if you're going to do that. Um, But it was 568 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 1: whenever it would be their weekend for the dog. It 569 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,320 Speaker 1: was always. I was patient with it. They were very 570 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:50,600 Speaker 1: cute dogs. But it was a strange thing, you know, 571 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:52,960 Speaker 1: because I was like, you're not wait, so you're gonna 572 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: have to go see your ex girlfriend and pick up 573 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,440 Speaker 1: your dog. Okay, this doesn't make much sense, but I mean, 574 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:03,840 Speaker 1: is that honestly going to continue for thirteen years? Like? Right? 575 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,200 Speaker 1: So I'd be curious to hear from people listening if 576 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,279 Speaker 1: you have shared dog custody with somebody, like what do 577 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:11,799 Speaker 1: you what do you do? Like? How how can that 578 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:15,600 Speaker 1: go on for too long? I feel like at some 579 00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: point it just kind of fizzles out. I like, maybe 580 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,319 Speaker 1: it's a way that you sort of hang onto a 581 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: relationship for maybe a little too long, and then finally 582 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:27,520 Speaker 1: you're it's gonna go from every weekend every other week 583 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:29,719 Speaker 1: into monthly to like in the same way that you 584 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: keep up with a person. Sometimes that yeah, there's gonna 585 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:35,680 Speaker 1: be somebody who has more ability to care for the 586 00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:39,400 Speaker 1: dog than the other person exactly. Yeah, but hey, you 587 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,759 Speaker 1: would always have a dog sitter. That's true. There you go, 588 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:45,680 Speaker 1: so there's an upside um. I feel like we've we've 589 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,719 Speaker 1: covered so many aspects of this top down in sideways, 590 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:53,799 Speaker 1: from the from the extreme obsessive to the people who 591 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:57,680 Speaker 1: just really love their pets and there's nothing wrong with that. 592 00:34:57,880 --> 00:34:59,920 Speaker 1: And uh, I do really, though, want to read that 593 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:05,000 Speaker 1: Catherine Greer book about pets in America, A History, because 594 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 1: it sounds fascinating. She focuses a lot for people who 595 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:10,560 Speaker 1: this might be of interest to. She focuses a lot, 596 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:15,080 Speaker 1: apparently on the eighteen hundreds with that shift and pets 597 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:19,759 Speaker 1: steering the Victorian era, which sounds it's like, it's got 598 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:23,080 Speaker 1: to be full of fascinating. I wonder what the Victorians 599 00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 1: did when their dogs sat down and started licking their 600 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,000 Speaker 1: private parts. You wonder if they were just a gas 601 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,000 Speaker 1: clutching their pearls. Oh man, I don't know who. I 602 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:34,280 Speaker 1: don't know. Maybe they had like a like a modesty 603 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:41,080 Speaker 1: sheet of the dog. Well, folks out there, we want 604 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:43,680 Speaker 1: to hear from you. I know, we are sure we 605 00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:46,680 Speaker 1: have plenty of pet parents listening. Have you ever gotten 606 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:51,560 Speaker 1: any flak from other people about your attachment to your pets? Um, 607 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:54,040 Speaker 1: people who were child free by choice who might have pets, 608 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:57,000 Speaker 1: have you heard similar arguments? And also for people who 609 00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:02,640 Speaker 1: think that this kind of companionship with animals is ridiculous? 610 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:05,880 Speaker 1: You know, do you think it's it's too much? Let 611 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:08,200 Speaker 1: us sell all of your thoughts. Oh and if you 612 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:11,600 Speaker 1: want to send us pictures of your pets, please we'll 613 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:15,080 Speaker 1: love that too. Um So, mom Stuff at Discovery dot 614 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:17,000 Speaker 1: com is where you can email us that stuff. You 615 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:20,960 Speaker 1: can also post on Facebook and tweet us as well 616 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:27,520 Speaker 1: at mom Stuff podcast. And now back to our letters, Christen, 617 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:30,080 Speaker 1: I have a letter here from Julia about our drunk 618 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:34,120 Speaker 1: Arexia episode. She says, I have a different name for it. 619 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,000 Speaker 1: I'm a Kiwi New Zealander currently living in London, both 620 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:41,080 Speaker 1: places which cultivate a rather unhealthy drinking culture, and I 621 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,239 Speaker 1: had no idea what drunk arexia was. But when you 622 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,640 Speaker 1: started to explain it, I thought, oh, you guys need 623 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:50,560 Speaker 1: eatings cheating. Eatings cheating is in you want a sandwich 624 00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:53,560 Speaker 1: before we head out? Nah, eatings cheating. It is a 625 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:55,800 Speaker 1: phrase that has been well used by all my friends 626 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,040 Speaker 1: male and female since I was in my teens are 627 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,920 Speaker 1: drinking ages eighteen, and I even still hear it now 628 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:02,759 Speaker 1: that we were in our mid twenties. I would just 629 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:04,560 Speaker 1: like to point out that I would never turn down 630 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:08,560 Speaker 1: a sandwich from you, Julia. Anyway, she says, I think 631 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:11,440 Speaker 1: it's a combination of getting drunk or quicker and saving 632 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:13,759 Speaker 1: yourself some money, which is what we found when we 633 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:17,239 Speaker 1: did the podcast. But I can't handle those hangovers, so 634 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:19,160 Speaker 1: I'll stick with a nice dinner before I go out, 635 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:21,360 Speaker 1: or at least a kebab at some point in the evening. 636 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:24,279 Speaker 1: She says. Anyway, thanks for the podcast. Just thought I 637 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:27,879 Speaker 1: would get you in the loop with some colloquialisms from 638 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,880 Speaker 1: the other side of the world. Eating is not cheating, people, 639 00:37:31,239 --> 00:37:35,680 Speaker 1: Eating is winning. Eating is super winning. It's winning. Um. Well, 640 00:37:35,719 --> 00:37:38,160 Speaker 1: I've got an email here from a listener. I'm gonna 641 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:40,239 Speaker 1: call be just in case you'd like a little bit 642 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,000 Speaker 1: of anonymity because she's writing in in response to our 643 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:48,560 Speaker 1: episode on intorexia in men, so trigger warning if that 644 00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:50,480 Speaker 1: is a factor U, But she writes, thank you for 645 00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:52,680 Speaker 1: you the podcast on intorexia and men. You did a 646 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:56,400 Speaker 1: great job, and as a recovering female interorectic and compulsive 647 00:37:56,480 --> 00:37:59,040 Speaker 1: over exerciser, I found that you covered the science and 648 00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:02,600 Speaker 1: psychology very well and it was not at all triggering, 649 00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:06,399 Speaker 1: she writes. In one hospital treatment setting, there was only 650 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:09,560 Speaker 1: one boy with anorexia and he felt shamed and depressed. 651 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:12,840 Speaker 1: There was another with bulimia, which was considered more acceptable 652 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:15,000 Speaker 1: to his friends because he was a wrestler and he 653 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:18,680 Speaker 1: was just trying to become a better athlete. And residential 654 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:23,080 Speaker 1: slash intensive outpatient slash partial hospitalization, I was never with 655 00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:25,799 Speaker 1: a male. I went to Center for Discovery for residential 656 00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:28,760 Speaker 1: and they had multiple houses, but only one allowed males. 657 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:31,399 Speaker 1: One thing I noticed is the lack of males as 658 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:36,080 Speaker 1: treatment providers. Besides medical doctors, most of the counselor's nurses, therapist, 659 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:39,600 Speaker 1: nutritionists were all women. There was a male counselor. He 660 00:38:39,719 --> 00:38:41,880 Speaker 1: was gay, so perhaps he was a bit more understanding 661 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:45,040 Speaker 1: of having stigmas attached. However, I felt it helpful to 662 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:48,120 Speaker 1: have male input. I also had a wonderful psychiatrist who 663 00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:51,080 Speaker 1: not only prescribed medicines but also was a great person 664 00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:53,719 Speaker 1: to talk to. While none of the female counselors talked 665 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,439 Speaker 1: about fat food, body hate, et cetera, it was still 666 00:38:56,440 --> 00:38:59,600 Speaker 1: helpful to have a mail to balance everything. I understand 667 00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:01,640 Speaker 1: the body's morphic disorder having it myself, and I can 668 00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:03,960 Speaker 1: only imagine how difficult it would be for males to 669 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:07,480 Speaker 1: not be fit and muscled. Girls can often change your hair, makeup, 670 00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:09,839 Speaker 1: and clothes to raise your self esteem if they might 671 00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:12,120 Speaker 1: not like their bodies, But guys are often stuck with 672 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:14,480 Speaker 1: what they have and if they don't have those Channing 673 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:17,120 Speaker 1: Tatum abs, and they're bound to feel bad. And it 674 00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:20,640 Speaker 1: seems like females and males are bombarded with celebrity slash 675 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:23,640 Speaker 1: athlete images of the perfect bodies, so it's hard to 676 00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:26,640 Speaker 1: differentiate and remember that these people spend their lives working out, 677 00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:30,279 Speaker 1: eating right and have lots of people helping them. So 678 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:33,759 Speaker 1: thank you and thank you be for writing in, and 679 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:36,239 Speaker 1: to everybody for writing in. Mom Staid at Discovery dot 680 00:39:36,239 --> 00:39:38,400 Speaker 1: com is our email address you can Follow us on 681 00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:41,560 Speaker 1: Twitter at mom Stuff Podcast. Hit us up on Facebook 682 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:44,880 Speaker 1: as well. Agoys, got fun stuff going on over there, 683 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,040 Speaker 1: as well as on our tumbler stuff Mom Never Told 684 00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:51,040 Speaker 1: You dot tumbler dot com and don't forget that You 685 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:53,879 Speaker 1: can watch us as well four times a week now 686 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,640 Speaker 1: on YouTube. Head over to YouTube dot com slash stuff, 687 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:00,359 Speaker 1: Mom Never Told You and Don't forget to to grow 688 00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:04,640 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, is 689 00:40:04,719 --> 00:40:14,279 Speaker 1: it how stuff words dot com