It’s always difficult to lose a beloved family pet, but when it comes at the hands of your own child, it can be devastating. A mom on Reddit knows this all too well as she found her bunny rabbit, Bibi, dead in a corner, a day after her 7-year-old son had put himself to bed early (which she thought was strange) and avoided her as he went to school. The Redditor said her vet told her that Bibi had a broken spine, torn ear, and crushed ribs, and the injuries were unlikely to be an accident.
Before finding out that the pet died, the little boy told his dad he “might have hurt Bibi.” The hardest part of the situation for this mom is that Bibi was a gift from the Redditor’s late mother while she was in the hospital dying of breast cancer. Since this incident, this mom admits that she resents her son.
The mom isn’t sure how to process her emotions.
“Since then, I’ve had a hard time being around my son. It has me grieving for a beloved pet but also on a small level, my mother all over again.”
Her son has been home from school because of the coronavirus, so her husband took the son to his other grandma’s house for a visit — and so mom could process her emotions, she explained in a Reddit post. The mom is ultimately concerned that she might take her hurt feelings out on her son.
“I would never hit him but I was very snappy and angry at him when I found this out,” she wrote. “He hasn’t shown much remorse for his actions and it has me worried that this might be something bigger.”
Now the mom is worried about her son and his behavior patterns.
The mom also tried contacting a school counselor for advice without telling her the situation, but got no reply. “At this point, we are afraid he will do this to the cat,” she reveals on Reddit, also noting that her son was no stranger to small animals, has had class pets, and knew how to handle Bibi who was in the family for nine years.
“I don’t know how to process my emotions or even approach him. I feel almost afraid of him,” she painfully admits. “I love my son, but this is a loss nonetheless and I’m in pain on top of being severely confused and dumbfounded.”
In an update to the post, she has reached out for professional help for her son.
After some comments began rolling in, the mom revealed that she reached out to a behavioral therapist that her pediatrician recommended and hopes that they will be able to video chat with her soon given the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The responses are opening my eyes to behaviors I had noticed but hadn’t truly SEEN and realized until now,” she writes. “Taking all deaths he has experienced lightly, not expressing much emotion, outward jealousy for his baby sister, trying to drop her twice when she was a month old… I am by no means trying to diagnose him as a psychopath."
Her son may have emotional problems.
The mom says the pediatrician suggested that she will consider autism spectrum disorders when she sees him next.
“I’m just worried for my children and don’t take this wrong… my feelings of pain and resentment are mine alone,” she wrote. "I am not taking this out on my son because it doesn’t overshadow my love for him. Parents can feel upset with their children and not emotionally or physically harm them because of it."
In the comments, people were supportive of the mom.
“I am so sorry for your loss and the emotions and pain it is bringing to the surface,” one commenter wrote. ”I would first put in a call to his Pediatrician and ask if they believe a referral to a child behavioral specialist is in order. Hang in there mama.”
“Did you ask him what happened? This could be an unfortunate accident,” another person sympathized. “Rabbit could have been accidentally pinned between the couch and wall, kid panicked at it's cries and tried to free if by pulling the ears. Absolutely talk this through with your son and a therapy if you can. Don't assume the worse, it sounds like he knows he did something wrong, but might not understand exactly what happened.”
When asked if she confronted her son about the incident with the bunny, the mom replied that she didn’t immediately: “I was too distressed to confront him immediately and don’t want to even come to my 7 y/o in a confrontational manner; the main reason my husband took him to gma/gpa was to distance him from the baby,” she wrote. “He generally ignores his baby sister anyway because of jealousy (another thing that always concerned me). He told my husband that he hurt the bunny unprompted and once he found out she had died, my husband asked him what happened but our son just repeated it again 'I maybe hurt Bibi' and wouldn’t answer anything more than that. I’m totally at a loss trying to think of other symptoms besides him not really being loving to us or his sister :(“
A few commenters were critical of the mom ... and the son.
“This is concerning and I don’t want to worry you but this is how a lot of serial killers start out,” one commenter wrote. “Don’t get another pet, don’t leave him unattended and never leave him unattended with the baby! Speak to a therapist ASAP!”
"I'm a bunny momma as well. I CANNOT imagine discovering a precious bun in that condition," a commenter wrote. "I am so so so so sorry for your loss. My heart is breaking for you but yet I'm pissed at your son. Resenting your son is totally understandable. 1000% understandable. I'm praying for your heart to heal and wisdom as to how to address this with your son."
“That is extremely upsetting and concerning,” someone else chimed in. "He needs to talk with a mental health professional ASAP. And you probably do as well.”
Some of the commenters could relate to killing a pet when young.
"When I was about 8 me and my buddy played with my sisters gerbil for hours one night," someone admitted. "Putting the gerbil in a Barbie car and pushing him around. We didn't think we were being too rough on him. But when we went to pick him up he went limp and blood came out of his mouth."
"When I was that age I killed a hamster by sliding it down the banister. I thought it would be fun for the hamster," another person revealed. "He fell and broke his neck. I felt bad, but I don't think I showed it."
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
