Can a Bunny Join the Family?

One early spring day, my family and I were out doing yard work. As I was pulling some leaves out from a bed next to our house, I noticed that there was fur mixed with grass under the leaves. I picked up more leaves and saw something moving. I had found a bunny's nest.

As I pulled back on the leaves, fur, and grass mixture to get a better look, three bunnies jumped out of the nest and scattered. All pandemonium broke loose. My dog started barking and headed towards one bunny. My wife was yelling at the dog while trying to grab her. I was running after bunnies two and three as they were heading towards a neighbor's yard who had a dog. Fortunately, my wife caught our dog before bunny one was eaten, but where it hopped to after that, no one knows. Finally, I trapped bunny two as it tried to hide in some brush. I'm not sure what happened to bunny three, but I swear I saw our neighbor's dog cleaning his teeth with a toothpick a few minutes after all this happened.

With the help of my kids, we were able to retrieve bunny two out of the brush. My daughter fell in love as soon as she held the little thing. She named it Hazel and wanted to know if she could keep it. My son could hardly wait for his chance to hold it, and he was fascinated with it, staring at it intently and looking at its tiny features. Soon the question came up again, "Can we keep it?".

That was kind of a tough question. My kids were so enamored with this bunny, and their faces were full of wonder as they held and petted it. Did I want to be the bad guy and take away their happiness? It was a really cute bunny; I had to admit. But what were the hidden costs of adding this bunny to the family? That was the question I had to answer before I could answer the "Can we keep it?" question.

The above story is true, and I have the bunny pictures to prove it . But there is an analogy here (as if you're surprised). Providing your family with Internet access is necessary for school and the way we communicate. Your kids can go about their business online and accidentally hit a bunny's nest. It could be racy social media interactions. It could be a potentially inappropriate show they discovered on Netflix. And as the parent, you find yourself chasing down these bunnies running all over your house. Some can seem innocent on the surface: Twitter – "Daddy, can I keep it?" your 13-year-old daughter asks. Netflix – "Dad, can I watch it?" your 15-year-old son asks. Do you want to be the bad guy and take away their happiness? They are so fascinated by what they discovered, and all their friends are doing it. But you have to ask yourself what are the hidden costs of adding these bunnies to your family. Sometimes the easy answer is "Yes," but then you have to live with the long-term consequences. In my bunny story, I said "No," and we put the bunny back in its nest where it belonged.