The difference between dogs and kids

Okay, so this won’t come as a surprise to some of you, but dogs and kids are not the same. I know, I know – they may seem pretty much the same when you look at certain aspects. Neither one can pass up a puddle in the middle of a dry road. They both have that look that can get you to give them just about anything they want. An irritating ability to wake you up in the middle of the night or to suck up anything that falls on the ground at your feet (yes, I’ve seen kids do this!) is included in the similarities. But there are some significant differences. I thought about these the other day as I was walking Snuffles (our dog).

Dogs are animals and children are people. Again, this may seem to be an astoundingly simple conclusion, but it is very important. We are not animals. Dogs are. And the difference is in why we do certain things. Snuffles may be able to whine until I give her what she wants, but she is not being pathetic and manipulating me. I interpret her whine as sad. She simply learns that whining gets her what she wants. She also know that doing some things will bring a punishment. So she does them when she thinks we are not around – then we cannot punish her. She doesn’t do these things to get back at us or to be mean. She simply wants what is in the trash can (or what MIGHT be in the trash can). She wants that more than she fears the punishment, especially if we are not around. That is why it doesn’t make any sense to punish a dog two hours later when you get home and find the toiletpaper all over the house (thankfully that is not something that has happened to us. We just find the trash all over the kitchen!).

A child comes to a point when things are very much different. A child will do things not only because of the consequences, but because he or she really wants to, because he or she loves someone and wants to please them, or dislikes someone and wants to hurt them. Animals have instincts. People have motives. Kids can, at a certain point in their maturation, not only know why they are doing something, but also assign a reason to it. They make a mess in the kitchen because they wanted to make breakfast for Mommy, they love Mommy. Or they can make a plan to get revenge on a brother for having gotten them in trouble.

This thought led me off into lots of other thoughts about how we come to understand what sin is, and grace, and love. We are so wonderfully made. The very thought that I was considering all of this was amazing. But mostly it helped me not to get too angry at Snuffles when she barked at the bicycle going by or walked in the puddle. And it made me think about how important my motives in loving my wife and kids are. Some pretty motivating thoughts for a simple walk with the dog.