Mum replaces son's dead goldfish for 16 years
A mum who didn't want her child to be upset, took a frozen dead fish to a pet shop twice a year to find a look-a-like replacement until her son was in his 20s.
Every parent has told their child a little white lie.
But one mum has taken the small fib to a whole new level by keeping a secret about his pet goldfish for 16 years.
A caller on Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa show revealed she never let her son know that his fish died by replacing it every time it passed away without him knowing.
On the radio show, Fitzy and Wippa were talking about the lies they’ve told their kids and asked people to call up with their made-up stories.
Fitzy revealed her had accidentally killed six-year-old son Lenny’s beloved sea monkeys while he was cockroach bombing the house.
Following his revelation, caller Michelle from Casula in Sydney’s southwest shared her story about replacing a pet goldfish every time it died for 16 years.
She kept the original fish frozen and took it to a pet shop to get one that looked the same every time a replacement fish passed away.
“Well I couldn’t tell him that it died, I felt really go bad,” she told Fitzy and Wippa.
“I put the original one in the freezer and every time the replacement one would die, I would take the original one out, drive to the fish shop and match it. So I did that for 16 years”
Fitzy called it a “good effort”.
When Fitzy questioned how often she went back to the pet shop she replied, “probably once every six months for 16 years”.
Wippa then asked why she didn’t just tell him, trusting he would be ok with the loss of his pet fish. But she revealed he was devastated when he eventually found at age 22.
“When he was 22 I accidentally let it slip, we were having a conversation around the table one night and said his friends never believed him that he had a goldfish that lasted 16 years,” she recalled.
Wippa said you’ve made him look like “an idiot”.
She said her son “was devastated, he was so upset”.
Fitzy said sarcastically that it was a “great idea” never exposing his son to loss or disappointment.
“Just keep it going, then your kid never has to be upset in their lives. They don't have to get emotional."
kidspot.com.au
