Classroom Rabbit- Advice please

[ScampersMom]

My son has just told me that the classroom he goes to for an after school program has a classroom pet rabbit.  That is all that I know about the rabbit.  I have asked him questions about it but he gets defensive and tells me “get over it.”  I have a hard time doing this.  I am concerned for the rabbit.  I have yet to hear a positive story about a rabbit in the classroom.  I am not sure what I should do.  Do I stay out of it?  Do I contact the teacher and have her tell me about the rabbit?  I don’t want to make her defensive. So, what do you bunny lovers think?

[Little Lion Head]

I wonder if you could ask the teacher about it in a curious way (“hey! i heard you have a rabbit in your classroom–whats he like?) so that you don’t come off sounding defensive? You might be able to get your info and put your mind at rest. Or it could be a great teaching opportunity for the teacher–in the right context!

[Roberta]

Maybe you could ring her to volunteer to take the bunny over a long weekend or during holidays. It would give you a chance to assess it’s health and ask the teacher about the level of care provided.

[DethronedbyQueenB]

Visit the classroom

[LBJ10]

There used to be a member here that had a bunny that was used as a classroom bunny. She took the bunny home though, he/she didn’t stay in the classroom 24/7.

I agree with the others. As a parent, you can certainly visit a classroom your son spends time in. You can see the bunny and ask “innocent” questions without making the teacher feel like you’re being critical.

[Eepster]

This may be something you need to let go. Just trust that there are classroom bunnies that are well loved and cared for, so this bunny probably is too.

It doesn’t sound like you have a specific reason to be concerned about this bunny. It sounds like a generalized anxiety based on how classroom bunnies have been treated historically. Remember all bunnies historically have not been as well cared for as they are these days b/c our knowledge about how bunnies should be cared for has expended greatly in the last few decades. Just as us pet rabbit owners can now provide better care for our rabbits b/c we have better resources, teachers can also provide better care for their classroom bunnies b/c they have access to those same better resources.

I remember the member LBJ10 is talking about very well. She lived near enough to where I do that we would share info on local pet shops. She cared for her bunny as well as any of us and her bunny was quite happy to go to work with her everyday. It wouldn’t be every bunnies cup of tea, but some bunnies really like getting a lot of attention.

If you can bring it up conversationally, that would be fine, but if you go in there with the assumption the bunny is mistreated and start making accusations nothing good will come of it. If you get yourself a reputation at your son’s school as that mom, ti will be hard to get concerns you might have about your son’s education listened to.

[DethronedbyQueenB]

Wow, Eep..That was a really helpful post, for me,- altho unintended to be so.

I really need to remember this when I get Generalized Anxiety issues.

[Boing]

I’d visit, if I were you. That way, you can assess things for yourself! Then you can discuss the situation in a rational manner with your son at home – if he’s in an after school program, he seems a little young to be apathetic. Who knows, maybe the bunny is well cared for.

[ScampersMom]

Thank you all for your advice. I used to work in the school myself so I know the teachers and classrooms very well. I was very surprised to hear that this teacher has a rabbit. She just never struck me as the rabbit type. There are other animal practices in the building that I am not thrilled about, for example the 4th grade does health experiments on rats every year. Now that I have had some time to think and to read your replies, I think I will send her an email and let her know about our Hoppy Hour. My son is also very rabbit savvy kid. If he saw something wrong he would make a big deal about it. I am grateful for this forum. Again, thank you all.

[Flopsie]

I’m going to half agree and half disagree here.

I think yes, we have to have an open mind and not assume off the bat that the bunny is mistreated. I think that is fair. However we do know that generally classroom rabbits are not well taken care of. I think that we can generally make a statement that most people are not very aware and informed on how to take care of rabbits correctly. This is not a judgement but rather a statement based on multiple experiences.

So my suggestion, if you are really that concerned is to check it out yourself. Don’t need to ask questions yet. If the bunny looks well cared for, then you may not need to proceed further. If things don’t look good for example, no hay, Wire floor cage, abundance of carrots, only alfalfa etc. then I guess you need to decide the next step

This step would be much more difficult as you don’t want to come off righteous, judgmental, or an overall pain. Your goal is to either educate and or help and this is where you need to be savvy or you might also need to pick your battles.

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