I know this is a food blog, and I’m not planning on eating Todd II, but let’s talk about hamsters. Because kids love cake and kids love hamsters. But that doesn’t mean they should have either, not all the time.

Last week was my son’s 6th birthday. I love my son, and I especially love making him crack up because he’s got a great sense of humor and he loves to laugh. While this is adorable, and fun and fills our home with an insane amount of joy, it is not a good reason to bring a living creature into your family unit. Still, that’s what went down.

You see, my husband had a hamster when he was a kid. He named that hamster, Todd. Rightly so, both of our kids found this name to be hi-lar-ious for a hamster. I mean, Todd. But it was the ’80s and my husband loved the name Todd and he loved his hamster. The kids have loved hearing stories about Todd and over the past few years my husband has obliged, with the stories getting more and more outrageous. (Note to kids: Todd did not go to a disco and dance “The Hustle.” No matter how much Daddy insists he did.)

Recently the kids were going on and on about Todd and laughing their little heads off when my husband turned to me and said, “You know Judah’s birthday is coming up.” We locked eyes and telepathically said, “Hamster!!!!” So that happened.

Look, I like Todd II. He’s sweet, small and really not too offensive most of the time. But that doesn’t mean it was a smart thing to bring into a busy family who are trying to train their 1-year-old puppy how to not bark at every cat that wanders past our house. So before you go out and buy your child a hamster, I’d like to help you out. Make you stop and think a little, since we really did not.

Hamster Pros:

So cute and fuzzy

Very inexpensive

Love to run around in a ball, to everyone’s delight

That pouch stuffing thing is amazing to watch

Hamster Cons:

Like to pee a lot and smell up their tiny cages

Don’t give hugs

Nocturnal

An actual responsibility, no matter how small

So there you have it. Don’t say you haven’t been educated. Somewhat.

Next year, I’m going to stick with this amazing gluten-free birthday cake from the ladies at Whisk GF Bakery –

Right? Pikachu is also cute. And he doesn’t pee on anything.