Starchild: Why Malaysian kids love to bonding with their pets

Asher Wang Qi Chuen, 6

Pets are amazing and they enrich our lives in so many ways. Pets are always there for us. Whether it’s a dog wagging its tail, a cat purring, or a hamster running on its wheel, pets make us feel happy.

They keep us company when we are feeling lonely and are always ready to play.

Taking care of pets helps us learn how to be responsible too. We feed them, give them water, and make sure they are safe and healthy. This teaches us how to care for others in our own lives.

Playing with pets is a blast! Dogs love to fetch balls, cats enjoy chasing string, and birds can learn cool tricks. Playing with pets helps us stay active and entertained. It’s never boring when you have a pet around.

Bethany Wang Qi Syuen, 9Pets love us no matter what. They don’t take offence if we are moody or make a mistake. They are always happy to see us and give us lots of love and affection. This unconditional love makes us feel special and important.

Recently Starchild asked readers to send in letters on the topic, My Pet. Here’s what they had to say.

“I don’t have any pets at home. Given a choice, I would like a grey cat as a pet. A fat and furry cat to cuddle would be nice. But I will also need to clean the cat and feed it cat food three times a day which I may not remember at my age. Maybe I can have a pet when I am older,” says Bethany Wang Qi Syuen, nine.

“My grandpa gave my sister and me guppy fish when we were younger. They lived in a small tank in our living room. We fed them pellets daily. At first, they were healthy, and we even had baby guppies. Sadly, as we became busy and sometimes forgot to feed them, the guppies eventually died,” writes Asher Wang Qi Chuen, six.

Lim Sheng Hao, 11

Lim Sheng Hao, 11, says some people have cats, while others have unusual pets like crocodiles.

“Although I’ve never had a pet, my grandmother used to have many dogs. Among them, her golden retrievers were my favourite. They were friendly and adorable, and never barked. My mother said it was because they were old and calm. I remember one followed me upstairs once. They passed away when I was six.

Chuah Seng Koon, 8“Now, my grandmother has a rottweiler. It is an active and fierce guard dog. I’ve learned that rottweilers have strong bites. Recently, they let one of its puppies take over guarding. It used to be tiny, but now it’s a big guard dog.”

Eight-year-old Chuah Seng Koon wants to have the fictional reptilian monster Godzilla as his pet. He says: “I want my pet to be very strong so nobody would mess with it and no thief would break into my house. Another reason is I have been watching the movie Godzilla many times, and I think Godzilla is cool.”

Find the hidden words!

ITEM: Rice is a staple in the Malaysian diet. We eat rice with an assortment of dishes. Nasi lemak is rice cooked in coconut milk and served with sambal, egg, cucumber and anchovies. It is a favourite for breakfast but some restaurants serve it throughout the day. Now, why don’t you tell us anything about to rice. It can be about the rice farmers, the goodness of rice, yummy food made with rice or even your most favourite rice meal.

You can draw people enjoying a meal of rice, nasi lemak, ketupat or a farmer ploughing his paddy field with the help of a buffalo. Or, anything else that you can think of that’s related to the topic.

E-mail your contributions to [e-mail] by June 7. Please put “STARCHILD: Rice” in the subject line of your e-mail.

Scanned drawings should be in jpeg format, with a resolution of 200dpi. Your contributions must carry your full name, age (open to children aged 12 and below only), gender, phone contact, and address. Instead of handwritten letters, please type out your letters.