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Ok, Gus, you do have a point. But I still think that kids would be more likely to lose interest in a hamster after a few months than one week, therefore it doesn't really show very much.
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And I'll quite readily concede that you have one, also - one which is very interesting
For me, I think it's terribly hard to legislate for when a child might lose interest - it's certainly the case that many do, for which we have evidence.
This, you would have to concede, could likely happen regardless of whether they'd rented prior, or bought outright.
The utility, for me, in this scheme is that it might weed out some of these cases before they get to that point, by prompting the tough conversations at the outset - about care, and the responsibilities of the owner; even if these aren't totally evident to the child, we can hope to be able to influence the decision-maker, the parent, with whom ultimate responsibility lies.
Sadly, I don't think we can legislate for them scorning their responsibilities, either!
We can only hope that the experience would promote more positive ownership, and for me this harks back to ideas like the "school hamster" - but I doubt the Robinson's, whose scheme this is, would be able to claim 100% success. But I still think it has a lot more to offer, in promoting the animal and it's welfare, than the Robinson's continuing to indulge in "impulse purchase" animals from their store.
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