'My son wants a pet tarantula and I can't deal'

Now I'll do anything for my children. Absolutely anything.

EXCEPT, let them get a pet tarantula. Not something I thought I'd ever be saying, if truth be told.

But that's the thing about being a parent. Your kids will constantly surprise you, and just when you think there are no shocks left, they hit you with another.

And another.

And another.

In the latest episode of Honey Mums, Deb Knight talks to Rob Sturrock about his experience as a stay at home dad. (Article continues.)

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My son Philip, 14, isn't having the easiest time in his teenage years and I'll admit to having tried to buy his love and happiness on several occasions, including pre-ordering the new Spiderman game last month, not yelling when he made some unauthorised in-app purchases recently and letting his personal hygiene occasionally lapse.

But, I have my limits, and it seems one of those limits is letting him get a pet tarantula.

Here's how the conversation unfolded.

I was in the bathroom doing my hair. My three children -- Philip, 14, Giovanni, 10, and Caterina, nine -- playing a game in the lounge room.

Philip calls out, "Mum!"

I said, "Yes darling?"

He said, "Can I get a pet tarantula?"

I said, "No way."

He said, "What if I de-fang it?"

I said, "Will it still look like a tarantula?"

He said, "Yes, but it won't be dangerous."

I said, "Was it dangerous before?"

He said, "No, but I thought it might make you feel better if I de-fanged it."

I said, "No way, we are not getting a pet tarantula."

He said, "But Mum!"

I said, "No Philip. There is no way I am letting you get a pet spider, and can we please stop talking about it now, because you are giving me the creeps."

He said, "But Muuuuuummmmmmm!"

I said, "No Philip. I will NEVER change my mind about this."

He then gave a prolonged groan, as only teenagers can, and I shut the bathroom door, lest he considered asking again.

I mean, seriously. A tarantula? What next?

And why, oh why, couldn't he want a different kind of pet. Like, say, a guinea pig?

Maybe a fluffy bunny?

Or a kitten?

Even a mouse...

But no. Instead he wants to get a pet tarantula and feed it all of the above.

The only spider in my home is going to be an accidental one and I have the insect spray ready.

I am TERRIFIED of spiders, always have been, even little ones. I'll never get over the time there was a rather large spider in a previous home and I sprayed it and hundreds of little baby spiders ran off it.

It's the stuff of horror movies.

When Philip mentions the words "pet tarantula" all I see is this:

And I can't even begin to think about the insects and small animals we'd have to murder in order to feed it.

I spoke with one of my parent friends about it, expecting sympathy. Instead she suggested I consider a pet bearded dragon.

"Look, they're so cute," she said, showing me a photo of her phone of her own pet bearded dragon.

Huh. No, no, no!

So no pet tarantula for my son, at least not while he's in my home.

If he wants to get one he'll need to leave it at someone else's home or wait until he moves into his own home, because if I see a spider -- pet or otherwise -- it's going to be insect spray or a broom or at the very least, hysterical screaming.

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