Polly and Chang...or is it Fang?

A couple of weeks ago we gave in to Fin's requests to have a pet. We got two gerbils, Polly and Chang. The kids were so excited to have pets again and were really keen to cuddle them. We explained that mum and dad had to tame them before they could hold them. The kids were not happy but accepted it reasonably well. Given that Dave wasn't that keen to get them in the first place i thought it'd be best if i tamed them both so started the following day. I managed to hold them the following day but quickly discovered it wasn't quite as pleasant as i'd envisaged. I had a couple of bites from Chang (which drew blood and i renamed her Fang!) and so did Dave (who couldn't resist a wee cuddle or was it a nibble?). Poor Polly was shaking like a leaf any time i picked her up and obviously wasn't enjoying it at all as i thought she would. Dave started researching online what you should do when gerbils bite and found a website advising him to start taming them wearing gardening gloves so when they bite you it doesn't hurt and they soon get bored of it. It has been a week since he started doing it and tonight for the first time the kids were able to hold Polly for a short time. Chang still didn't want to be held though. Once the kids were in bed we decided that Chang needed to be held and took the top off the cage and eventually caught her. Holding her was a nerve racking experience and i wouldn't say either of us were particularly comfortable with it but she scurried around and appeared to be more at ease than we had thought she would be. As a mum i want to hold my children, i want to cuddle and reassure them and show them i love them. Fin likes to show his love for me by twiddling my hair - something that has driven me crazy over the last 6 years especially after he started twiddling it so tight he ended up pulling chunks of it out. I wonder how children who don't have that tactile connection with their parents feel? I was always cuddled and reassured as a child and am thankful for that. I think children need to feel loved and reassured even if they think they're too old to show love anymore. I took Fin out of school for lunch a few weeks ago and we went down to the waterfront and threw stones into the water inbetween bites of sandwiches. We had a great time. He even held my hand on the way back...well for a couple of minutes anyway. I hope Polly and Chang will soon become tame and enjoy being handled.