5-year-old girl obsessed with animals and bugs, her single father encourages her curiosity and turns their home into an "insectarium" despite being low on money

Author image for Briana Viser
Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Aug 8, 2026 9:00 AM EDT

It's not easy being a single father without a lot of income, but when you love your daughter like he does, anything is possible. 

Love really can conquer all. When you're divorced and down on your luck, making only enough to support yourself and your little girl but still find the means and funds to prioritize her and her life, then you know you basically become the father of the year. This little girl is obsessed with all living things, like bugs, amphibians, lizards, snakes, and other animals. She wants them all, and at only 5 years old she's obsessed with watching videos about them. She wants to be a "bug scientist" when she grows up, and he's determined to encourage her curiosity. He's single dad, and changed careers due to the divorce, but despite making half his normal income, he seeks advice from the internet on how to better facilitate her interests. They encourage him to start building her a bug collection. 

A bug collection can look like many things. Right now, she's into frogs, jumping spiders, geckos, and snakes. He's living paycheck to paycheck right now, but is still determined to at least take her on nature walks to collect bugs, make homemade terrariums, and even take pong water to fill a container with the algae, mud, and baby fish for her. It's really incredible to see this father go above and beyond for his little girl. When love dominates, it really takes over everything. Read the full story below. 

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to start your Caturday with the funniest felines on the internet!

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10653874944
    via Kichigin / Canva

    A father and daughter on their nature walk. 

  • 02
    So I've got a 5 year old daughter and she's been obsessed with everything living for basically as
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 03
    long as she's been alive. She watches a lot of videos about bugs, amphibians, lizards, snakes etc and
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 04
    she basically wants them all. She wants to be a "bug scientist" when she grows up and I really want to
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 05
    encourage her curiosity. I changed careers a couple years ago to accommodate being a single
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 06
    father, since I could no longer work 60+ hours a week and my income was cut basically in half. I currently
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 07
    get no money from the mother who just got out of rehab so things are pretty tight financially.
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 08
    Long story short, what would be the cheapest way to get started building her a collection of bugs
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 09
    and animals that aren't too hard to take care of or very expensive to take care of properly. I don't want
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 10
    to go into it blind and end up with animals I can't afford that will end up suffering because of it.
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 11
    The main things she's requested has been a pacman frog, jumping spiders, a raft spider, an axolotl,
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 12
    geckos, and a couple different snakes I forget the names of.
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 13
    As I get further into my career I'll eventually make good money, but right now I'm living paycheck to
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 14
    paycheck and I don't trust that her mother will ever pay anything in child support so cost is my main concern right now.
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 15
    Edit: I'm blown away at how many people have responded to this post. I really appreciate all the
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 16
    advice! For now I'll probably just start with nature walks, collecting bugs and doing homemade
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 17
    terrariums from local sources and then when I can I'll start getting her bugs we can't find near us to
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 18
    build up her collection. We just went to the pond and filled up a container with pond water, algae
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 19
    and mud and brought it home. It's clearing right now but we've already seen some baby fish,
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 20
    dragonfly larva and some weird kinda beetle looking bug that I'm trying to ID, I'll post pictures in a comment below
    via u/BrovahkiinGaming
  • 21
    bear-in-a-suit Go on a hike and teach her to respect nature in its natural
    via u/bear-in-a-suit

  • No one will argue how difficult it must be to be a single parent. Going through a divorce isn't easy for anyone, especially when you have kids. There's a tumultuous changing of lives. From one life with a wife, good job, house, and kid, to another where you feel like a bachelor with all the responsibilities of being in a marriage. He still does everything for her, and it's absolutely wholesomely sweet to see that he encourages her interests. It's not every day these days that kids even have interests in things anymore. Sometimes it feels like they're all obsessed with technology and their phones. It's so refreshing to see that she's actually interested in something else. 

  • 22
    environment. Try to find an ID book of things in your area to seek out and play scavenger hunt with a bingo card to mark off. Bingo card can be
    via u/bear-in-a-suit
  • 23
    homemade and can find book at your library. This way she can have all pets she wants and they already have the best habitat without costing you anything. Also, thanks for being a rock star dad and nurturing her!!!!!!!
    via u/bear-in-a-suit

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

bugs parenting love animals
Scroll Down For The Next Article