Pets for Kids - Best Pets for Kids
Giving Time - Teaching Skills for Life

Pets for Kids - essential reality checker, kids and pets tips from our RSPCA officer

So a pet is going to join your family
Pets are great if you have a child who is gentle and sensitive and likes animals.
A child can be taught how to handle, train and care for their pet.
Where do you start?

First thing to consider is the age of your child and any allergies they may have.
Some children are allergic to the hair on animals such as dogs, cats and guinea pigs.

If you have a young child you will need to supervise their interaction with the pet of your choice.

The main thing when choosing a pet for kids is to take into account how long they are likely to live.
Pets such as a dog can live for longer than 15 years.
Will you want to care for a pet for that long.
If your child is already a teenager there is little doubt that you will need to care for the pet once your teen has left home.

Cost of keeping pets for kids.
If you have older kids are they going to contribute towards the keep of their pet?
If so how much are they going to give.
Have an agreement first before buying the pet. Agree how much your kids should give of their pocket money for their pets keep
A pet can be bought relatively cheaply but these things need to be taken into consideration also:

The cage setup(can be very expensive if you buy the largest cages you can for your pet.)
Food bowls and water drip feeders.
Toys
Bedding.
Food
Collar and lead for dogs
veterinary costs
Insurance
Holiday Care
Even for a small pet veterinary fees can be very big if your pet has a chronic illness or needs an operation.

Space is another vital thing to consider.
Pets such as ferrets, guinea pigs, rats, and rabbits need very large cages and runs.
Do you have the space for this.
Will these pets live indoors or outside.
Dogs generally need a large garden and space to run around.

Do you have enough time to give to a pet for kids?
Even a pet in a cage needs floor time and handling for around 2 hours a day.
They also need cleaning out
This needs to be at least once a week, sometimes twice a week. Some cages need tidying every day.
Who is going to do this your kids or you.
Geoff and I can spend around half an hour a day sorting out cages and food for the parrot, dog, guinea pigs and corn snake

When you go away who will care for your pets.
Do you have friendly friends and family who will care for your pets while you are on holiday?
If you need to pay for pet care this can be very expensive.

Pets for kids safety.
You need to consider your kids safety .
Some pets may bite if they are scared or in pain.
A dog should never be left with children as even the most faithful can turn if in pain or scared.
You need to ensure visitors are safe if you have a dog. you can be sued if your dog bites someone.

Your home will need to be pet safe if your pets have free time out of the cage.
Make sure electrical leads are tucked away and cannot be chewed
Move toxic plants out of harms way.
Most pets love chocolate but it is not safe for them to eat so hide it away.
Small pets can squeeze through tiny spaces in floors and walls.
If your kids are in and out of your front door leaving it open will your dog escape (we use a stairgate to prevent this)
Put lids down on toilets and watch your bath is not full of water(to prevent your pet drowning)

Grieving is a healthy part of loss.
Kids need to be allowed to grieve and talk about their loss.
When they are ready talk about replacing the pet if you can (even with another type of pet).
Your child may even demand this. that is because they are bargaining to get back something they have lost.
If another pet is not possible look at what kind of things having a pet meant to your child.
For instance did a pet give your child a sense of self esteem.
If so can you find a way that they can get self esteem back in another way.
Did your kids pet give your child a sense of worth if so try to find another way to do this.
Perhaps helping a neighbour or you giving your child a responsible job to do would help.
Try to break down the loss of the pet into much smaller hidden losses so that you can help your child to work this through.
If you have any questions about this use the contact form at the bottom of the about us page and I'll respond.

If this is successful they will have learnt a valuable lesson in dealing with the losses we suffer every day.

For the most part there are more good points to having pets pets for kids than bad.
They can be good fun and part of family life.
Our pets bring us a lot of joy.

You will need to check your pets over regularly for sores or cuts.
If your pet changes it's usual routine or it's behavior then it may be ill.
If you think your pet is ill he says "it is your duty to take it to a veterinary surgery".