# Pets for young children?



## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Just wondering about peoples opinions on small furries as pets for young children?

I ask because my niece (who will be 6 in august) has expressed interest in having a pet of her own, and my sister has been asking my advice on the subject. They are mostly looking at syrian hamsters.

Personally I'm not too sure what I think about it. On the one hand I think it's great for children to be exposed to animals. To be taught how to handle them, to have respect for them and to be responsible for them (in a limited way though, as I do think parents have to take ultimate responsibility).

On the other hand though I've seen several cases at the vets of, hamsters in particular, being mishandled by children (either being dropped or squeezed too hard or simply neglected) 

I don't know... would the ideal be very sensible parents who only let the child handle the pet when supervised? And who take responsibility for ensuring that the child keeps the pet cleaned out, fed & watered? Or should children that young not be allowed pets of their own regardless? 

What do you guys think?


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## Kazzii-Loves-Ratties (Feb 10, 2011)

I personally think its a lovely idea for children to be around animals etc. But i do think that the parents must be commited to do the cleaning out/ feeding/ watering as i doubt very much children will do it, but i think the child should be included in the feeding and asked for there ''help'' to involve them. My neice is 6 aswell and she is fairly heavy handed unfortunately so may hurt a little furry and some children are cruel and tease animals without realising the effects. I think children should be supervised when holding animals just incase. This is just my opinion  x x


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

Personally I'd always go for rats as first pets

But I LOVE the fact parents get children involved with pet care but as long as children aren't sole carers, my children help out with day to day care of all our animals and have done since around 2 ish 

I've had animals all my life never hurt one even as an accident because I was taught how to handle them etc


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## forgotten~myth (May 30, 2010)

I think it is great for young children to grow up with animals. If they are exposed at a young age they will grow up to respect aniimals. As long as the parents keep a watchful eye on the child until they are mature enough to look after the pet themselves it is a great idea.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Daynna said:


> Personally I'd always go for rats as first pets


See, both my niece and nephew love my rats and always ask to see them, but I thought that with rats being so intelligent and needing so much human interaction that they would be a bit demanding for young children? Also the fact that they need really huge cages


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

i dont think so, im love playing with them they are 5 and 6yrs old (the kids not the rats lol)

Hamster are noctural and tend to be bitey with children, gerbils are mega fast. mice are abit to small and fast. 

i'd always go for rats or degu's i think my kids chat to the rats every single time they go past, they ask to get them out loads, they adore them the rats seem to love them aswell and give rattie kisses :thumbup1:


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## Petitepuppet (May 30, 2009)

I always had rats when I was wee. They lived in my room and were my rats but my mum made sure that they were caree for properly. I think it is wonderful for children to have pets as aslong as they are educated to the care they need to provide for them and they are not the soul carers to the animal.

I think rats make brilliant pets for small children as they are slower and much easier to handle than other small rodents.


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

I would also agree that animals are a great way for children to learn responsibilty...only thing is certain is that my little boy is actually better with smaller animals than larger. If your niece is good then I would say go for it. Though with heavy heavy supervision...for 6 is still very young. Hamsters are great...particularly an already tamed adult. Or rats...but would go for older calm ones.


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

As long as the adult either supervises to make sure the animal is taken care of or does it themselves then a pet is a wonderful thing for a child.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

I think it would be difficult for me if they ended up having rats, coz I would just want to steal them all the time!


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## Petitepuppet (May 30, 2009)

magpie said:


> I think it would be difficult for me if they ended up having rats, coz I would just want to steal them all the time!


I would be the same


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## northnsouth (Nov 17, 2009)

At 6 a child is more than capable of being taught how to handle a small pet correctly and to be given the task of caring for that pet's needs. Although it should always be under supervision.They are also old enough to have the priviliege removed . IMO


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## Zanki (Jun 1, 2011)

I would go for something larger. When I was little, I used to look after my budgie and I was really little. When my mum had to work away from home, I was in charge of cleaning him out and I must have been about 4/5. I also had to catch him when he was out flying, I still don't know how I managed it when I was that small. 
I think a small animal was good for me because I was fine with them, but my little cousin accidentally killed her syrian hamster by squeezing it. They actually got her guinea pigs after that and she was fine with them since they where larger. 
I think it depends on the kid. If they are heavy handed, I would say go for a larger animal. If they are ok with something smaller go for a Syrian. I wouldn't go smaller than that. Gerbils are far too fast and delicate for young children as are dwarf hamsters and mice.


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

At 6 I would say it's a good age to expose a child to a pet and how to look after it. However, in saying that, I hope that your sister takes into consideration that children will be children and there is a chance that your niece will become bored. If that happens will your sister be willing to continue looking after whatever pet she decides upon? Sorry if that seems to be a condescending question, but it is the excuse used by a lot of people when it comes to rehoming a pet "Having to get rid of pet XX because the kid got bored." It's something that needs to be considered as well. Growing up I always had animals around - but they were my mum's, we just got to play with them and help in their care. As we took on more aspects of their care and proved that we could do so confidently and without complaint we were then allowed pets of our own.


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## hope (May 25, 2011)

we have 23 animals and my daughter who is 2 does not seem to bother with them at all apart from when it comes to feeding the reptiles mario and meal worms she has to do it lol


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## Sarahhampson (Nov 3, 2010)

hope said:


> we have 23 animals and my daughter who is 2 does not seem to bother with them at all apart from when it comes to feeding the reptiles mario and meal worms she has to do it lol


oh my daughter is the same she is only 17 months old she loves feeding our lizard and stands there going yum yum yum  no doubt she would have a taste if i turned my back lol


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

zany_toon said:


> At 6 I would say it's a good age to expose a child to a pet and how to look after it. However, in saying that, I hope that your sister takes into consideration that children will be children and there is a chance that your niece will become bored. If that happens will your sister be willing to continue looking after whatever pet she decides upon? Sorry if that seems to be a condescending question, but it is the excuse used by a lot of people when it comes to rehoming a pet "Having to get rid of pet XX because the kid got bored." It's something that needs to be considered as well


No, it's not condescending at all, it's an important question 
I wondered about it too, as my sister and her hubby are not really 'animal' people, y'know? They like animals just fine, but they don't NEED to have them in their lives they way us lot do!
However we did discuss it and my sister already seems resigned to the fact that if they do end up getting a pet, that she will end up looking after it!


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## iheartsonic (Jan 17, 2011)

My kids are 3 and a half and almost 6. They've had a hamster, they currently have 2 gerbils and 2 rats. (Actually, the rats are mine but the kids are always involved with their care)

The downside with hamsters is that they're nocturnal and the boys didn't get to see him very much! The gerbils are better, they're fast (or one of them is, the other is pretty chilled out and laaaazzyyyy  ) so I never leave them with the animals unattended. The rats are still getting used to the boys but I can see potential for big friendships further down the line


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## Snippet (Apr 14, 2011)

I think it should be the parent's pet and the child is allowed to handle it. This is because children can and do get bored, and it's not really fair on the pet if it's just stuck in a cage/ hutch with no human interaction.


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## PrincessGingy (May 27, 2011)

I agree that it is really important for the parent to accept that it will really be their responsibility. My 6 year old brother has a hamster and he does nothing with it so my mom does everything for it. Even if kids are animal lovers they will need help. I remember being able to look after my hamsters by myself from about the age of 10 but I also had a rabbit at that age that lived outside and because there were occasionally spiders around I wouldn't clear it out as I was too scared. So at 6 the parent needs to understand that it will be a responsibility and for quite a long time considering the fact that once a child has a pet they tend to want one forever so even if it dies they want a replacement. 
Syrian hamsters are pretty good I think as they are less responisbility. You can leave them for a day or too and they will be fine and stay tame but I wouldn't go for anything smaller as they are hard to catch (as I just found out with my first dwarf sized hamster). A larger animal like a rabbit tends to be more rewarding for the child I think as they tend to see more of a difference once tame and can have a big cuddle etc. My brother is more interested in my chinchillas than his hamster because they entertain him more and they do cuddle in their own chinchilla sort of way (nosey rubs), though chinchillas are a huge expense and responsibility and it took me a long time with handling every day to get mine to the stage where they jump all over us and come to cuddle. Larger pets are more responsibility.


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

IMO young children should have pets in the house. They teach them responsibility and it also reduces allergies if there a lot of pet hair and dirt around the house. 

I would also recommend rats as pets for children. The parents obviously have to take full-time care for the rats and only allow the children to sit with or hold the rats under supervision. Also guinea-pigs can be good pets for children and they can be kept indoors too.


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## SophieCyde (Oct 24, 2010)

I would reccomend guinea pigs , they are lovely friendly pets and a good size for little kids to hold on their knees , they talk to you as well which is really sweet and my mums friends children love to hold cocoa , they do need a big cage though and plenty of floortime to play an explore as well as veggies and hay but they are amazing pets


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

IMO it depends on the child. Pets can definately be beneficial to a child, teaching them responsibility,commitments and the harsh realities of life (life and death), as well as something to look forward to. But it will definately will be mostly parent's responsibility, as kids can and do become bored. My cousin is 12 and has guinea pigs, and when I asked her a few weeks ago if she still had them she said she didn't know! Then promptly started making doe eyes at her mum over one of my bunnies! as regards to which pets the most suitable ones would most likely be syrian hammies, rats or guinea pigs. No way dwarf hamsters are suitable, as they are extremely fast, very delicate and owing to their small size can frequently bite in self-defence. What usually happens then is the kid is too afraid of being bitten so they don't handle the hamster at all, so it never gets any tamer and lives out a very boring unhappy life in a (usually) too small cage. Mice again are too delicate for a 6 year old, and gerbils although friendly are very fast. IMHO rodents are not pets for little kids and certainly not 'pocket money pets' as they can be viewed. I also stress here that rabbits, despite what people think are not suitable pets for small children. They can bite, scratch, kick and damage themselves badly if picked up incorrectly. Also it is a well known fact that if the child gets bored with a bunny, it is all too often that they get left alone in a hutch at the bottom of the garden to lead a boring, lonely existence( rabbits don't make a noise for attention/food like dogs and cats and so in some people's minds are easier to ignore.) I was in a [email protected] store last saturday and saw a young girl of about 6 or 7 and her younger brother thinking of buying a roborovski hamster because it was tiny and cute. The assistant didn't seem interested in telling her she most probably would not be able to keep hold of her pet (heck he couldn't) and was more interested in getting a sale than if the pet was suitable. A few words with her and her parents and a few moments later I saw her happily picking a baby syrian from one of the tanks - a much more suitable choice. Sorry if this sounds negative but the truth is most 'children's pets' are not that at all - in fact they're exactly the opposite.


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## ceretrea (Jan 24, 2011)

I think it is the parents who should own the animal and the children can be exposed and learn without being ultimately responsible themselves. I think 6 is far too young for a child to have their own pet.

All the animals in my signature are mine. My two children however, help with cleaning out and my older son handles the rats and walks the dog. My daughter is too young for the rats and finds they hurt her with their claws, she tends to squirm away from them putting them both at risk of injury. Her small hands cannot hold them comfortably. She is content to help with cleaning, giving the rats treats and playing with the dog, they are both learning how to train him too. Neither of them are involved much with the mice as I feel they are just too delicate for children.

I would not buy them their own pets though. Because children are, by nature, changeable as the wind. At least this way it doesn't matter if they want to do it that day or not, it has no effect on the pets welfare. If the parent is unwilling the pet will just end up in rescue (if its lucky). 

Thats my opinion


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