My daughter had a friend over the other day. The friend was greatly impressed at all of our animals: two cats, two rats, quite a number of fish. “That must be a lot of work,” she said. Yep.
We had the fish and the cats when we had our daughter. The rats we recently acquired – they’re sociable and surprisingly cuddly pets, the dogs of the rodent world. However, I do find that I am spending a lot of time supervising my daughter’s interactions with our various animals.
What factors do you need to consider when you’re thinking of getting a pet and you have a preschooler?
1. Who is the pet for? If it’s going to be your preschooler’s pet, I wouldn’t go much farther than a fish. Even with a fish, you’re going to have to monitor its feeding and cleaning. Although preschoolers and even older children profess to be extremely dedicated to pet care and may in fact help a lot with the care of a pet when asked, they don’t generally remember to do the animal care on a regular basis. It’s your pet.
2. What kind of space and time do you have for a pet? Your child may desperately want an animal, but if you don’t have the time for it, the pet will become another stress. My daughter would love a dog, and I can’t handle one in our townhouse. Instead, she borrows her grandparents’ dog and takes him for walks when they babysit her, and everyone’s happy.
3. How does your child interact with animals? On occasion, my daughter treats the cats and the rats like dolls, trying to carry them around, cradle them, or make them sit in a box or act in a certain way. I have to remind her that the cats don’t really want to dress up, even if she wants them to do so. If your child has a tendency to chase or hit animals, I’d practice at the petting zoo for a while until he is ready to be slow and gentle with a pet.
4. How does the animal interact with people? Bunnies are cute, but they need a surprising amount of space and attention. Certain cats have a tendency to scratch. Other animals are actually not all that social – we’ve had several generations of hamsters, and although they are sweet animals, they don’t always want to be handled. Research the temperament of the animal and choose carefully when you’re adopting your specific pet. We’ve chosen rescue animals each time. With our rats, we carefully chose the rats that were very laid-back and good with kids.
Do you have a pet? What kind? Does it work for you and your preschooler?