How to Teach Your Young Children About Pets

Getting a pet when your children are young can be a very rewarding experience for the entire family. The kind of pet you choose is not as important as teaching your children to be kind and handle it properly. Make sure that you will be home enough to give your new pet adequate attention and guidance, and to supervise his budding relationship with your child.

My Daughter's First Pet

About two months before my first daughter was born, I bought a young cat named Jiji. I was worried that my long-time cat, Boo, would feel neglected when the baby came and initially bought Jiji to keep him company.

Boo and Jiji never did become great friends, but Jiji immediately bonded with my newborn daughter. When she was sleeping in her room, Jiji waited outside her door. If she was lying on a blanket on the living room floor, Jiji was lying on the corner. As my daughter got older, she played with Jiji, dragging him around in a laundry basket or snuggling with him on the sofa.

Teaching Your Child to Be Kind

Certain children who visit our house have not been taught how to treat animals. They walk up to our dog and whack her on the head repeatedly. They pull her ears. Luckily, she is very gentle, but even gentle animals have their limits.

From infancy, both of my daughters were taught to be kind to our pets. When they were very small I took their hands and gently ran them along the cats' backs saying, "Nice kitty. Nice kitty." If they got a little boisterous with their pats, I would say, "No. Nice kitty," and show them again.

I showed them how to pet the dogs as well, and as the children got older, I taught them how to play with them and instructed them not to run away.

The lesson of kindness is a life-long lesson that will serve them well as they grow into adulthood. Now, at the ages of 7 and 4, my children know how to squat down, hold out their hands and get a cat to come to them. Little, high-strung dogs will allow them to pet them because they are gentle.

Giving Your Child Some Responsibility

As your child gets older, a pet offers a good opportunity to teach responsibility. He can be put in charge of feeding, brushing, bathing or walking his pet. Responsibility is another important lesson and your child will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment at being given some of these very important tasks to perform.

This responsibility will also give your child a new-found importance in the eyes of your pet. If they haven't already formed a mighty bond, allowing your child to be the purveyor of food could possibly do the trick.

Always Keep an Eye on Your Charges

Whenever you have pets around your young child, be sure to watch them carefully. Your child might forget and do something that causes your pet pain or the pet might unwittingly do something that could harm your child. A large dog, for example, could easily knock down a toddler. A sick cat could defensively scratch a child if in pain or unwell.

Just as you would never leave your young child alone near a burning fireplace or an open second-story window, you should never allow your child to be in a potentially dangerous situation.

Dealing With the Death of a Beloved Pet

When my daughter was 3, her beloved Jiji suddenly fell ill. He was not yet 4, but had total liver and kidney failure. We had no choice but to put him to sleep.

How do you explain to a child of that age that her best friend is dead? Death was completely beyond her realm of comprehension. Both of us were devastated.

I explained to her that Jiji had been very sick and he had died. I picked out a bright star in the sky and told her that he was up there now, happily playing and no longer sick. I put his picture in her room and told her that we could go outside and say goodnight to him every night.

She was very sad, but liked my explanation. We went out side every night for a long time. Gradually it was a few times a week, and finally not at all. She still speaks of him though. Every once in a while she will mention him fondly and I am glad he was her special friend, if only for a few years.