Best Pets for Kids

The best pets for kids are the ones that are naturally patient, sweet, gentle, and loving towards little ones. This also ensures children’s safety.

Living with pets helps children strengthen their immune system, develop values like responsibility, reduce levels of stress and generate empathy for other living creatures.

If the kids are going to have a pet, it’s important to choose the ideal pet. You should make the decision together and keep various things in mind.

Some of the things to think about are the space you have available at home and the time you have to dedicate to taking care of the pet.

In addition to the attention and care that are necessary to having pets, there is another important matter: the responsibility of having a living creature at home.

When It’s Time to Choose a Pet…

When choosing the best pets for kids, there are a few basic tips to keep in mind to be sure that you make the right decision:

• Children can be responsible and commit to taking care of pets. However, adults should be aware that it won’t be like that all the time. Often, the responsibility of taking care of pets falls on us.
• Why choose one pet over another? It’s important to be sure that it isn’t a momentary impulse from your child. How can you be sure? A good technique is to pay attention to how long your child has been asking for a pet.
• You have to be tolerant. At some point, the pet will break something, get something dirty, etc.
• You must take into account the opinion of others at home. There are many moments when they’ll have to take care of the new pet as well. It’ll be much better if everyone is in agreement.

The Best Pets for Kids According to Age

• Babies up to 3 years old. In this very early age, kids aren’t capable of taking on any responsibility. They aren’t capable of taking care of a pet at home.
• When they’re older than 4 years old, kids can be in charge of certain chores. In the case of cleaning the house, feeding the pet, etc. What pets are ideal? Ones that don’t need lots of care. Some of these are turtles, birds, hamsters, and even cats.
• When can the child have a dog? Ideally, wait until they’re about 6 years old. Dogs, regardless of breed, require lots of attention. You need to walk them, play with them, give them baths, etc.

Puppies or Adult Dogs

When you decide to add a dog or cat to your family with small children, you have to consider the age of the animal. It would be appropriate for the pet to be between one and five years old.

At these ages, dogs and cats live well with small children. On the one hand, they aren’t as dynamic as when they’re little puppies. On the other hand, they don’t have conditions like arthritis and other problems.

If you’ve decided that you want to adopt, ask the dog’s caretakers about his temperament. In addition to knowing his personality, you can obtain useful data about his preferences, needs, etc.

Another interesting thing, in the case of rescue dogs, is possible tests. Many centers allow for kids and pets to meet, to see how both the animal and the child behave.

In rescue animals, normally you can consult the information that the centers have on the animals available for adoption. You can also ask for a pet that has previously lived in a house with kids.

Some Tricks

You can find out if the animal will feel comfortable at home with your small children by using a few tricks. For example, analyze his temperament. In other words, see if the animal responds with sharp noises, if he lets you pet him, if he likes to play a lot, etc.

A good idea for restless kids is adopting a dog that was trained as a guide dog. After training, there are animals that don’t fulfill all of the standards to accompany disabled people. However, these are excellent dogs for homes with small children.

Examples of Dog Breeds

Although it depends on the dog’s temperament, there are certain breeds that are more likely to be better with children. Labradors and Golden Retrievers are well known for being docile. Terriers are known for being rebellious. The most important thing is the character of the specific dog you’re looking at.

To get a good idea of what the dog’s personality might be like, you can check out his parents’ personalities if they’re known and available.

All in all, the best pets for kids should be domesticated, as well as calm, sweet, and loving with your little ones. In this way, you can be calm every time your child is with your pet at home.