Last updated: August 23, 2024
It’s easy to think you can head out to a dog shelter, hand over an adoption fee, and bring home a cute little puppy that’s going to become the star of the family! However, even when you’re desperate to be a pet owner, it’s best to cool your heels and make an informed decision about adding an adorable furry friend to the family. After all, if you’ve got kids, they’re going to need to prove they’re responsible enough to care for a pet before you get one!
With all kinds of pets, including fish, birds, and rodents, as well as cats and dogs, the kids need to know that pets aren’t just cute things that live in the house with them. They’re going to have to help out to ensure their pet is properly cared for, and sometimes that means leaving them alone to have a nap!
To ensure the kids are in the right frame of mind when it comes to pets, make sure you go over the points below and see if they apply to your household. If you come out the other side knowing that your family currently ticks all the boxes, you can head to the shelter without a doubt in your mind!
They’re Not too Young to Handle an Animal
It’s easy to think having a pet in the house when the kids are young is the best way to ensure harmony in your household. If your child and the dog can grow up together, they’re going to be the best of friends, right? It’s a lovely idea in theory, but in reality it can make the toddler years even harder, and may even have the opposite effect on your child in the long run.
Animals grow faster than humans do. If your toddler is still trying to find their feet and walk unaided without falling down, the puppy that’s technically the same age as them is already going to be able to walk, run, and bounce off the walls.
This may make it difficult for your child to traverse the house without being bumped into, knocked over, or barked out. If the puppy comes to mean something mean and dangerous to a child of that age, it may take them a long time to get over the fear!
They’ve Wanted a Pet for a While
We all know how quickly kids can cycle through their wants and whims. One minute they want a Barbie Dreamhouse, the next they can’t stand Barbie, and then they want to download a new game to their tablet and spend the rest of the afternoon playing it, by which time they’ve completely forgotten about anything Barbie related at all – and this can all happen on the same day!
Make sure this isn’t how they’re approaching getting a pet. If they want to have a pet, they need to want it for more than just a day or even a week at a time. You need to know their interest in caring for a pet is going to be sustained long term, and they won’t forget about having a dog, cat, or rabbit the moment they get bored.
This is quite possibly the most important point we make on this list. As such, before you go looking for dogs for sale to find the perfect puppy to bring home, be sure it’s what the kids want, even if this is the only point you can tick off at all.
They Don’t Forget About Their Responsibilities (or take too long)
Do you often find that your kids need reminding to do their homework, even when you’ve already reminded them? Maybe they routinely forget about doing their share of chores, even when they just need to pick up their toys from the floor and put them back?
If this is the case, they may not be ready to care for a pet. Animals tend to run on their own time sensitive schedules!
It’s normal for kids to take time when doing housework or to need a nudge every now and then, but if your child has a chronic case of never getting the hard work done, you’ll need to dig into that first.
They’re Willing to Understand a Pet’s Needs
Kids can be a little overzealous when it comes to animal friendship. Even if they love animals and they’re desperate to have a dog or cat around the house, the attention they end up giving the pet may become overwhelming and stressful.
Make sure your kids know that this can be a side effect. Remind them that they often need some time to themself. While it’s nice to see their friends or go along to a club they like, it’s also nice to have some peaceful time to color in or watch their favorite cartoon.
Above all else, if they’re not willing to understand that a pet needs alone time, quiet time, and the chance to have a breather without anyone badgering them, they might get snapped at, barked at, and even nipped on the hand.
It might even be a good idea to come up with some rules around this altogether. For example, if the dog goes into their bed or crate, it means you leave them alone until they come out again.
Ready for a Pet?
If you want to get a pet, double check with the kids to see if they’re ready for that kind of responsibility! It’s all well and good having a fluffy companion in your home, but if you’re the only one able to care for it, on top of working a 9 to 5 and childrearing, you’re going to get pretty overwhelmed!
Go through the list above and see how the kids stack up. They don’t have to be perfect in each section, and mistakes and accidents are going to happen, but you want to be sure they’re smart and sensible when it comes to the fragile life of a pet.
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