Keeping pets – a good lesson for children
Nov 5th, 2006 by Lilian
My children, just like any other children, love pets and animals of all shapes and sizes. I let them have their own small pets when they are old enough to care for it, like when they are 5-6 years old. I took care of most parts but feeding and ensuring that the pets are given attention were mostly their duties. I find it such a good lesson for them. They learn responsibilities by nurturing these little creatures.
They started with goldfishes and then, rabbits and hamsters. Though pet care seems like an easy thing to do, it actually needs lots of education. We must find the proper environment/beddings for them and provide proper foods. Some early mistakes have cause a few of our fishes bloated!
Now that the children are older, they learn all they need about pets rearing from websites dedicated to pet cares on the internet like this one where the pets speak too!. The site provides articles on communicating with your pet, pet health and pet care. They can now care for litters of newborn hamsters with confidence. If we have a house, we are going to get them a couple of dogs or maybe small dogs!
If your children are not allergic to pets dander, do give them a chance to experience taking care of pets. I can say that it makes them realise and learn a lot about nature and also about love and caring. Of course, the only downside is when the pet dies…..Then again, it is also a good lesson to teach them about life and death.