So my boys want another pet. We have a dog, fish and now (thanks to Grandma) a frog. Boy #1 wants some sort of domesticated furry rodent now too; a gerbil or a hamster. The thought of more animals in my house is not appealing. My poor dog is neglected enough because I barely have time to walk him anymore. I mean, we’re talking about a dog that was my child before I had children. He was fussed over and given an incredible amount of attention. Not so much these days, poor guy.
I want to say no to these animal requests, but I recognize the value they can have on a child. Caring for an animal can provide an opportunity to teach your son about nurturing, caring for a living thing, and loving something as helpless as a little furball or slimy frog. The responsibility of cleaning, feeding and exercising pets is serious business and in my opinion should be the responsibility of the child who begged for the pet (or at least a big portion of his responsibility). Pet ownership teaches respect and compassion for life and living things. There is little downside to the many lessons your child can learn from caring for a pet.
Occasionally you hear stories of children who were cruel to animals, I thought I’d look into this horrible behavior and provide a bit of information. It’s very disturbing to me when I hear these stories and frankly I can’t relate, but hopefully the following except provides some insight for you.
According to The Humane Society, “If allowed to harm animals, children are more likely to be violent later in life. Animal cruelty, like any other violence, should never be attributed to a stage of development. Children as young as four may harm animals, but such behavior is most common during adolescence. Cruelty is often associated with children who do poorly in school and have low self-esteem and few friends. Children who are cruel to animals are often characterized as bullies and may have a history of truancy, vandalism, and other antisocial behaviors.”
I found some fun sites for kids to learn about taking care of a pet. This one, by the American Veterinary Medical Association, has educational activities for you to print: http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/kidscorner/petpourri.asp#activity1 This one is by PBS Kids: http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/family/pets/article7.html And the ASPCA has a website for kids, with games and short cartoons about caring for your pet: http://www.aspca.org/aspcakids/ And for the adults, I found the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry website very informative: http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/pets_and_children.
By Renee Martinez, Founder & Developer of Raising Boys World
