If your child has got to the certain age
where they are obsessed with the idea of having a pet, you’ve no
doubt thought about making their dreams come true and investing in an
animal for the family. After all, they are a great addition to any
family unit and can be really useful for teaching your children
valuable lessons regarding responsibility and the stages of life.
However, you’re also probably dreading
getting lumbered with all the hard work – and expenses – after
your children have realised it’s not all cuddles and sunshine
walks!
Therefore we’ve compiled a few tips of
things you can do to help prepare your child for the things that
having a pet will entail – no pun intended!
Explain to them that pets have
emotional needs like us
Pets – not unlike children – need a
lot of love and attention to help keep them happy, so explaining to
your children that they will need as much fuss as we do will be
beneficial when the animal arrives in your home. They also need to
feel safe and secure just like us. Comparing the animal’s needs
with your children’s may help the little ones visualise the true
nature of the responsibility involved as they will be able to relate
the understanding better if it’s centred around them.
Establish a routine for their
physical needs
Likewise, pets of course require regular
meals and lots of water daily. You could encourage them to have a
special job, like filling the food bowl up daily so that they have a
big responsibility that isn’t too difficult. Any new pet moving
into a new home is also likely to feel some form of anxiety, so you
could invest in some feliwayfrom Vet Medic to help keep your animal nice and calm and relaxed
during the early stages.
Ensure they understand the pet will
require medical help
All pets need an occasional yet fairly
regular trip to the vets and it’s important your child will
understand this, as they will need to go even if they’re not ill
for things like vaccinations and checkups. This can however be a
really good way of teaching your child about looking after someone
and all of the things that involves, and also the aging process as
your pet will no doubt require a little extra medical attention as
they grow older.
Get them involved from the very
beginning
Arming them with lots of knowledge from
the very beginning can help them prepare both mentally and physically
for the arrival of the animal in your home. You could purchase some
booksfor children on owning a pet or particular literature relating to
the specific animal or breed you choose. You could even perform a
‘trial run’ by pet-sitting a friend or relative’s pet for a few
days so that your little ones can understand what life is like living
with an animal (and they can see the not so desirable things about it
for themselves!).
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