Children and New Pets- Avoid being the primary caregiver

Children and New Pets

Children love pets. Dogs, cats, hamsters, ferrets, and anything with fur tend to drive kids crazy. When that pet, however, comes with responsibility, many children begin to waiver. Dogs and cats are all fun and games until you have to clean up urine or feces. Whether your children promise to take care of the new pet or not, there are some good ways to help children keep and uphold their promises.

Discuss Pet Chores

Sometimes children simply don't understand how much work is involved with pet ownership. Sit them down and discuss the various responsibilities. These responsibilities include: feeding, potty training, bathing, playing, walking, and obedience training. This will help get your child mentally prepared for the responsibility.

Create a Pet Contract

Before you go to the pet store, animal shelter, or breeder, create a pet contract with your child. This should visibly convey all pet responsibilities and the child's knowledge of these responsibilities. Make sure to collect signatures.

Choosing a Pet

Children who get to choose their pets tend to take more ownership than the children who are not involved in the selection process. When you take your child to the pet shop or animal shelter, he or she is allowed to create a bond with a particular animal. This bond comes with a desire to care for the animal.

Assign Pet Duties

Make your expectations perfectly clear. Simply telling your child that he/she will need to care for the pet is not enough. Give specific duties for specific days of the week. Even assigning times to the duties helps a great deal. For example, tell your child to empty the litter box before bed each night every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Praise and Reward

Good deeds should not go unnoticed. When your child has completed all his/her duties without being told, give praise. If this continues for a month or more, reward the effort with a treat. Go to a movie or out to ice cream.

Share Duties

Children are more likely to continue caring for their pets if the duties assigned are split. If you have more than one child, make sure to rotate pet care responsibilities between children. If a child only has to feed the dog 2 or 3 times a week, completion of that chore will be more likely. Parents can even take on some responsibility as well. It sets a good example for children when parents get involved with pet care.

When children think of pets, they think of the cuddling and the play. They do not think about taking the dog outside in the middle of the night, or cleaning up after an accident. Unfortunately, these elements go hand in hand with pet ownership. Convey to your children that responsibility comes along with all of the benefits. In order to experience the joys of a pet, you have to experience the duties as well. Setting clear expectations for your children and setting achievable goals is the best way to solidify child pet care duties.