When Is My Child Ready For A Pet?

My daughter is four years old, and she feels that she is able and ready to take care of a pet. She normally asks me about once a week hoping that I will change my mind and buy a cute puppy for her.

I have a strong belief that any pet should be treated and considered as a new edition to your family. Pets come with basically the same responsibilities as caring for a child or the elderly. All pets need daily care, attention, food, water, and love.Is a four-year old ready to deliver such a resposibility?I wasn't sure about the answer to that question, so I decided to give her a test.

It was December of 2010 when my mother and I discussed what we were going to do to see if she was ready for a pet. My mother used the same idea that she used for me when I was 9. We bought her a FurReal Friends GoGo My Walkin' pup. The first two days she was scared of the walkin' pup.Then when she learned it wasn't a real puppy, she began to get really rough with the pup. She would throw it around and her one year old brother would drag it on its side while yanking on its leash. Every once in a while they would pretend to give it food and water. By the end of January she was no longer interested in the FurReal Friends GoGo My Walkin' pup.

That told me a lot about how a one and four-year old would treat a real puppy. This test quickly made me realize they wouldn't be ready to take on the responsibilities until they were a bit older.

It is said, that a child this young can't completely take care of themselves yet, which only concludes they will not be able to completely take care of anything else. I will definitely test her again in about five to six years from now. by then she will have learned to be more responsible, loving, caring and can better take care of herself.

Although the pet test was done with a "fake" puppy, it still served the same purpose and got me the answer that I needed. If your child is constantly asking you to get them a pet, get creative and give them a pet test to find out if your child is ready for a real pet or not.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6293169

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