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Pets:

While many parents put off getting a pet until their child is older, getting a pet can provide several benefits for a child, even a very young one. They can help teach your child about responsibility and more. The only way this will work, though, is if your child is the one who is responsible for the animal's food and cleaning up messes. Here is a list of some of the best animals to get for small children, and some of the pros and cons that go along with each:

• Dogs—Dogs can make great companions for children. They are loving and protective of the person who feeds them, and they are very faithful to their owner. They can help your child learn the responsibilities of having to feed and walk them and clean up after them. The only thing you will want to be careful of is what kind of dog you get. You should get a breed that is known for being good with kids, and you will want to get the dog when it is a puppy so that it is raised with your child.

• Cats—Cats can be a great pet for a child to have, as well. Your child will have to be responsible and feed and water the cat, as well as clean its litter box. Just as with dogs, a cat should be raised with a child from a kitten. Cats can be very temperamental animals, and if you try to bring a full grown cat into a home with a small child, the child and the cat may not get along very well. You also may want to consider having the cat de-clawed to prevent scratches on your child.

• Rabbits—Rabbits can be an excellent starter pet for a young child. Since they stay in a cage, they can be one of the easiest animals for a child to watch and clean up after. If you are getting a rabbit for your young child, you may want to consider getting a miniature one, because full-size rabbits can become too big to hold in a very short period of time. Just as with dogs and cats, you will want to get the rabbit as a baby and raise it with your child. If you do this, it will be less likely to bite your child later. Another thing to be careful of when getting rabbits is that if you get more than one, you will want to make sure they are both females. Two males will fight over who is more dominant, and a male and female will cause you to end up with more rabbits than you know what to do with.

• Fish—Fish are a very easy pet to take care of, and can help teach your child responsibility without that responsibility becoming too overwhelming. Simply feed the fish every day and clean the tank when it gets dirty; not near as much work as there is for other pets. The only really bad thing with fish as pets is that fish die much sooner than other pets, so you will have to face a pet's death a lot more quickly (most likely) than you would with another animal.

Whatever type of pet you decide to get for your child, if you want it to provide the friendship love that many pets can, you will have to have your child spend a lot of time with it. Too often, kids get a pet thinking they want the responsibility, and then figure out shortly thereafter that it is a lot more work, and a lot harder, than they thought it would be. Be sure to explain to your child before ever getting the pet how much work it will be. And, it is important to make your child do what they say they will with the animal. If they get it, and then don't do what they are supposed to, you will have to be the one taking care of it. And, having a pet around that isn't used to a child's attention is much worse than having no pet at all.


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