Pets and Children: Keeping Both Safe

Quick answer

Pets and children do well together when adults stay in charge. Choose a pet that fits your family's age and time, supervise young children around animals at all times, teach children to read a pet's signals and give it space, and make handwashing a habit. The pet's welfare is always an adult's responsibility, however keen the child is.

Choosing a pet with children in mind

Children often ask for a pet long before they understand what it involves. Before you say yes, think about the pet's needs, not just the child's wishes:

• Time: who will feed, clean, exercise and train it every day, including on school mornings and holidays?
• Lifespan: a cat or dog can live well into a child's adulthood. Rabbits often live 8 to 12 years.
• Temperament: animals that dislike being picked up, such as rabbits, many hamsters and chinchillas, are often frustrating for small children who want to cuddle.
• Handling risk: small, fragile pets can be injured if dropped or squeezed. Hamsters may bite if woken or grabbed.
• Allergies: spend time around the species before committing if anyone in the family has allergies or asthma.

If you are getting a dog, look at the individual dog's temperament and history as well as the breed, and ask the breeder or rescue whether it has lived with children. Puppies nip and jump while they learn; older, calm dogs with a known history around children can be easier.

The golden rule: supervise

Young children and pets should not be left alone together, even with a gentle, trusted animal. Many bites to children come from a dog they know, often at home. Supervising means actively watching, not being in the next room. When you can't watch, separate them with a baby gate, a closed door, a crate or a playpen.

Give every pet somewhere it can retreat where children are not allowed to follow: a crate, a bed in a quiet corner, a high shelf for a cat, or a hide in an enclosure.

Teach children to read animals

Animals give plenty of warning before they bite or scratch. Children can learn the basics surprisingly young.

A dog may be uncomfortable if it:

• turns its head or body away, or tries to move off;
• licks its lips, yawns or shows the whites of its eyes;
• goes stiff or freezes;
• tucks its tail or flattens its ears;
• growls, lifts a lip or snaps.

A cat may want to be left alone if it:

• flicks or thrashes its tail;
• flattens its ears or turns them sideways;
• stops purring and goes still;
• hisses, swats or tries to get away.

Teach children that a growl or hiss is the animal saying "please stop", and never punish a pet for warning. A dog punished for growling may learn to bite without warning instead.

Simple rules for children

• Ask an adult before touching any pet, including your own.
• Let the animal come to you. Never chase it, corner it or pull it out of a hiding place.
• Stroke gently along the back, not the face, tail or feet.
• Leave pets alone when they are eating, sleeping, chewing a toy or unwell.
• No hugging or kissing dogs. Many dogs find a hug threatening.
• Never approach a dog you don't know, and always ask the owner first.
• Sit on the floor to hold small pets, so a wriggle or jump means a short drop.
• Use toys, not hands, to play with kittens and puppies.

With small pets such as guinea pigs and rabbits, it is usually best for children to sit quietly beside them and offer food, with an adult doing any lifting.

Hygiene and health

Most pet-related infections are easy to avoid with basic habits:

• Wash hands with soap and water after touching pets, their food, toys, cages, litter or droppings, and always before eating.
• Keep pets off kitchen counters and away from children's food.
• Keep litter trays and cages out of play areas, and have adults handle litter and droppings.
• Worm and flea-treat pets as your vet advises, and keep vaccinations up to date.
• Cover sandpits so cats don't use them as toilets.

Some animals carry a higher risk for young children. Reptiles, amphibians and backyard poultry commonly carry Salmonella even when they look healthy, and some public health agencies advise that children under five avoid touching them. Pregnant women should ask someone else to clean cat litter where possible, or wear gloves and wash hands, because of the risk of toxoplasmosis. Diseases You Can Catch From Pets covers this in more detail.

If a child is bitten or deeply scratched, wash the wound well with soap and running water and seek medical advice, especially for bites to the face or hands, deep wounds, or bites from an animal whose vaccination history you don't know.

When a new baby arrives

Pets notice when routines change. Prepare well before the birth:

• Make changes to walks, sleeping places and out-of-bounds rooms in advance, so the pet doesn't link them to the baby.
• Let the pet investigate baby equipment calmly.
• Teach dogs a reliable "settle" on a mat and practise it often.
• Fit gates so you can keep pets out of the nursery.

After the birth, keep first meetings short and calm, reward the pet for relaxed behaviour and keep giving it attention. Never leave a baby or toddler unsupervised with a pet, and don't let pets sleep in the baby's room.

Sharing the care

Looking after a pet can teach children responsibility and empathy. Match tasks to age: a young child might help fill a water bowl or choose vegetables for a guinea pig, while an older child can clean an enclosure or help with training, with an adult checking it has been done properly. Praise effort, but don't use the pet as a punishment ("if you don't clean the cage, it goes"). The animal shouldn't pay for a child's forgetfulness.

When the new pet first comes home, the first-week plan helps everyone settle in calmly.

If you are looking for a family pet, take your time, meet the animal before you commit and ask the seller how it behaves around children; you can browse verified listings on Paalo.