The right age for a child to have a pet?

that is very harsh.. i think child up to 10 years are not sure what to do with what things?? when they grow enough and are educated enough to know how to treat them they should not be given pets.. it is very unfair with the pets when they are being used in such a way. you should talk to his parents and take them away from him and when he is good enough to handle them give them back. what do you say??

i think two years old is still young to have pets. maybe around four if the child is matured enough to handle one. you just cant buy a pet for a child he needs to like it. to love it. if he asked for a pet then you still need to orient him/her with the responsibilities that having a pet has. like what happened with your nephew, and his parents as well. the parents is not responsible enough, they just gave it or bought it for their child not knowing that having pets you have to be a responsible one. poor animals

Unless the parents are willing to work with the child and the pet on a constant basis 4 ot 5 years old is young enough to start a child with a pet. Our Childen were raised with pets from birth and the babies learned not to pull the cats tails or tease the dog from the very start. Just like training your youngster not to bite you teach them not to cause pain in the animals.

I'm with you on this one! If there is any society for cruelty prevention for animals there, I would report the parents. Those animals do not deserve to be victimized like that. Isn't it too bad that the pets and parents can't change places? The fault lies squarely with the parents. Silly question maybe...but if the child's interest is in computers, why on earth did they get him pets for? As far as a specific age that a child is able to have pets, that would depend on the maturity and desire of the child to have a pet. I've had cats since I was seven, and it was my responsibility to feed, groom and clean up after them. I don't ever remember having to be told, I just did it. On the other hand, my step-daughter has a dog (big mistake) which was a gift. She rarely remembers to take it out or feed it, so I take care of it too. I'm still looking for a home for her (not the dog)....

Yes, I have seen pets given to kids and the pets suffer because these kids do not know how to care for their pets. They treat the pets like toys without regard for its food or whatever. They just keep on playing and playing with it, carrying the pet everywhere and therefore stressing them out. It is not ideal to give children pets.

i don have any idea about the perfect age for a child to have pet. but i have seen the pets that suffer due to small kids. to me the age for having a pet depends upon the kids mentality.. and the parents are responsible to teach the their kids not to harm the pets.

I am not sure when is the right age for a child to have a pet. Perhaps over three years old? Some children are too little to understand how to treat the pets well. I think the parents shall teach them how to be responsible and be a good master. Actually not many children will hurt the animals on purpose. I love China

I would call animal care and control on the family. The child isn't treating the animal properly and the parents aren't doing anything about it. The parents shouldn't have animals if they can't deal with all that goes with them, including supervising their children.

My ex-boyfriend had a friend who had a daughter. The girl was about 4 years old and her mother had bought her a rabbit. I became very angry when I saw how the child treated the rabbit. She pulled it by the ears, tossed it on the floor, dressed it up and basically treated it like a doll. The mother just let her do anything with rabbit, she never told her to stop, she just laughed at the things that child did but pets are not toys and I can't believe she let the child do anything she wanted. I got my first pet (a dog) when I was 3 years old, but my mother has always been very "strict". She watched me when I was dealing with the dog and she was always ready to step in when I did something wrong. I would do the same thing if I had a child. When small children get pets I think it is the parents' responsibility to guide the child and make sure that the child learns how to treat the pet.

My grand daughter is going to be 3 soon, she too has more interest in computers, key boards, remotes etc, kids do what they see, i agree animals are not toys, i am not in favor of giving her a pet, be it animal or bird.. Thanks for sharing your views. Welcome always. Cheers. Professor

Hey! I think it is not normal if so young kid is interesting to computer so much. My cousin have two little kids and my cousin occupation is computer administrator. And he is said kids under 4 years can not use computer, because computer monitor and energy is bad to kids. If we talk about pets I think right moment is when kid have 7 years old. Depending for what pet we are talk about. If for dog right moment would be 7 years, but for cat 5 years etc. I think kids need a pet, because kids age is important development age.

I agree with you i think hes still too young to have his own pet already. I know pets are supposed to give joy and smiles to the faces of their owners but theres this silent rule that you need to find the appropriate pet for the age of your son or daughter well if they will be the ones whom your going to give .I think if ever that they insist on wanting to have a pet then birds are the best option a pair of lovely birds to cheer your son up every now and then. But dogs as a pet of a young boy i beg to disagree im not saying something bad will happen but i just dont want us to be saying to them told u so in then end. Its more like being safe and sure than to be sorry in the end.We should know how to protect and give the appropriate items to our loved ones every now and then. Have a great day and happy mylotting!

I have always had pets in my life and have had dogs or cats sometimes both even when my kids where babies and toddlers. I think it all depends on the parents as to the age kids should be allowed to have a pet. If the parents are responsible to teach the kids right from wrong, teach them about feeding, how to hold, how to play with, child and pet can have a very happy life together.

the right time for a child to have a pet is during school age. pet to toddlers is a no, no because toddlers are hyperactive they tend to hurt their pets if they have one at that age. they should be expose to games with kids at the same age. for them at that age pets are boring. pets for school age are great because you are practicing your child a sense of responsibility toddler - 1 - 3 years old schoolage - 7 - 11 yrs old

The parents should be teaching the child how to treat his pets and they should be monitoring him also...

Well I agree with you, two is way too small for having a pet, let alone 3 and yes, he might have had stuff animals and you know, they go through a lot of punishment and nothing bad does happens to them he is not mature to care for other living things like a pet, he needs lots of care himself. I would even say he has no business with a computer either but at least computers have no feelings, maybe mom can talk to her and say your kid is too small to go to jail for animal abuse lol but yeah I agree with you.