Having a pet can mean that your family gets a loving companion that you will all treasure. However, it is important that you all do your part when it comes to caring for the pet, whether it is a fish, a cat, a dog, or anything else! Here are some of the ways that you can teach your kids to be a little more responsible when it comes to the pet that you have brought into your home.
As with other things in your home, you need to make sure that you are leading by example. If you show your children how to care for the pet and be responsible for it, they will try to emulate you and will also do their best to look after it.
Lead by Example
This means that you need to make sure that you are looking after all of the important parts of pet care that only an adult can do. It does mean that you might have to step aside and let your children do more of the fun things, but it will be better overall if it means that the pet is well looked after. For example, you should ensure that there is enough food in the house for the pet and that it has a good living space – whether that is a bed, an enclosure, or even a whole room to itself. You should also look into organizing pet insurance with a reputable provider such as Petsure to ensure your pet is covered in the event of a medical accident or emergency.
Start Young
Even very young children can learn responsibility with animals. Teaching your children when they are younger means that you might be able to trust them with a little more responsibility as they grow. You just need to make sure that you are choosing activities and responsibilities for them which are age-appropriate.
For example, you need to make sure that your children know how to handle the pets correctly. Do they know how to pick up your cat or dog – if it is small enough, of course – and hold them safely? If you have a dog, you could also let your child “help” you walk them. This means that they could hold the leash with you and begin to train the dog on recall commands from your child. Until recall is good and your child can control the dog, they should not be taking them for walks on their own.
Make the Responsibilities Theirs
With older children and teenagers, it can be really difficult to stand by and allow something to pass if they are not willing to help with their chores. The danger is that you do not want to get stuck doing something over and over simply because they won’t help out. At the same time, you can’t let things not happen. After all, it is not your pet’s fault if your child can’t be bothered to feed them – you need to make sure they have been fed instead.
You need to come up with some good ways in which you can encourage responsibility in your children when it comes to your pets that is not to the detriment of your pets in any way. Take the time to build up a proper routine and make it clear that your children need to help out.
If you can teach them proper responsibility, not only will it make them good pet owners for life but it will also help them to care for the animal that you have now. Take the time to teach your children how to look after your pets properly so you can all live as one healthy and happy household.