If you haven’t arrived at this point in your parenting life yet, you will soon:

Your animal-loving child wants a pet.

Gulp.

Maybe you have the living space, disposable income, temperament, lack-of-allergies and shared desire for a new family member, or maybe not. And that can be a tricky conversation between parent and soon-to-be-sad-and-disappointed child. Fortunately, there’s a bottomless well of knowledge and experience in the nearly 750,000 members of the Life of Dad Facebook community. Here’s some of the amazing advice, tips and tricks shared by real moms and dads on dealing with a kid who wants a pet (like my youngest, who has been angling for a goat for the past 2 years):

“Find an animal shelter nearby [so your child] can spend time with the animals there. Most animal shelters welcome visits from the public because the animals get so lonely.” — Kim Jones
[Note: some shelters also allow families to bake treats for the dogs and then come in to hand them out]

Might a comprise of a smaller, more manageable pet work a la Paul Rutledge: “My three girls respectively wanted a dog (eldest) a dinosaur (middle) and a giraffe (youngest). We compromised on a hamster.” Also consider, jumping spiders make great pets as they are small creatures are not only adorable, they are also relatively easy to care for.

Along the same, smallish train of thought, Zack Tennant reminds that “You don’t need a dog or a cat to have a pet. Think about a fish that have recommended water sources, or a hamster, turtle etc. things that don’t really need 24/7 care and attention but will still give all the benefits of having a pet.” More information can be found at https://sevenports.com/2022/03/17/complete-betta-fish-care-guide/. Then we also discovered how great shrimps are as pets at Shrimp Pro.

Suzanne Rae Smockum might be onto something here: “Maybe you have a neighbor who has a pet that [your child] can “help” with, play with, etc. a couple times week/ month.”

If not a neighbor, maybe try the website that Mike Acord’s family uses: “We use a website called “borrow my doggie”. Take a dog out for a walk for a couple of hours, then give it back to the owner.” https://www.borrowmydoggy.com/

If you aren’t frightened by reptiles and you’re looking for reptiles for sale, then you may visit a pet shop and look for reptiles for sale that would suit you. There’s always that low-maintenance / less-snuggly option: “I got a leopard gecko when I was 8 and he is still around. They are easy to care for.” – Sarah Cecere

Kids should be demonstrating base-level competencies and consistency around the house before a pet if brought into it, says John Barnette: “Better to not get a pet than put it’s proper care on the back burner and risk it being neglected. Before getting one, I’d ask myself how well they are at keeping up with daily chores. Do the complete them everyday or do they “forget”? Do they complete them without complaining? If they can handle basic chores, then they might be ready to take on the “chores” of feeding and caring for a small pet like a hamster or guinea pig.”

Kids and pets_dog_life of Dad

*Flickr photo by au_tiger01, used under Creative Commons license.

Diana Kay is right, “Any animal is a full time job in it’s own right. They want love and attention and good care. Wait till your daughter is about 12 when she is better able to understand the true commitment it takes to have a pet. Have her babysit someones dog or cat for a week .”

Finally, we think Brenda Hiemstra sums up this topic perfectly when she says, “kids are more resilient than any adult gives them credit for. Sit them down, explain the time constraints, and the work that has to be put into taking care of a pet. Once they’re a little older, a little more responsible, and able to help you more, promise to revisit the subject, and perhaps then start with something small, and easy to care for. You can move up from there. Don’t shut them out of the decision, but explain it to them, and why now is not a good idea, or fair to a pet. Give them a little more credit, and let them find their understanding stage in life.”

Have you had this conversation? Did you get a pet or say no? Share your advice and experience with the Life of Dad community!

Title photo by Cristian Bortes, used under Flickr Creative Commons license