Kids are naturally drawn to animals. In order to help make "man's best friend" your child's best friend, it is important to take into account the guidelines for the safety of your child around animals.
Having a pet can be a very positive and rewarding experience for a child. Children learn responsibility and compassion through caring for a pet, and gain a wonderful companion as well.
As a parent, you must be the one to decide the appropriate time to introduce a pet to the family based on your child's age, behavior, maturity, and interest.
In making such a decision you will need to determine how much of the animal's care you expect the child to be responsible for and/or how much you intend to be responsible for.
The most important lesson to teach your children is to always treat animals gently and with kindness.
Animals that are in pain, are afraid, or feel threatened are most likely to bite or scratch to protect themselves.
Animals, like humans, have times they just want to be left alone. Help your child learn how to recognize your pets mood, and to give him/her some space when they would rather be left alone.
To ensure animal safety for kids teach your child never to pull an animal's ear, tail, or feet when playing and to not wrestle roughly with animals. Children should never restrain animals against their will.
Family pets adjust to children best when they are treated as part of the family. Dogs should never be left outdoors chained up - dogs that are permanently chained up are more aggressive and more likely to bite.
Spay or neuter your pets; pets that have been spayed or neutered are less likely to bite than pets that have not been "fixed."
Consider enrolling your dog in basic obedience classes - even a well-behaved dog can benefit from such instruction and it is a great bonding experience between pet and owner.
Keep your pet's immunizations, preventative meds (heartworm), flea and tick treatment and check-ups current. It's to the benefit of animal safety for kids to guard against disease.
Use a microchip and/or tag with up to date contact information so if your pet is ever lost, the odds of being found and returned home safely are greatly increased.
On the other hand, if in your particular situation you already have a dog or cat and are planning to introduce your new baby to the household, the following are some helpful tips to ensure animal safety for kids as well as a smooth transition period.
Children under the age of five are more likely to contract diseases from animals than most other people.
This is largely due to that fact that young children are less likely to wash hands well and are more likely to put their hands or other potentially dirty objects in their mouths.
Children under the age of five should never be unsupervised when interacting with animals, their hands should be washed after contact with animals, and they should not be allowed to kiss pets.
Due to the increased risk of disease from certain animals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specifically recommend that infants and children under the age of five should avoid contact with the following animals: reptiles, amphibians, baby chicks, ducklings, and petting zoo animals.