Spending some time looking after an animal comes with many advantages for your child’s language and wellbeing. At around 4 years old, children are getting ready to start school. The responsibility and emotional development that comes from caring for a pet can really help them prepare for this big step.
Whether it’s your family pet or one that belongs to a friend or relative, why not take some time together to chat to your child about how to look after it?
Teaching your kids to look after their pet
Getting a pet is one of the most exciting things that a young child can experience, especially if it is their first pet and they have been begging for months to get a puppy or kitten.
Off course, most parents will only agree to get the pet for the child if there are some promises made, such as being fully responsible for the animal.
But it is just as important to take the time to teach the kids how to properly look after their new pet, how to feed it, make sure it is properly trained, and that it is always as safe as possible.
Here we will look at some effective methods of teaching kids how to care for their pets.
Let them help choose
Although it can be a nice surprise for a child to find out that there is a new puppy waiting for them at home, it is usually a better idea to take them along to the shelter and let them have some input on the choosing process.
The child, after all, will be spending a lot of their time with their pet, and they should be able to choose the one that they are naturally drawn to. It can also be a fun and exciting activity that will allow them to look through a variety of different animals and breeds.
Explain the value of life
Young kids can have some trouble really grasping just how important it is to look after their pet, partly because they might not really value life as much as their parents do.
It is something that is learnt over time, and it is why having a pet can impart such important lesson to your child.
On top of that, it can also help to sit down and explain that a pet is a long-term responsibility and that you simply can’t just take it back once they have grown bored of it.
Understanding how much care is required is an important step to take before even venturing out to the local shelter and looking for a pet.
Show them how things work
It is usually not enough to just tell your son or daughter how they should be looking after their new pet- they need to be shown.
Visuals are powerful medium for learning and being able to see how to make the dog its dinner, how to discipline it, and how to train it properly will prepare them for doing it by themselves much more comfortably.
They will learn though example, so setting the right example straight off the start can make a big difference.
Stick to their limits
While your child might be able to do a lot for their pet, they can not do anything, and it is wrong to expect them to do things that are out of their control.
One of these is organising a vet if the animal gets sick, it is something that a young child simply cannot do on their own and should not be part of their overall responsibilities.
What are the benefits of letting your child look after a pet?
- Caring for a pet teaches children to be kind, develop empathy and to start to understand the feelings of others. This is an important skill in early interaction.
- It also has the added benefit of supporting speech and language through following instructions and challenging their concentration skills.
- Chatting to their pet (in the form of praise, orders, and encouragement) gives children more opportunities to form sentences.
- Anticipating an animal’s needs makes them think beyond the here and now.
- Taking on this responsibility builds self-confidence and teaches children about being compassionate.
How can children help look after pets?
There are loads of ways to get your child involved in pet care, with your supervision. Here are a couple of things you can encourage them to take part in, which are also great opportunities for chat and language development:
- Feeding pets
- Playing games with pets
- Taking dogs out for walks
- Grooming
- Training
Talk to your child about when an animal might need feeding, how much they need to eat and where you keep their food.
Encourage them to look out for when the water bowl or dispenser is empty and chat them through process as you change it.
The more you do it, the more involved your child can be and eventually they’ll be able to do it themselves.
Make sure to give them lots of praise as you go, to help build their confidence and encourage them to think about others more regularly.
Pets are a great way to get children talking because they can take the lead.
