National Kids & Pets Day
When you are ready to adopt a pet, the entire family must be on board, and this even includes your kids regardless of how young they are.
If you have kids, it's essential to consider their age and level of "ability to care" for a new pet and how you can ensure your child's safety and that of the future pet. An example of this is if you have a toddler who is just starting to learn how to walk, you may not want to adopt a large and rambunctious pet. You may want to consider adopting a pet with less energy, like a fish and not the 1-year-old Labrador Retriever.
When you have kids in the home and are ready to adopt a pet, we highly recommend having your kids take a Humane Education class. This is a valuable resource for the entire family and will help prepare your child for a new pet. This could be a proper introduction to the animal, learning how to properly handle the animal, basic pet ownership responsibilities like feeding, bathing, grooming, and being kind.
As we said, this is actually valuable for the whole family, whether it is the first time having a pet in the home or to "refresh" if it's been a while.
Having a pet in the home with your children can be such a positive experience and good for your kids' mental health and development. We know from researching our charity event "Unleash the Holiday Cheer" that when military families have a pet in the home, their children cope much better when a parent is on deployment.
We love when we see happy families with kids and pets and know that their bond is like nothing else.
When you are ready to adopt a pet, contact us if you would like to have Traci's Paws facilitate a Humane Education class for your family along with a small group and prepare your kids for a new pet that will be the best fit; for your family!
Until then, happy National Kids & Pets Day!