Besides providing emotional support and lots of entertainment, pets offer kids of all ages an opportunity to acquire important life skills. In fact, if you are looking for an effective way to teach your toddlers and teenagers how to be caring, compassionate and responsible, then you should definitely consider bringing a four-legged member into your family.

In reality, getting a pet is a huge commitment for the whole family. They are living creatures who require proper care and lots of love in order to be happy and healthy. That’s why many parents decide to enlarge their families with a furry pet in order to teach the younger members how to be responsible. Acquiring this skill at an early age will certainly help them later on in life.

So, if you need help with this, take a look at the following ways you can teach your children how to be caring pet owners.

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Talk to them about adopting a pet

Although your first thought may be to bring home a pet of your choice, you should consider including your kids in the adoption process as well. By empowering them with basic information about their newest family member, they will feel like they play a big role in the decision making and with that, they will become more responsible and caring about their pet.

You can talk about the breed and how you are going to settle them in your home as well as the pet insurance you will obtain. In fact, researching about the cost and what does pet insurance cover will give them an opportunity to learn how to provide their companion with the best care they need and the importance of keeping them healthy and away from potential hazards. 

Take them to vet appointments

Another effective way of teaching your children how to be responsible is to take them to vet appointments. By allowing them to come along, they will have a chance to see how the vet is going to perform an exam on their companion or administer any vaccines that are needed. This will further teach your kids that taking care of their companion is very important so they can be strong and healthy at all times.

For example, if you are taking your cat to the vet, you can ask your children to take turns carrying the cat carrier and talk to the cat whenever it yowls. By doing so, they will be comforting their furry friend which will certainly make them feel like real responsible pet owners.

Assign pet duties

Assigning pet duties is probably the most effective way of teaching your children how to take care of a pet. Whether you have a toddler or a teenager, there is a pet chore for every member of your family that is age-appropriate.

Ages 2 to 5

Kids at this age should definitely be supervised in order to avoid any accidental incidents. That’s why you should assign them responsibilities they can actually do without any harm to themselves or the pet and without difficulty. Some pet chores your toddlers can do include putting food and water in pet dishes, putting away pet toys and helping with cleaning their pet’s cage.

Ages 6 to 10

Although kids at these ages still may not be able to fully take care of their pet, they can still help with more complex duties as opposed to the younger children. Besides filling up food and water and cleaning up their pet’s living areas, these children can help teach their pet tricks and commands, take them on walks and assist with brushing, grooming and bathing.

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Ages 10 and up

This age range is the perfect time to see whether those early lessons about responsibility and compassion are really paying off. Children at these ages should be well acquainted with the basics of taking care of a living creature and what is needed to keep them happy and healthy at all times.

Final thoughts

If you want to teach your kids important care skills, then getting them a pet is the right way to go about it. Assigning them all kinds of pet duties that are age-appropriate will give them an opportunity to learn about the basics of taking care of furry animals and how to treat them with respect and kindness. Acquiring such skills will certainly help them later on in life and make them become the most caring and responsible human beings ever.

If you need help in the process, be sure to use our post as a guide and teach your kids vital pet care skills.