While being in lockdown is by no means ideal, it could be the perfect time to give your children more responsibilities when it comes to looking after your family pet.
“Looking after a pet is a great responsibility and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Your children will still need to be guided by you as to how to look after them appropriately,” explained Carla Bath, Hill’s Pet Nutrition marketing manager.
She advised the following needs to be considered when it comes to a child’s age and looking after a pet:
• Toddlers should be taught the correct way to handle a pet, and what is and isn’t acceptable. At this age, they do not know how to interpret their pet’s behaviour, and therefore need to be supervised by an adult.
• Children between the ages of four and five are still too young to take on any solo responsibilities, but can help when it comes to feeding the family pet and filling up their water bowls.
• Those from the ages of six to eight can take on small tasks, such as grooming, playing fetch or even making DIY toys for your pet, such as an empty toilet roll and string for a cat, all under adult supervision.
• Older children can be given more pet responsibilities. From the age of 12 they can take on all tasks associated with pet parenthood – walking (after lockdown), feeding, grooming, playing and cleaning up after them, with minimal adult supervision.
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“Guiding a child on how to care for a pet encourages a bond between the two and will foster a love for pets in your child that will continue into adulthood,” added Bath.
Bath suggests the following activities to help get your child and your pet thinking and moving:
• Mental stimulation games such as the cup game are great ways to get your dog thinking.
Get three cups, have your child hide a treat under one of them and then switch the cups around.
See if your dog will be able to find the hidden treat.
• If your pet is still young, teaching it simple commands such as ‘sit’ and ‘paw’ will get your pet thinking, and give your child a sense of accomplishment.
• Have your child read to your pet.
This is a win-win situation. It will give you time to get on with your work, your child reading and your pet enjoying the extra attention.
• Throw a bouncy ball against the wall for your cat to try and catch.
This will keep them entertained for hours.
• Building an obstacle course works your child’s imagination and will keep your dog and cat entertained.
“For your pet, it is all about spending time with those they love, and for your child, not only will this keep them busy and away from screens for a bit, but will also give them a sense of accomplishment, responsibility and grow an everlasting bond,” said Bath.
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