Achieve co-living between pets and toddlers
Ultimately, the most important thing to provide for is the health and safety of both parties.
Helping your furry firstborn adjust to its new furless brother or sister can be tricky, but it’s by no means a lost cause.
“There are many things responsible homeowners can do to foster peaceful co-residence between their toddlers and their pets.
“Ultimately, the most important thing to provide for is the health and safety of both parties.
“If your property makes it difficult to achieve this, then you ought to consider relocating to somewhere better suited as a serious possibility,” said Adrian Goslett, from RE/MAX.
The biggest concern for pet-owning parents is the health of their little ones.
No matter how frequently you groom them, pets carry all sorts of germs that could possibly prove harmful to young children whose immune systems have yet to fully develop.
It is, therefore, advisable for homeowners to replace carpets, which can trap all kinds of dirt, with wooden floors as these are often softer than tiles and make for better crawling support for toddlers.
Similarly, in rooms where both baby and puppy spend time together, loose mats should be cleaned regularly and floors ought to be swept and mopped daily.
ALSO READ:
How to survive a kitchen renovation
Chew toys and pet bowls should also be placed out of reach of your furless wandering offspring.
“Toddlers put absolutely everything in their mouths.
“No matter how vigilant you are as a parent, you cannot always get to them in time to prevent them from tasting whatever is within their reach,” Goslett said.
Parents should keep their pet’s belongings in a room that is shut off from their toddlers or, if your pet is large enough, on shelves that are too high for your toddler to reach.
“Similarly, parents will need to train their pets not to touch the toddler’s toys.
“As an additional precautionary measure, parents could also wash both the pet and the toddler’s toys regularly,” said Goslett.
As toddlers grow, you can teach them to wash their hands after playing with the pet.
Put a small step under the bathroom basin and place a drying up towel at toddler-reaching level to make it easier for your little one to wash up on their own.
You need to teach small children not to pull pets’ hair and to play gently with them.
You could set up reward charts in their bedrooms for some visual encouragement of good behaviour and a corresponding designated time-out corner could be set up for when they break any of the rules for pet-appropriate behaviour.
Have a story?
Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za, Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Busi Vilakazi (Journalist) busiv@caxton.co.za
Also follow us on:
