Create harmony between your pets and kids
use these top four tips to help your child adjust to having a fur brother or sister.
INTRODUCING a child to a new sibling is never easy – especially when the new sibling is an entirely different species. RE/MAX has released a few helpful tips on how to help your furry first born adjust to its new furless brother or sister.
“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,” said the regional director and CEO of RE/MAX Southern Africa, Adrian Goslett.
“No matter how frequently you groom your pet, they carry all sorts of germs that could possibly prove harmful to young children whose immune systems have yet to fully develop. It is advisable for homeowners to replace carpets, which can trap all kinds of dirt, with wooden floors as these are better for toddlers when crawling,” he said.
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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 prevent them from tasting whatever is within their reach,” 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 his/her own.”
As a final piece of advice, Goslett suggested parents teach their children good pet etiquette to avoid any possible conflict.
“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,” said Goslett.
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