Hamsters; The perfect pet for beginners

As a parent, you want to be able to give your children everything they want in life.

Unfortunately, giving your child everything they want isn’t always in your child’s best interest and giving in to all your child’s whims is almost certainly a bad idea. However, you don’t want to deprive your child, so what do you do when your little boy or girl comes up to you with those adorable little brown eyes and asks for a puppy or a kitten (or a ferret, a parrot, a snake, a crocodile, etc.)? With a domestic pet comes many responsibilities, and it is likely that you, as the parent, will decide who assumes those responsibilities initially. Will you refuse to let your child tell you about the inherent duties of having a pet? Do you point out that having a puppy requires you to pick up the dog’s waste, take it for a walk, feed it twice a day, and so on? Surely this will be your initial reaction, and the child’s initial reaction will be to make sure that he / she will take care of those duties, feed him, walk him, play with him, give him all the attention he needs. and love him like no puppy or kitten has ever been loved before. Well, you, being a loving parent rather than a heartless gargoyle, can’t maintain that wall of resolve indefinitely, so whether it’s the next day, the next week, or the next month, you will eventually give in and adopt. That pet for your kid (hopefully not the alligator though). Then you start to notice that a couple of weeks have passed and the amount of care your child gives the pet seems to be on the wane as you suddenly seem to be doing all of those things that your devilishly cute baby promised to do. You can’t scold the kid forever though, or maybe you can, but in the meantime you’ll have a scrawny little pet two days from starvation and a backyard lined wall-to-wall with a pet.

So now YOU are the primary caretaker and silently cursing your young begotten devil’s adorable brown eyes. So the answer is not to adopt a pet, right? Not necessarily. There may be a compromise for you and your child. And the commitment is not to share a dog with two other families so that you have it on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the third Sunday of each month. No, you can get your child a real real life pet. And what pet can you get with your little bundle of joy? Consider getting him a hamster (either a Syrian hamster or two dwarfs). Why hamsters? Hamsters make a fantastic pet for children depending on the type you adopt (Chinese hamsters tend to be nervous and therefore not a good idea for young children). Hamsters are small and furry and never lose that degree of cuteness that a child covets, secondly, they are so easy to care for that they are practically automated (notice I said practically). Hamsters don’t smell as strong either, they can smell louder than a cat (unless your cat urinates frequently on your bed or on the living room rug) but they are not as stinky as a dog. Also, they are almost like a toy in the sense that they can be played with, hugged and handled and then when the child is done with the pet they can be put back in their cage where they can play and be entertained (hamsters they are not yours). kids). Of course a hamster is not without responsibilities, the cage needs to be cleaned weekly or it will start to smell, of course hamsters need to be fed and given proper care if you expect them to be friendly and docile to your family. and friends. But the amount of energy (and money) you and your child MUST spend to take care of a hamster is much less than that of a larger animal, such as a dog, and they don’t move like cats, they are quiet (although their wheels are exercise may not be), and they are simply a joy to handle and have them on hand. So when your little boy or girl comes up to you and begs for that cute little dog at the pet store, tell him maybe later, but for now, let’s start a little smaller.