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As exciting as bringing home your little one for the first time is, your pet may feel confused, insecure, jealous, or just as elated as you. Since you cannot know for sure how your pet will react to your baby (or vice versa), prepare ahead of time and create long-term plans to protect your pet and your child daily.
Parents must exercise great care in introducing pets to their children, feeding them around small children, and ensuring pets have a safe place, especially if the pet is a rescue animal. Other things to watch out for are aggressive behavior, toxins from flea treatments, and rough play.
Having a pet is a fantastic way to enrich your little one's childhood and teach responsibility, but you need to have boundaries and rules in place to ensure everyone has their own space, toys, and food. From rescues to young animals to grumpy pets, this article will cover multiple areas to consider for your children and pets.
Introducing Pets and Babies
Some pets seem to love small children at the park or at others' homes, but the reaction at home in their own space may be different. Pets have far more attention before a baby arrives, so losing attention, having new boundaries, and listening to new (sometimes unpleasant) sounds can bring new stress.
Other pets adore little humans and can be accidentally dangerous in smothering babies, licking mouths, and bringing small objects babies should not have. Regardless of which response your pet is likely to have, here are a few steps to take to ensure the best results.
1. Introduce Baby Stuff Before the Baby Arrives
Whether you have a bird, cat, dog, rabbit, or any other pet that can roam your home now and then, introducing baby stuff before the baby arrives is a helpful first step. Allow your pet to smell the clothes and investigate toys. Set boundaries and enforce them before the baby even arrives.
Most animals won't have much of a reaction toward baby clothes and products, but some may be super interested in your baby's toys. So, starting to keep pet and baby toys separated before the baby arrives is a fantastic way to introduce the rules without causing aggression toward your baby.
Keeping pets out of the crib and baby swing is another rule you may want to enforce before your little one arrives. As cute as pets snuggling your baby can be, you must be wary about feces contamination, fleas, and potential aggression, especially before your little one's immune system matures around three months old (source).
2. Train Your Pet
Along with the rules comes training your pet. Teaching your pet to keep food and water in the bowls, chew only on its own toys, and where to sleep or escape children are nifty training points to have down before the baby arrives.
You can train your pet with your baby around, but it is one less thing to worry about if you can do it beforehand.
If your pet is a dog or other large animal, training it to sit, wait, lay down, be gentle, and be quiet are incredibly helpful commands when you're busy with your little one or your baby is finally asleep.
3. Introduce Your Baby to Your Pet Gradually
Your pet should meet your baby on Day 1 at home (unless your pet is staying elsewhere for a few days). Keeping your pet separated when it knows someone new is around may cause more anxiety than necessary.
The introduction itself ought to be gradual. Start with the blanket and the car seat. Then, let your pet watch as you talk with your baby and gently hold her. Once someone has your pet secured, present your baby's foot.
If your pet shows friendly body language and no sign of aggression, you can let your pet sniff your baby. Don't allow licking, pawing, or nibbling for your baby's health and safety, but reward your pet with a treat, rubs, and happy sounds for a successful introduction.
4. Supervise All Interactions
Pets that roam your home should be watched closely around your little one. Babies introduce a lot of new smells and sounds, but they also throw off the "balance" of attention and schedule that your pet has known so far.
I've had well-mannered pets become complete grumps around babies, and I've had cuddly pets become standoffish. I've also had super excited pets who couldn't contain themselves and peed around the baby or vibrated enthusiastically as they tried to get close enough to lick the baby.
You cannot fully predict what a pet will do around your little one, so it's best to keep your pet under close supervision for a while.
5. Observe Your Pet's Body Language
Thankfully, most pets have body language conveying their feelings about your baby. Dog and cat body language is fairly easy to read, but other animal types can be a challenge.
For example, a pet rabbit or rodent may pull tufts of hair and scatter their bedding more aggressively than usual if they are uncomfortable or stressed. Birds may be particularly squawky and annoyed with everything in their cage.
Though you shouldn't have to introduce your baby to pets that stay in their cages or tanks full-time, they may display some odd behavior for a while. For example, reptiles may eat less or spend more time hiding.
Not every pet will react to having a newborn around (i.e., fish don't seem to care), but keeping track of body language in other pets will help you predict problems before they arise.
6. Reward Your Pet with Treats and Rubs
Babies are amazing, and you probably want your pet to think so too. So, make "baby time" a happy time of treats, rubs, and compliments for your pet. Play together well, talk to your pet often, and reward proper behavior around your little one.
Making your little one a positive person in your pet's mind will promote good behavior in your presence and outside of it.
7. Teach Your Child Pet Rules
Not surprisingly, children are not gentle with pets. Babies and toddlers will grab fur, pull tails, kick, bite, smack, squeeze, and climb on pets of any type or size. You may have to discipline your child several times a day for the same rude action toward your pet!
So, set some rules about how kids should treat pets and enforce them consistently with your own pet and others' pets. Even better, reward your child and the pet when interactions are gentle and positive.
Here are some rules to consider:
Don't eat the pet's food.
Don't grab tails.
Don't climb on or squash a pet.
Ask for permission before touching someone else's pet.
Don't give people food to animals.
Stay out of the pet's face.
Don't squeeze, hit, or kick the pet.
Don't yell at the pet.
8. Create Safe Spaces for Your Pet to Retreat
Even the most "extroverted" pets need a place to retreat to when kids are around. Little ones do not respect boundaries and can be rough, which may cause some animals to feel cornered. Cornered or anxious animals may lash out if their warning signs or body language is not answered with space.
One way to help any kind of pet is ensuring they have a space free from kids. For caged pets like hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, and guinea pigs, this means equipping the cage with a solid cave or house.
A safe space may be up high for cats and birds, well out of a child's reach. Dogs may need a way outside, in a laundry room, or in your bedroom--somewhere little ones are not allowed to go alone. Providing a space your pet can access anytime will alleviate stress and reduce the chances of harm to your child.
9. Make a Pet-Friendly Playtime
Until your child learns to respect animals, it may be wise to create a supervised pet-friendly playtime. Some pets are great with little kids, so making space for this playtime isn't necessary. However, a nervous pet or an aggressive little one may require separation until you are present.
In this playtime, show your child how to play with the pet, reward the pet and your child for positive behavior, and make the playtime short and sweet. As more of these positive encounters happen, trust will build until everyone can get along without issue.
10. Involve Your Child in Pet Care
Teach your child to take care of animals by involving him in caring for your pet. Feeding, watering, cleaning up after, brushing, and walking are all elements of pet care you can teach your child to do.
You will have to supervise closely for a few years, but involving your kiddo in pet care is a superb way to teach responsibility and gentleness!
If you are nervous about having a pet around your baby or young child for health reasons, talk to your pediatrician about your concerns. Odds are that your child's routine vaccination schedule will cover the big issues, but it never hurts to ask. Read A Quick Guide to Baby Vaccinations in the U.S. for more on vaccinations.
My Pet Is a Rescue Animal: Should I Be More Cautious with My Little Ones?
Yes, you should be more cautious about pet-child interactions if your pet is a rescue animal. Rescues make fantastic pets, but a small child can push limits you may not know your pet has.
For instance, I have had several rescue animals with different backgrounds. Those who had been abused showed obvious signs of past abuse, so their triggers were easy to identify and make arrangements for.
However, neglect cases are tricky because you don't know where the animal's boundaries and triggers are. A dog that was starved off and on in a cage for years may be incredibly aggressive toward other animals or humans that simply look at his bowl while he eats. Or the same dog could be overly aggressive if a hand comes close to the bowl.
Here are a few questions to consider for your animal rescue pet around your child:
Does my pet feel more anxious with men or women?
Is my pet food aggressive toward other animals? What about people?
Does my pet have any triggers that a child could set off?
Does my pet feel cornered when crowded by people?
Does my pet obey commands?
Does my pet snatch things out of hands?
How does my pet react when it feels scared or threatened?
Ultimately, pets you cannot trust around your children should be rehomed. A small act of aggression could easily harm a small child. When it comes down to it, your child is more important than the pet.
Is Having Multiple Pets with Young Children a Bad Idea?
No, having multiple pets and a young child is not a bad idea. However, you must practice caution. For example, dogs goofily playing together can accidentally jump on, knock over, or scratch your child. The dogs wouldn't be doing so with aggression, but their actions can cause a bad injury.
Pets are also expensive. The cost of vaccinations, vet visits, grooming, and general care can stack up, with anywhere between $500 to $2,000 a year being the norm for a dog.
On the flip side, having multiple pets is tangibly thrilling and educational for a little one. From learning how to be gentle and care for a pet to playing contentedly for a while each day, pets make brilliant additions to any child's upbringing.
So, if you are pet-savvy and have the budget for it, bring in another fur baby!
Is There Anything About Pet Care That Could Harm My Child Indirectly?
Yes! Some pet care products and practices can harm your child, especially flea treatments and feces. For example, cats can pass viral, bacterial, or parasitic illnesses from their bladders to humans through their feces (source).
So, keeping children away from litter boxes, washing your hands after changing litter, and quickly cleaning up messes are critical for your child's health.
Pet medications and flea treatments are dangerous for children to ingest. Storing your pet's medications out of your child's reach will take care of potential medicinal problems, while doing pest treatments while your child sleeps will ensure little hands avoid contact with powerful chemicals.
Pet toys can be a hazard for your child because they harbor bacteria and aren't designed for children. Throw out any damaged toys to prevent your little one from swallowing pieces.
This is far from a comprehensive list of potential dangers to your child. You can find more in 25 Common Household Things That Are Toxic to Your Baby.
How Should I Discipline My Pet Around My Children?
Unfortunately, pet discipline may be necessary at times. How you discipline your pet will ideally be effective for your pet without scaring your children or leading them to believe they can harm it.
Just how to discipline your pet comes down to the species and the animal's personality. For example, cats do not do well with smacking, grabbing, yelling, or shaking--those actions cause even more poor behavior.
Instead, redirect your cat's bad behavior (physical removal or by playing) and use your voice with a sharp "No!" Reward good behavior whenever you can! Hamsters, rabbits, and other rodent pets are delicate and require similar discipline.
Dogs are far more discipline-needy. You have to be consistent with clear boundaries, or they will disobey often. Avoid rewarding bad behavior, use timeouts, and keep temptation out of sight as much as possible. Lots of exercise outside helps dogs (especially chewers) stay more calm inside. Positive reinforcement with treats and rubs works well!
Though pets need to respect your kids, your kids should not be disciplining your pet until they are old enough to understand the rules and discipline consistently. Many rules for pets concern your children, so make protecting your kids' space, bodies, food, and toys a priority in pet discipline.
In a Nutshell
Whether your pet joined your family before or after having kids can impact your pet's behavior, territorialness, and toleration of child antics. However, with consistent discipline, positive reinforcement, and enjoyable family-pet experiences, your furry friend will likely warm up to your kiddo soon!
