Pets for 3 Yr Old

Okay I'll tell you what didn't work for me and what did. We had gold fishes and constantly died. We had a duck and had to take it to the park because my son would only like him at a distance :) lol
So when my oldest son was 8 years old, my middle one 6 and my youngest 4 we got a puppy! It's been great. He is a yorkie-silky and he is very protective with the kids and the family. Sometimes people hear him barking and they think I have a big dog!! lol
Blessigns

I agree with the fish idea. Three-year-olds are too young to take care of/appreciate other kinds of pets.

Pet Rock!

No seriously...you need to get something that she is capable of taking care of. That means picking up poop, cleaning the tank, cleaning out the cage, brushing, washing, brushing teeth. Which, to my knowledge, or at least my experience, NO 3 year old is ready to do. So, what you really should be asking yourself is....what kind of pet do I want?
L.

My three year old is the proud owner of three guppies. I have them in a small tank you can get at Walmart for about twenty bucks...she feeds them almost everyday.(she forgets occasionally) She enjoys saying good morning to them in the morning and nighty night at night while turning their light on and off. She already learned not to tap the glass and not to drop anything in the water.
Guppies were a buck ninety nine a piece at Petsmart....if they dont last that long, what are you out?

GL!
M:)

Dear S.,

No pets for a child that isn't old enough to take care of it. You may already have a family pet/pets that you can teach your child how to treat and do little things like pour water in the bowl and gradually other things as she gets older. If you have an aquarium, you could measure out the food and let her drop it in (for now). I've seen too many little ones dump the whole can of food in the aquarium.

Blessings.....

Depression/anxiety/panic attacks----you need to find yourself a support group. Call your local hospital, they should have great info on support groups. Sometimes clubs like the YMCA or JCC have free "workshops" or free counseling. It is nothing to be embarrassed about, it is more common than you think. Be very thankful to have a supportive, loving hubby and make sure you tell him you appreciate his support and understanding. Even a family therapist might help. Best of luck to you.

HEY WHAT HAPPENED LOL!!!! I WAS POSTING UNDER SOMEONE"S QUESTION ABOUT DEPRESSION AND WHEN I CLICKED "POST" I SAW A QUESTION ABOUT PETS ????

I really don't understand the answer to this question from tne first two posters.

It isn't about what to get a 3 year old girl. What do you want?
We have always had dogs and cats. At one time we had a fish and two years ago inadvertantly killed a firebellied toad.
Small dogs are notoriously nippy and may be too skittish with a small child. We have a 2 shepherds and a Beagle. I would recommend any of the popular breeds of dogs, but NOT the Beagle.
Labs, Goldens, Shepherds, Poodles (standard), mutts from the pound.
Cats are easier to take care of and if you get a mellow cat form the pound, HSUS, or Petsmart it wil bond with your daughter providing she is taught how to handle her new kitty.
Honestly I don't like animals in cages and hamsters, Gerbils and mice bite so I wouldn't have them around a small child.
I have four children, 9-21.

I vote kitten. IMO, with young children around, they're easier to handle then dogs. They are sweet, loving and adorable so check out your local animal shelter and see what they have. Many times people will drop off full litters of kittens to save them the trouble of finding them homes. Just make sure to get your new pet spayed/neutered at the correct age. Good luck with your new pet!

I agree with a fish at most. I won't buy my 15 yr old a pet, because I know it will turn into MY pet. And I dont want another one. Granted all kids are different, but at 3 shes way too young to really be expected to care for anything. So stick with whats easiest.

We rescued our last two dogs from a shelter. They were both over a year old at the time and had already developed their attitudes about children. The shelter provided us with a small enclosure (about 12' by 12') to see if the dog would get along with our kids.

Both dogs were mixed breed mutts and measured 12" or less at the shoulder. My kids, and now my grand kids, love them and love to play with them. The small dogs are very active and aren't so big they can overpower the kids or accidently knock them down during play.

I would not get a cat. And fish are fun to look at but hard to play with. Ever tried playing fetch with a cat or a fish?

Good luck to you and yours.

I feel your pain. I am dealing with feelings much like yours.. actually I could have written this myself. I am now seeing a counselor to help me through these type of feelings.. I would seriously find a counselor to help deal with these feelings.. they are in no way healthy for you, your marriage and family. One exercise my counselor gave me and it can be somewhere to start is to start a journal.. Try everyday to find something positive and something you are pleased with.. Somedays it may be something like I like the say my hair looks today and another day it could be you did something you really like.. Find an outlet that makes you feel good. Please seek help. I have seen it is not a healthy thing for anyone involved and can easily be spread to the next generations.. good luck.. If you feel you would like to write me a message I can talk more about what I have learned please do.. but we are all different and have different issues so you have to explore your own issues.

HAHA obviously the same thing happened to me..

A fish. And yes, you'll be doing all the work.

Unless you are going to take care of it yourself I found that pets were not good for my children until they were older.

1 beta fish. They can live up to 2 years (at least ours did) and when they do die, she can go to the store and pick out another. All you have to do is feed it once a day and rinse out the small fish take (we use a vase that holds less than a gallon of water). Every 4th day or so, I rinse it out. the flake food container has an aluminum seal and I poke a hole in it just smaller than a pencil eraser so that not too much food comes out at once and my kids have no problem with over feeding it.

Even though baby animals are cute, avoid getting them for your three year old. A toddler can be very rough with them and injure the animal, also a baby animal will be faster to try to protect themselves injuring your baby. Really old animals might not have the patience to deal with a small child either. You want an animal that is patient, even tempered and not excitable. Rabbits will bite when they feel endangered and are very nervous animals, not a good choice for a child. You might try checking with a local animal shelter and let your child meet the animal to see if they get along. Since many pure bred dogs tend to have extreme personalities you might find a mixed breed will be calmer around your child, and besides there are so many animals that need a home, plus you won't be helping support puppy mills.

We have not allowed our children to have pets. We adopt them and they get to help take care of them. We as adults are the adoptive parents and they become part of family responsibility. This way we never can go after our kids for "wanting" a pet and abandoning it as we are the parents. We can fault ourselves with not making them do the chores, care in relationship with being responsible to the family. This method has caused us not to fall into the trap of they begged for an animal and promised they'd take care of it and now it's our responsibility or it will die. A three year old can help do chores surrounding an animal, but definitely no own one. A child friendly dog at this age that they can grow up with would be great, they can put the bag of poop in the garbage for you, a guinea pig(still very furry but no outside care for you) can be a little skiddish but can get used to the child and the child can participate in cleaning, feeding, watering and cuddling. A fish is the least job intensive for you, unless you have a knack with fish they die and that also can be a lesson to help with other deaths later....they help with feeding and scrubbing the bowl, not very cuddly though.

Whatever Mom and Dad are willing to take care of.

We have siberian hamsters as pets for my now-5 year old. We've had them since she was 2. They are mostly maintenance-free, don't smell (especially if you get female ones), don't make noises, and are happy to be left alone but do enjoy rolling around in the hamster ball. They are 'dwarf' hamsters- very tiny, about 2-3 inches long only. They do enjoy being held but we didn't allow my daughter to hold them. They are readily available at Petco or PetSmart.

I don't think a 3 year old is capable of having a pet...like the others said...a fish.

I got a cat for my 3 year old daughter. I wish I had waited. She is not old enough to understand how to take care of and play with a cat. She wants to hold the cat and play with the cat all the time and the cat doesn't always want to. She doesn't have the capability to understand the cat might not want to play or the cat doesn't like to be held that way. She is a smart girl and very intelligent but this area is lacking. THe funny part is is that as much as she antagonizes the cat...the cat does it back. I could walk by the cat and she doesn't even look up. My daughter could be 2 steps behind me and the cat will leap up and bite her. The cat is very playful and loving with me but I think she has had enough.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have waited about 2 more years before getting a pet. Just my thoughts.