What is the best first pet to get for a two year old ?

Question

What do you consider to be the best type of animal for a young girl to enjoy having and why ?

Answer 1

for all practical purposes and considering the age of your child:

a small kitten under your supervision for the sake of the animal and your child. she will see how delicate a young animal is and will learn to be gentle.

guide handling and feeding and in a few months they will be at a more compatible age to keep each other company.

of all animals cats are the most independent and cleanest.

Answer 2

Goldfish or possibly Stick Insects, newts or some other small creature that lives in a tank and the child doesn't handle. AVOID HAMSTERS at all costs, they do bite hard and can go right through to the bone (trust me on this, I used to work in a Hamster Breeding unit and we had hundreds). They are also nocturnal, so it will want to be asleep when your child is awake, and will keep you awake all night running round in it's wheel etc. In the future when the child is a little older such as around 6 or 7, I recommend highly pet rats as being non-biting, clean and intelligent pets. I also think Guinea-Pigs make great pets that rarely, if ever, bite.

Answer 3

Two is too young for a pet. They are still very much a baby and don't understand the concept of taking care of another living thing.
They really don't understand the difference between, say a kitten and a teddy and you would be asking too much of them not to inadvertently hurt it, while playing. If it's you that wants the pet, then you must expect to do all the care taking of it yourself. I hate to see parents expect young children to have a maturity beyond their years as regards taking responsibility. I regret getting a dog when my kids were young - not because I don't love the dog, but because i needed all my energy for the kids and the dog was short-changed. The kids were fond of her but got bored when she lost the playful puppy appeal. The person who said get a goldfish was probably near the mark.

Answer 4

If you insist that a 2 year old have a pet, I would start with a goldfish. Remember that when it dies, you will have to explain death to a toddler.

Same thing with a gerbil or a hamster. Puppies and kittens are too high strung for toddlers, IMO. We had pets when our child was born and by time our child is two, only one of them will be around. Fortunately, that pet is really easy going and great with kids. The pet has been in our home 3+ years.

Answer 5

A goldfish, it will be easy for YOU to look after and she can help you and learn about looking after animals. She is too young at 2 to have other types of pet as young children can handle them roughly, which could lead to the animal biting or attacking - in this instance the animal is likely to be discarded through no fault of its own.

Answer 6

Good question! I have been thinking about this for my five-year-old. Things like mice are out, because they will want to pick them up, and they will undoubtedly get lost in the house. Cats and dogs are high maintainance if you work, and live too long. A goldfish is boring. What about one of those self-contained habtats for things like ants or stick insects? This would not even require feeding during a short holiday. It depends where you live, but my Aussie au pair had an axolotl (not available in the UK).

Answer 7

Start by buying your two year old a soft, cuddly, "special" stuffed animal which looks realistic -- a cat or dog. Then teach your child to take care of it, how to pet it gently, how to pick it up, how to love it. Explain that kitty (or doggie), has feelings just like she does and when she hits the kitty (or doggie), it feels pain she as she would if she was hit. Once you see that gentleness (it will be a while!), then get her a pet (I'm guessing a gentle dog), that she can love NOT abuse. Have her name it. Praise her when she shows her dog kindness.

Answer 8

Right now your child is to young for any pet.
She will not understand that the pet has to be picked up a certain way, she wont understand the concept of having to feed and water it every day, and will be to busy to even bother with it.

At two years old her attention span is not good enough to even pay attention to a pet. She will play with it a couple of times and then do just like she does with toys.......get disinterested in them and toss them aside.

She is likely to hurt the animal unintentionally and then it will break her heart that they have hurt the animal.

The child will also be likely to be jealous and resentful of a pet that is brought into the home at this age. At her age she still wants momma and daddy to her self and will not like sharing with anyone much less a pet.

I have a 6 yr old and she was not ready to have a pet until she was 5 yrs old and even then it was still a hassle to teach her to be gentle, to feed him, pick him up by the tummy instead of the neck, at stuff like that.
And even now she does not pay much attention to the pet (dog) because she is to busy doing her own thing.
And she still does not like the dog to sit in my lap instead of her.

So my advice would be to wait awhile before bringing a pet into the house for your child.

Answer 9

i dont think a goldfish would be a good pet because what funn will she have just get her a small dog one that wont grow alot more than 2-3 feet tall but puppy dog that way she can grow with the dog and allways like it

Answer 10

guinea pig cause i had one when i was young and it was the nice little pet and it did not bit
now since i am older i still have guinea pigs and i read that they are good for 2 yrs old up. they can be left by their self for hrs and you won't have to worry about a mess