Animals and a baby?????????????

Question

Hi am 23 years old and have a six year old step-son , a second cousin who is 4 years old names she is a girl i have custody of her at this time, and 12 month old son . My husband 28 years old is a vet who works for his father practice and i am a zoologist who works partime at the zoo. We have 4 dogs, 1 cat, 1 domesticated skunk, 1 bunny rabit, 1 lizard , 1 turtle, 2 mice, 1 african gray parrot, and a Squirrel. Recently our son has been put in a babywalker and he has been terrorizing all the animals. He also wants to pull on everything. Should i just make sure none of the pets are in the living room when i put him in the walker?

All the animals are friendly but is there away to introduce them/ most of the animals are afraid of him. And it is really tiering to keep them seperate all the time when i am home.

The Squirrel and him do not get along at all!

Saying no does not ork and i tried teaching him to be nice!

Answer 1

You need to stay with him and hold him when the animals are around and get after him to be gentle with the animals. With my son (Now 2) when he is around them I would have him gently pat, and if he got too rough I would take his hand and say "Gentle" and move his hand down the animal's back softly. He got the picture and is great with them now without having to be reminded. NEVER leave them in the room alone with him, because if he was to accidently injure one of them they may turn on him.

Answer 2

Well I'm not sure how these animal really deal with the baby, or what they're physically capable of, but I'd put in a gate of some sort . It can be an indoor picket fence, or just a large baby gate. This will keep the baby in that particular area. The animals, I would put them on the opposite side of the gate, and then not worry about it if they climb into the play area. If they get over the gate one way I'm sure they can do the same in reverse. I would assume they're smart enough to keep away from the baby. If they're not, at least they know they can get to a safe place (the other side of the gate) so they won't feel trapped. The gate can be just a temporary thing until your son stops harassing the animals. Another option is if you have a dining room, they're usually right off the common living areas, and if you turn it into a playroom, you'd just have to put a gate in the doorway. You could still keep an eye on him, and he's free to run around freely, walker or no walker. If all else fails, put the locks on the walker, or just get him an exersaucer because those are stationary. I must say though I'm so jealous! I'd love to have a skunk an a squirrel!!!

Answer 3

Your husband is a Vet, and you're a zoologist and you don't know how to handle this? Sounds a bit strange, but ok.

I would suggest you teach your son to be nice to the animals. Kids have a tendency to pull on tails, hair, whiskers, whatever they can get their hands on. I introduced the animals to my boys by holding the cat and saying "See? Nice kitty, be nice to the kitty, pet him like this." And then I showed them so that they wouldn't grab his hair or his tail. I did the same thing with the dog.

If that doesn't work, buy a baby gate and cordon him off from the rest of the house. If you can keep him in the living room that way, it'll help keep the pets out as well, and he can have free reign without freaking out the animals. If you don't have a normal doorway, buy one of those baby corrals and just extend it across the opening of the living room. Good luck.

Answer 4

If I were you, I'd completely sequester all the animals before you put your baby in the walker. I don't care how clean/disease free/current on their shots they are--an animal bite or scratch can become infected VERY quickly.

If you want to introduce him to your pets, I'd start by doing it when you're holding him. Maybe sit on the floor with him in your lap (so that you're at eye-level with most of the animals and they won't feel threatened) and hold his hand and gently pet the tops of their heads.

I don't care how tame/friendly you think your animals are, if they've never been exposed to a child as young as your son for any length of time, they could turn on him in an instant for him doing something as unintentional and non-malicious as him grabbing onto one of their tails. It could get ugly. You'd have to probably have the animal euthanized and your son could get very sick from the bite of an animal with an unclean mouth--especially the skunk or rabbit.

Answer 5

You know the temperament of your animals best, so you are the best one to answer this but, generally:
- the cat can fend for itself (unless it's disabled).
- the skunk, squirrel, parrot, and rabbit might bite him if they feel threatened. So you should probably keep them away.
- he might hurt the lizard or mice.
- little kids can, apparently, contract salmonella from some types of turtle. I assume you know if this is likely to be a problem.
- depends on the temperament of the dogs.

Answer 6

I'm not going to get on my soapbox about the "new rules" of parenting because I'm sure there are a lot of moms who have seen my posts & get tired of seeing it. I will just say that it is no longer safe to put your baby in a walker.
They discovered this in 1998, after millions of babies were put in them. Just this past week our doctor told us not to ever put our baby in one because he could "get run over by the wheels & get killed". ???? I didn't question her because I was in a hurry to get out of there.
Anyway, not saying I agree, but just in case you do here's some info.....
"Despite continued warnings from physicians and safety advocates about the dangers of baby walkers, 90 percent of children under age two are still put in them. As a result, nearly 20,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each year for baby walker-related injuries......."
Oh yeah, about the animals. If it's a problem, when he's in the walker use baby gates to keep him from getting to them.

Answer 7

Try skymall.com. They have a lot of pet products, including pet barriers to keep the pets out or in depending on your needs. It's like the barrier for small children, except its for pets. Some even have little doors or gates in the barrier, for when you want to let the pets out,

Answer 8

well hes old enough to start learning how to treat animals. do you tell him no when he pulls tails and stuff? you should put him on your lap on the floor with the animals and show him how to pet nicely and give him a firm no when you see him pulling on them. the big ones might bite and the small animals he could hurt.

Answer 9

hate to say it, but sooner or later he will get bit when the animals tire of him ... that usually cures kids of chasing the animals ... as long as they have to coexist in the same house, i would suggest taking him out of the baby walker, at least then his movements are limited .... all baby learning is tactile ... certainly, tell him "NO" when he misbehaves and hand him something else to occupy his mind .. your little crocadile hunter will have to learn the hard way.

Answer 10

Keep him away until he can behave. He is too young to understand he is hurting them. Slowly introduce them. You can get a pen that keeps him out of their reach but still in the room.