Do you think a 6yr. old is old enough to clean up animal waste, meaning feces and urine, like a litter box?

Question

I am trying to tell my son's father that this is not an appropriate chore for him and he just will not listen. It is driving me crazy because I think it is ridiculous to expect that out of a 6 yr. old. He doesn't realize the dangers and is unable to take proper precautions for this and yet his father makes him clean both the cat and dog boxes while he is "visiting" at his house. I don't know what I can do about this because he just will not listen to reason!!

I posted this ? this way because he seems to think that my opinion, my friends, and my family are all biased and are going to agree with me just to disagree with him, but I thought the majority would be on my side and see that thus far, I am right. I just want my child to have a CHILDHOOD, not just work, and chores. Life should hold joy in the little things and lessons of responsibility do not need to be taught 100% of the time!

Answer 1

Ya,just teach him first.Then put your hand on his when cleaning it up.Finally let him try himself,but watch him.Then let him do the job by himself.

Answer 2

I have a 6 year old myself so, hopefully I can help.
I don't really see a problem with giving a child of 6 some light chores to do. Actually it is great! It starts teaching them to be responsible, active, non-selfish, etc. But, you have to draw the line at some chores obviously that are not fit for such a young child. Cleaning the litter box would be one. It is DANGEROUS.
Cats, even healthy ones, carry a lot of parasites in their feces. A child so young could easily tip dirty litter on themselves or put their hands near their mouth before washing them.
To me, it is the same equivalent as having a child change a lightbulb without the electricity being off. Chances are they wouldn't electracute themselves but, they could. It is dangerous and you wouldn't let them do it.
Appropriate chores for his age would be things like: Making his bed, putting away laundry in his dresser, picking up toys, bringing dirty dishes to the sink (no knives), etc.
As far as pets go, he could get them fresh food and water, help bathe the dog, and brush their fur.
I think your husband (ex-husband?) needs a lesson in parenting. I don't see how he couldn't want his own son to stay safe!
I'm hoping for your son's sake that you will be able to convince your husband that this is NOT an appropriate chore for a 6 year old.
I wish you luck!

Answer 3

He is still too young. I hope your son's father changes his mind! I agree with you, six is still so young. Experts who advice when children are old enough to have a pet in the house almost always state that the parent has to be entirely commited to the fact that they are completely responsible for all aspects of the pet's care and it's the childs place to gradually learn pet care by helping the adult and doing simple tasks like filling food and water dishes, walking the dog with a grownup etc. How to properly care for an animal is a very important lesson that I feel is learned throughout an entire childhood. For such important health reasons a six year old shouldn't be expected to truly get how important it is to keep his hands away from his eyes, nose, and mouth until he can make it to the bathroom to wash his hands very thouroughly. My son is into so much normal six year old stuff, that's not filthy like pet waste, and as most mothers know it's so hard to get every bit of sticky sugar, marker ink, mud...off of an energetic, impatient six year olds hands even when you're right there supervising the handwashing. I'm sure your six year old wouldn't be really getting his hands literally right into the waste but I think it's virtually impossible to be completely sure a six year old isn't going to get sick handling pet waste. If your husband insists, disposable gloves for your child might be a good idea

Answer 4

My son will be six in January, and yes, he has chores. But he DOES NOT clean out the litter box. The health risks are just too much right now. I think cleaning out a litterbox or scooping dog waste is too big of a chore for a child under the age of ten, at the very least.

I gave my son more age-appropriate chores: he dumps the bathroom trash into the kitchen trash can twice a week, every night he makes sure his dirty clothes are in the hamper, he feeds the cats when I ask him to (it's not an everyday thing, I normally do it), he picks up all of his toys and puts them away correctly (cars in the car bin, blocks in the block bin, etc). He also helps me sort laundry (lights, whites, darks, and jeans - he's getting good at it!).

A CHILD should not be responsible for cleaning up animal waste. It's hard enough for them to remember to wash their hands after they use the bathroom, muchless after cleaning animal waste. An animal is the responsibility of the adult.

Please review these sites for more info and share them with your son's father:
This site has a list of do's and do not's, including a line about children cleaning the litterbox:
http://www.catinfo.org/litterbox.htm#Dos%20and%20Donts

This next site states, "Children will probably provide plenty of play and socialization but the grooming, litter box cleaning, and training are going to be the responsibility of the parent."
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=0&cat=1495&articleid=627

This last site, from the Florida SPCA states "It's unrealistic to expect a child, regardless of age, to have the sole responsibility of caring for a cat....If you're adopting a cat "for the kids," you must be prepared and willing to be the cat's primary caretaker."
http://www.ohs-spca.org/children_cats.htm

Good luck!

Answer 5

I think it's good that children are made to do SOME chores, in return for pocket money, but I'm not too sure about THOSE chores! My 4yr. old (kind of) makes her bed, sets the table for diner every second night and of course, cleans up her own toys. My 8yr. old does the same, plus, up until 5 days ago, he cleaned up his dog's droppings. This was more of a responsibility thing,'cause he wanted a dog so badly.(He also feeds him). Just lately he's been making such a fuss when asked to do it, that I've decided to do it myself. At least I do it properly! I've cut back his pocket money so he understands that if you do less, you get less. But, I must admit, that I never wanted him doing THAT job in the first place, it was my husband that insisted on it. (He doesn't yet know that I now do it.) So, to answer your question, I guess I'd have to say, that unless the animals are your child's that he/she begged and pleaded for, then no, I don't think that a child should be made to clean up animal waste.

Answer 6

No i do not think 6 is old enough. Not because they cannot learn responsibility but purly from the faces and urine aspect - how often do children wash hands properly?

If you want your 6 year old to do chores let them be responsible for feeding the animals, helping wash dishes, helping hang out clothes etc.

Get your husband to do the litter box - How many men actually do this? or change a babies nappy? Not many!

Answer 7

Im not completly sure so im going to guess. I don't believe so. When their that young their body is still growing. Their immune system may not be capable of fighting of any disease or virus the animal waste, meaning feces, and urine contain. What happens if your 6yr rubs their eyes or bites their nailes, now their more likely to get sick, and sense their immune system is not that strong, their body may have a hard time of fighing of the disease or virus that the animal waste contain. I would wait until they are a little older like 10-13. Then they know better not to rub their eyes or bite their nailes, so they don't get sick. Their immune system would be stronger buy them. By that time they would also know that they have to wash their hands so they don't spread germs. A 6yr might after cleaning up the animal waste they may touch the walls, items, etc., and spread germs throughout the house before they even get to the sink. As I said this is my best guess, you could always get a doctors opinon on the subject.You could give the child small responsiblities like cleaning their room or cleaning up their mess. I would def. start teaching them little responsiblity when they get young, and as they get older you can give them bigger chores.

Answer 8

Personally, no...I do think that is an age appropriate "chore"...as far as teaching responsibility I would recommend they be "in charge" of maybe putting clean water in the water bowl or a scoop of food, and I would say an adult still needs to be there with him/her....that seems more appropriate for a 6 year old.
Hope this helps

Answer 9

Sure, why not? Just make sure he washes his hands afterwards. Does he want to clean the littler box? My son was always wanting to do it when he was 3 or 4, but I said he was too young. But after that I allowed him to do it (even though I had to sweep up the litter he spilled on the floor). It's okay for kids to have SOME chores, but not too many, of course. It gives them a sense of responsibility, and also a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction to know that they are being helpful.

Answer 10

A 6 year-old is old enough to learn to take care of a pet. Children need to learn from a young age how to do things around the house. My son is 2 and he wants to help clean out our rabbit cage already. I let him hold the bag while I empty the contents and I make him wash his hands afterwords. Kid need to have chores so they learn responsibility. My 2 step-kids were never made to do their chores and now they are adults and both have very poor work ethics and are incredibly lazy. And the person above that says a 6 year-old can't properly wash their hands needs to teach her kids better. My 2 year-old son knows how to properly wash his hands! It comes down to TEACHING YOUR KIDS!!

Answer 11

Of course it's not right for him to clean up animal waste because he's 6. I mean how many 6 year olds wash there hands after using the bathroom. He can help, but he shouldn't do it on his own.