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When your children are very small, it can be very tempting to please them by buying them a pet – you may well remember being refused a pet when you were little and want your children to have experiences that you were once denied. But until a child is about four years old, they won’t be able to grasp the concept of what a pet is, let alone what the responsibilities are of caring for a pet. And once they reach the age of four or five, they’re not ready to take on all the responsibilities that come with owning a pet, though they will appreciate the idea of having a little creature to love and play with.

As a responsible parent you would of course take care to ensure that your child knows how to ‘play’ with their new pet, and that they are capable of understanding the need to be careful and gentle with their pet at all times – they have to understand that it is not a toy.

You could just get a goldfish for your child, but most children want something a bit more ‘interactive’ and would prefer something furry and playful.  You, on the other hand, just want a pet that is relatively easy to care for. Hamsters and guinea pigs are the most popular types of pet that people buy for their younger children, since these are relatively easy to care for (compared to, say, a dog) and they are small and fluffy, and interesting for your child to play with and help to care for.

Hamsters are content to be housed in a relatively small cage (compared to guinea pigs, who need plenty of room to move around) and they don’t cost a great deal to care for. They are interesting little creatures to watch, as they are energetic and like to interact with whatever toys and bits and pieces you add to their cage for them. They love playing in those little balls you can buy to explore their wider environment, which your child will also enjoy watching.

They don’t mind being handled, though of course with all rodents care must be taken to ensure that your child holds them properly, securely and gently, as squeezing or dropping them could lead to serious injury for your pet.  Some hamsters do bite, so be sure that yours has a temperament that will tolerate being handled before allowing your child to do so.

Hamsters don’t tend to fall ill very often, but they can be very expensive to treat if they do, so although it may seem an unnecessary expense if you never have to call upon it, having pet insurance in place is a good idea even for such a small pet. They normally only live for about 2 – 3 years.

Hamsters are nocturnal, so they may only want to play out in the evening. Don’t keep your hamster’s cage in your child’s room as they do make a lot of noise when they’re awake at night. 

Guinea pigs are rather larger and need more space.  Unlike hamsters, they are most active and awake during daylight hours and they’re not as active or playful as hamsters.  So they may not be as much fun to watch, but they’re certainly much more likely to be the sort of pet your child can cuddle and stroke, or sit with.  They live for about 5 – 7 years, which is a good length of time for a first pet (one of the benefits of giving a pet to a child is to help them to understand and experience death on a relatively small scale before they experience it with family members). 

Guinea pigs tend to create more allergies than hamsters do, partly because they need hay for their diet but also because of differences in their fur. 

Like hamsters, if guinea pigs need veterinary care the bills are likely to be large, so taking out pet insurance is a good idea.

If you decide to get a hamster or guinea pig for your child, you could choose to adopt one from an animal charity such as the RSPCA. The advantages of doing so are plentiful: the rescue centre workers will be familiar with the temperament and nature of the animals in their care and can advise which will make good pets for small children; the hamsters or guinea pigs will have been checked for ill health and by adopting a pet you will be playing a small part in reducing the number of such pets bred for sale when so many end up in rescue centres after people grow bored of caring for them.