Bites and scratches can be preventable. Teach your children early on to care for animals in ways that foster love and respect. Show them how to pet gently, handle carefully and to give an excited animal plenty of space when necessary. Learning these skills early helps children foster life-long friendships with animals. It also goes far in keeping them safe from the wounds a frightened animal can inflict when it feels threatened.
Take the kids outside to observe nature on its own terms. The salamanders and frogs that inhabit the shores of lakes and ponds and the ants and slugs that live under your garden rocks are almost always a sure thing. If you live in a city where it’s difficult to connect with nature, check out a few videos from the library or tune into zoo and nature webcams on the computer.
Pick up a few books on animals from the library to share with the kids during nightly story time. Choose books written by authors with a proven love of animals -- writers such as James Herriot, Beverly Cleary and E.B. White. For younger kids, read titles such as "Harry the Dirty Dog" by Gene Zion, "Stellaluna" by Janell Cannon and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle.
Encourage you child to pick an animal and find out all you can about it. Read books, do Internet research and visit the zoo to see the animal in person. Write a story, do an art project and watch a movie that pertains to your animal. Learn what the words "conservation," "endangered" and "humane" mean. Visit a no-kill animal shelter and talk to the staff about how each animal finds a home. Find out how you can help by donating food and supplies.
Experiment with keeping a pet at home. Choose one that's low-maintenance, possibly a cat, and that's relatively safe to keep in a household with children. Keep in mind that some pets, such as reptiles and amphibians, carry bacteria that can be harmful when transmitted to children. Whatever type of pet you choose, supervise your child closely in the beginning to keep him safe from bites and scratches and to keep your pet from accidentally getting cuddled to death.
Take the kids outside to observe nature on its own terms. The salamanders and frogs that inhabit the shores of lakes and ponds and the ants and slugs that live under your garden rocks are almost always a sure thing. If you live in a city where it’s difficult to connect with nature, check out a few videos from the library or tune into zoo and nature webcams on the computer.
Pick up a few books on animals from the library to share with the kids during nightly story time. Choose books written by authors with a proven love of animals -- writers such as James Herriot, Beverly Cleary and E.B. White. For younger kids, read titles such as "Harry the Dirty Dog" by Gene Zion, "Stellaluna" by Janell Cannon and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle.
Encourage you child to pick an animal and find out all you can about it. Read books, do Internet research and visit the zoo to see the animal in person. Write a story, do an art project and watch a movie that pertains to your animal. Learn what the words "conservation," "endangered" and "humane" mean. Visit a no-kill animal shelter and talk to the staff about how each animal finds a home. Find out how you can help by donating food and supplies.
Experiment with keeping a pet at home. Choose one that's low-maintenance, possibly a cat, and that's relatively safe to keep in a household with children. Keep in mind that some pets, such as reptiles and amphibians, carry bacteria that can be harmful when transmitted to children. Whatever type of pet you choose, supervise your child closely in the beginning to keep him safe from bites and scratches and to keep your pet from accidentally getting cuddled to death.
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