PETS are wonderful family members and, through them, children can learn so much about kindness, love and responsibility. Caring for a smaller more vulnerable living creature can help to build their self-esteem, as well as offer them a special friendship to feel close to when they are unhappy. By being aware of your child’s sensory predisposition, you can teach them how to look after the new pet—and preempt any issues before they arise.
Tactile children will need to be taught how to play gently with animals. They tend to get very physical when excited, and having an animal will instantly bring out their sense of duty and responsibility. It also will bring out their desire to squeeze and cuddle the new pet to death. The good thing, however, is that they will be great play partners for the new pet, once the rules of holding and interacting have been established. You can rest assured that the animal will be in good hands, even when other children are visiting. Animals that relish running and need lots of activity are best for tactile children, such as dogs and cats rather than mice, fish or caged birds.
The auditory child will complain about excessively noisy animals, like yapping dogs and screechy birds. Animals will make noise however, so explain that this is the animal’s way of talking—the auditory child will understand that. When teaching how to care for the animal, make up little songs or rhymes—“this is the way we brush our dog,” or “hold a guinea pig around the waist, with your hand underneath just in case.” This will make the play fun, and also show that animals can be talked to, and although they might not speak back, they still can understand. You will often find that your auditory child will make up conversations between themselves and their pet and if you listen, it can be a good indicator to let you know what’s on your child’s mind.
Taste and smell children will adore having another being to love. Having a cuddly animal can be a huge asset, particularly when the child is feeling sensitive and needs to be adored for a while. These children can be overattentive, so make sure the new pet gets downtime. While an hour being dressed in dolls’ dresses is fine, hour after hour is too much. Setting limits is also essential with this sense as often they find it hard to distinguish between animal and human, and you may very well find their guinea pig sleeping in their bed being taken along with them to the playground. Or taste and smell children will resist the cleaning up after the pet, due to smell and ickyness. Try explaining that the pet doesn’t like the smell either, and aim for smaller cleans more frequently rather than an infrequent overhaul.
Visual children will be very picky about the appearance of their pet. They will not want to cuddle a dog that looks all scruffy and dirty. The visual child may not know how to play with a pet or include one into their daily life. Watching DVDs about families and pets, and visiting friends who are comfortable with their pets will help. Make sure that the new pet doesn’t have access to your visual child’s special toys—a chewed-up Barbie doll or Lego display isn’t going to be endearing. Teaching your child how to brush and make your animal pretty will be a high. If your visual child is showing anxiety toward a new animal, allow them the space to watch from a distance, don’t push them, but rather allow them in their own time to come and pet the animal.
Having a pet is a rewarding experience, whether it is a guinea pig, a kitten or a puppy. Pick a suitable pet for your circumstance and the age of your child, teach them kindness, and they will learn essential life lessons and also a friend for life.
• Priscilla Dunstan is a behavioral researcher and creator of the Dunstan Baby Language and author of Child Sense and Calm the Crying. She currently works in New York as a behavioral consultant. Learn more about Dunstan at www.dunstanbabynewyork.com.
By Priscilla Dunstan / ChildSense.com